Any East Anglia based freedivers around?

[DMartins]

Hi all,

I’m a midlands based freediver but travelling regularly to Peterborough for work, so the journey is more than fine for me.


I heard about Gildenburgh water recently and wondered if anyone in the region was Freediving there? Their website makes no mention if I recall correctly, but perhaps people have dived there before.


Either way I’m looking to expand my network and buddy up as much as possible this year- reach out if you’re around!

 

[adrian.u]

Yes! We've exchanged messages not so long ago, so you're already aware of where I am, etc., but I'll repeat it here so others can see...

I'm based near Cambridge (which is still a bit of a trek from you), and looking to find someone to dive with from time to time around UK.

Regarding Gildy, I've heard pretty consistent tales of very bad viz, so I'm not sure how keen I am for that - but if you do try it, let me know...
(Would like to dive Capenwray again, since that was decent. But it's a long way from me, so I'd have to be up near lakes for hols, or something.)

I have access to a 25m pool very close to me - and it's actually 3m deep (which is a bit unusual for pools in UK these days), and that's just about deep enough to do some form of eq practice (e.g. RV dives, etc.)

I regularly use the pool during public swims, and I can even use my freedive fins if it's quiet enough, so I practice a bit of tame dyn. However, if I can find a reliable buddy then I'd be up for renting out a lane occasionally to do something a little more intense.

So, if there are any freedivers out there near Cambridge who'd be up for that, please get in touch!

 

[DMartins]

Yes! We've exchanged messages not so long ago, so you're already aware of where I am, etc., but I'll repeat it here so others can see...

I'm based near Cambridge (which is still a bit of a trek from you), and looking to find someone to dive with from time to time around UK.

Regarding Gildy, I've heard pretty consistent tales of very bad viz, so I'm not sure how keen I am for that - but if you do try it, let me know...
(Would like to dive Capenwray again, since that was decent. But it's a long way from me, so I'd have to be up near lakes for hols, or something.)

I have access to a 25m pool very close to me - and it's actually 3m deep (which is a bit unusual for pools in UK these days), and that's just about deep enough to do some form of eq practice (e.g. RV dives, etc.)

I regularly use the pool during public swims, and I can even use my freedive fins if it's quiet enough, so I practice a bit of tame dyn. However, if I can find a reliable buddy then I'd be up for renting out a lane occasionally to do something a little more intense.

So, if there are any freedivers out there near Cambridge who'd be up for that, please get in touch!

Thanks for reaching out again Adrian- your arrangement at your local pool sounds like a dream. Did you have to write to the pool for permission to use fins during public sessions? I’d be happy just to be able to use a mask in my local pool as is!


As for Gildenburgh I find myself a stone’s throw from there throughout the week- I may buddy up for a SCUBA dive soon enough to confirm these tales!

 

[adrian.u]

Can't use mask or snorkel there during normal swim sessions, but 3m isn't deep enough to have to eq mask, so goggles are fine. And I'm not doing any static, which would likely freak out the lifeguards (and I'd want a buddy for that anyway). So mask & snorkel are not that important really.

I don't use the fins a lot while there - just a few lengths at some point if there's only a handful of others in the whole pool, but usual swimming apart from that, with a bit of no-fins dyn. I'm trying to keep out of the way as much as possible with those fins, which I think is the most important thing to ensure I don't put off the lifeguards there. I'm fortunate to be the only one there doing something like this - would likely go downhill very quickly if there were others starting to join in with such fins at the same time during the public sessions...

I did have a chat with the manager of the sports centre, and he's pretty laid back about things. (He also told me when they train the lifeguards, they have to do some extra risk assessments because the pool is >1.8m depth. Really... 1.8m!)

He did say he'd be happy to hire out a lane to me sometimes (then we could use mask, snorkel, fins, etc.), but I'd want to do that with a buddy - so if anyone out there might be able to make it over this direction, and would be interested in doing the occasional session, do let me know!