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green52
10-19-2011, 03:06 AM
It was rad. I swam around the outside of a Kelp forest. Next time, I definitely need to remember my watch, so I can track progress.

LindseyLu
10-19-2011, 12:38 PM
Congratulations on your first freediving experience! :) I know how amazing it feels the first time...left me speechless (not only due to shortness of breath, LOL!)!

Monofin, bi-fins, no fins??? See anything interesting? The kelp forest is so beautiful! You are very lucky to be able to swim there! Did you see any otters? I've always wanted to swim with otters!!!!!

malinghi
10-19-2011, 01:03 PM
Freediving sounds awesome. I want to hear more!

green52
10-23-2011, 06:39 PM
I went a second time. This time I went to 25 feet and stayed down for 1:23. I know I can go longer, but for now I'm more interested in getting comfortable with it than with setting records. I found I can stay down about a minutes without feeling a need to breath, but after that the need becomes stronger rather quickly.

Spindrift
10-23-2011, 06:52 PM
Any tips or trick tutorials that you can offer? :D

malinghi
10-23-2011, 06:58 PM
Spindrift, I've been playing underwater hockey for a while now, and I've learned some really good drills and workouts to work on breathholding. I totally recommend underwater hockey to everyone here. Its a really great way to spend more time at the bottom of a pool and work on good swimming and breathholding skills.

Spindrift
10-23-2011, 07:34 PM
@malinghi: I will definitely look into it. I thought it might be cool to take some synchronized swimming classes, but it's hard to coordinate it into my schedule :(

Aradia
12-11-2011, 08:10 AM
I've played Underwater Hockey and its completely insane! Its more learning to breath inbetween scrambling from one end of the pool to the other :p
Here is a documentary on the sport for anyone interested : http://documentaryheaven.com/underwater-hockey-a-documentary/

Coradion
01-22-2012, 07:05 PM
Freediving is fun, just be careful with your ups and downs. Don't push depths you haven't done before without a buddy who can make it to the same depth, there have been a lot of accidental deaths due to shallow water blackouts.

I'm a pusher for water safety, we have a lot of accidents in waikiki. If you want to increase your breath cap make sure you go slow. When you feel like you need to breathe exhale slowly, to push new breath caps you always want to go to the point where it's uncomfortable but not painful. Testing breath capacity is easiest at neutral buoyancy where you don't have to fight to stay down. Usually 30 feet is good enough. If you're pushing a new depth always equalize as you go down and do it with a weight belt. Remember ascensions should be slow and controlled and if you feel lightheaded stop. Doing too many dives without breaks can be dangerous.

Derek Broussard
01-23-2012, 11:25 AM
I'm a pusher for water safety.......... and do it with a weight belt.

REALLY!?? Diving with a weight belt is the most ​unnatural and dangerous aspect of freediving. The reason why Hawaii has 2-3 freediving deaths a year is because of overweighting issues. Spearfishermen in general like to wear to much weight and when they black out on the surface ( where the majority of BO accure) they sink back down to the bottom, and drown. The natural buoyancy of the human body acts as a safety measure if one does BO at the surface.

It makes much more sense to struggle reaching depth, and having an easier time reaching the surface, then struggling to reach the surface after one has already depleted their oxygen.

A weight belt is only needed if: The diver is wearing a thick wetsuit, or has extreme body fat. The exceptions on this forum may be for the women with larger breast, 1-2 lbs might be needed.

Coradion
01-23-2012, 01:23 PM
Free diving with a weight belt is pretty standard if you're doing actual free diving. It's cold, you usually wear a full suit. Even for a day on the reef 8-10 pounds is a nice comfortable amount. When quoting me please don't do it out of context. Notice I have the part at the top about always having a buddy who can reach your depth. If you have a shallow water blackout with or without a weight belt and you're alone in the ocean you're most likely screwed regardless. Correct me if I'm wrong but a lot of people here like to free dive in tails. Most tails are made out of buoyant materials, I would assume a weight is pretty standard if you want to go below the surface.

gypsymer
01-24-2012, 08:24 PM
I aim to make my tails neutrally buoyant. So far it's just fabric though. The one neoprene tail I made I don't much use anymore.

I did my first reef swim in my tail in December. Molasses Reef in Key Largo, FL. The maximum we dove to was about 35'. I wasn't timing that day. The swells were pretty bad though, multiple people on our dive boat were sick lol My brother, and another guy were swimming with me. The went through the hole in the wall (a natural arch in the reef). I had a vest on which made me a bit buoyant and the current was strong, combined with the drag form my tail, I didn't want to risk it. I always play it safe.

No matter how good of a swimmer I think I am I don't think I'll ever tail swim in the ocean, a lake, or even a spring, without a swim buddy who is experienced.

I know my static breath hold record is 2:15 but I average around 1:45.

AniaR
11-01-2013, 12:05 PM
This is a thread about Free diving... Not scuba.

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