First freediving holiday.

[KristianH]

Hi, I am new to the forum and new to freediving.

I have freedived without fins on (almost) annual beach holidays since I was a boy. I think I have gone as deep as 10-12m. For 4 months now I have attended a beginner freediver course and trained dynamic (up to 50m, no fins) and static (up to 3:45) in a swimming pool. I usually don't get contractions at all until a few seconds before I can't hold my breath any longer.

I am now going on vacation, which will end with a week long beach holiday on Zanzibar. I will certainly take this opportunity to try my new skills and fins in nature. I am careful by nature, so I would like to know of the most obvious dangers of what I am about to do. I will not push myself further than I am comfortable, but I do wish to try new things, such as diving deeper than I have done before.

I basically need any advice that I can get, but here are a few questions on my mind:

I have a wetsuit without arms or legs, should I bring it?
I have a weight belt and som weights intended for U/V hunting. Should I bring it, or is it too dangerous to experiment with on my own? How much weight?
Any ideas for finding diving company? I have thought of joining a scuba diver boat, since they are probably more common than free diver teams.
Do I need to keep track of depth/time with a diver watch to dive safely at depth? I don't own one atm.

Thanks in advance.

Kristian

[cdavis]

Hi Kristian,

Welcome to DB. I'll try to answer a few questions.

Yes, take the wetsuit, even in warm water, a little bit of protection is good.

Weights, take 6 lbs (3 kg), including at least one .5 kg weight. That will be more than adequate and you can take some off the belt as needed.

Weighting will depend on what you are doing. I've assumed relatively shallow. Weight to be neutral in the water at or (usually) above the level you want to spend time. For example, I weight to be neutral at 33 ft (10m) if diving 60 ft or deeper and not spending a lot of time on the bottom. If I plan to be spearing in 30 ft, more weight is needed, neutral at 20 ft is about right. It depends on what you are doing. Try it and weight what seems comfortable; erring on the side of being too light is a good idea.

You don't need a freediving computer, although they are Very nice. I love my D3. A watch is handy but not required.

You have gained enough skill that diving with a trained buddy is VERY NECESSARY unless you are being consciously proactive about not pushing your limits. The truth is, when freediving, there is always a small possibility of having a problem, not just limited to B0, where a buddy will save your life. If you are pushing, especially at your level, that possibility is not so small. That said, the truth is that many divers dive alone. Some recognize the dangers and some don't. If I was in your shoes, I'd work hard to find a buddy, but dive anyway if I couldn't find one, being very, very careful about pushing in any shape or form. Recognize that some people have gotten in serious trouble, as in they BOed, without thinking they were anywhere near their limits. You could be one of those people.
Oh yes, a "trained buddy" is someone who knows proper rescue techniques. Joe Blow, who doesn't know to get the mask of an BO victim, might not be much help. Trying to buddy with scuba divers is pretty worthless from a safety point of view

[sunflower]

Hi Kristian,
which you a good holiday for the first!

..do bear in mind that it might be very nice underwater and this could encourage you to stay a little bit longer with each dive you do.

You should be very carefull if you do not have a good freediving buddy!

Probably you could find a diving centre where also freediving is offered - some already have special trips for apnea divers.

[Mowgli]

Hey Kristian..

First and foremost, read both advises above over and over again.. They'll save your life..

In the abscence or presence of a free diving partner, you can also do it the traditional way the divers in the Gulf did decades ago..

Tie a rope around your waste and the other end either on the boat or in someone's hands who's on the boat..

If you experience SWB, you'll live..

If you don't have a dive watch to tell you your depth, you'll know..