Diving Families

[JMD]

I second that Aquadog.

My five year old got his first mask and fins for christmass, and he's now a little fish.

The only minor problem he's had is that during swimming lessons he refuses to breath, just tucks his head in the water and goes... too much watching dad...

His mom is a good scuba diver / snorkler but I haven't been able to convince her to try freediving yet.. maybe this year.

 

[Calif merman]

Family diving

I lived in So. California and started freediving at the age of 12, my brother was 17, we spent almost every waking moment thinking of freediving and competed at holding our breaths for as long as we could, this obsession became contageous with two of my neighborhood buddies my age also became obsessed with freediving. We did this for 4 years till we were old enough to take SCUBA lessons. I was certified in 1963. To this day, I still enjoy freediving more than SCUBA, my oldest son 29, competes with me when we are together, and my 8 year old grand son swims with me in the pool at our local dive shop, where I can coach him on freediving. I now live in No. California and we live some distance from the ocean. I have 5 year old twins (boy and girl) that I am working with now, but at a very slow pace. My wife dosn't dive but she is very supportive. I am some what of an old school mentality, I make sure my family is very competent at freediving before they ever put a tank on. The family competition is healthy and safety is stressed, especially common sence and listening to body language!

 

[Gerald]

Considering that I have been freediving for 34 years it is easy to imagine that I spent a lot of time in the water all by myself. When I met my wife for the first time she wasn't that interested in freediving even though she likes all kinds of sports.

When freediving became popular here in Austria I had buddies to train with for a while. But less than three years later it was almost harder than before to find someone to hook up with. Encouragement was to follow from a direction that I least expected: my wife

After 15 Years of marriage my wife has also become my closest friend. She is still not interested, but she identifies with me in my passion for freediving.

In our summer vacations she is the only person that follows me into the water to spot me at the surface. Of course she cannot provide the security that is available when pro's dive together at a medical/technical level. But her presence gave me an inner tranquility that helped me to be more relaxed under water. I don't mind if someone is debating this, but I believe that a caring atmosphere may even prevent or at least minimize the symptoms of hypoxia, such as L.O.C, B.O's, ...

I watched Benjamin Franz, a multiple world record holder, train with his wife and his brother. When he was praised up, he was quick to set the record straight and point to his folks who helped him to achieve his goals.

One of the keys to successful education in freediving is a loving and caring atmosphere. It just makes sense ...