Help with Choosing a Freedive Course and Agency

[SubCurrent]

Hi,

Even though I've been diving my whole life, I'm definitely new to freediving. Bottom line: I want to find a training agency and course that doesn't cost $400 dollars or more, plus requires me to travel great distances.

Backstory: I grew up on a lake in South Florida so I was always in the water every chance I could get. I never pushed myself deep or did really long dives even though later, I found out the lake was about 40ft deep. I easily could dive that, even using just snorkeling fins, which is allI had at the time. It took me a little while to take the plunge and move the next level: Scuba Diving. I moved to Jacksonville, FL and was PADI certified in 2007 and currently have about 80-100 scuba dives under my belt. My current certification is Advanced Open Water Diver and Nitrox. Then I moved back to South Florida.

As I researched and dove further into the sport, I came across two other types of diving: spearfishing and freediving. The camo look and the higher quality gear prompted me to get some my own equipment in 2015. I've always had a passion to explore the water as an underwater photographer would, shooting with a camera instead of a speargun. I plan to continue my training at a later date when I have saved enough to for the Rescue course and my own side-mount gear, with one exception. I'll be sporting two-piece camo suit, low volume mask, and freediving fins. My goal is to get a Solo Diver Certification card so I can go out whenever I want, where-ever I want. And to be perfectly blunt, every scuba diver should know how to be self sufficient instead of relying on their buddy to get them out of trouble.

And let's face it, freediving gear is just made better, period because it's all about diving fast and efficient, conserving the most air possible. Scuba divers would be fools not to follow this logic. The suits are warmer, the fins are more efficient and you can get modified carbon/fiberglass fins that are shorter for more penetration dives, if you're into that. Plus, that camo look is so damn cool looking.

SWEEEET!

Currently,I have open-cell 3mm black spearfishing two-piece suit, a 5mm 2 piece camo suit, weights, omar rubber belt, Aqualung Sphera and snorkel, Cressi 3000 LDs, as well as dive socks, boots, and gloves, basic dive flag/float, bag/backpack and of course, dive lights.

If I had to classify my type of diving whether with a tank or freediving, I'd say I'm an Underwater Urban Explorer. I once found an old 1970s style Taxi sunk in the back of a small condo in a retention pond. Also, the bottom topography of a lake or waterway can really transport you back in time and reveal how that system was built, not to mention all the sea critters in the nooks and crannies. I could spend hours just looking at the little things. I once saw a tiny sea horse at night. So I like to explore wrecks, submerged structures, fish, coral, etc, just as a scuba divers usually do, but with freediving vs a sidemount rig on my back.

At midnight, I was swimming in a lake with a colored waterfall in the center and it turned on while I was diving. I just watched it from underneath as long as possible in awe.

Imagine looking up at that underwater.

So I guess I'm not your typical diver but I like it that way.

I'm only interested in learning the safety aspect so I can be safe freediving with a new buddy. I don't have any interest in spearfishing or hunting nor do I have any desire to improve my bottom time freediving or getting into competition/dynamic/static apnea and training. I can always decide later if I want to pursue more advanced freediving courses. If I can dive for 1 minute or so safely, I'll be happy. I'm looking for a Safe Freediver and Intro to Freediving course, if that even exists.

What concerns me is I've talked a couple of instructors and DeeperBlue members who are all telling me the same thing: a freedive course pushes you to your limit and works with you to improve you breathing and safety so you can dive deeper and longer. This includes FFI courses which seem to focus on going deeper and deeper, longer which each level. You learn how to dive using a line down to your pre-determined depth limit and you hold the line going back up, with your buddy watching you for the last 5 or so meters to surface. How wonderfully interesting! If I planned on every going deep or long enough to get even remotely close to blacking out, I might discipline myself to do it.

In saying that, I REALLY need to get some things off my chest so I can relax again so please bare with me. The following is not meant to offend anyone. Enjoy...

I get being all "one with the water zen-thing." Believe me, I'm a big fan! I rest frequently at the bottom or hang in mid-water just because I like to feel weightless.

But I seriously digress this type of supervision and training. Following a line to the depths, not the bottom and going back up again is so boring-sounding to me. And these photos are to convince me to get into freediving???? It looks like a Yoga class underwater. Plus, the guy in that 2nd pic has something VERY STRANGE sticking out of his private area. I don't even want to know...

OMG... OPEN YOUR EYES!

NO LIGHT, NO CAMERA. MEH.

No, I don't care if you're trying to improve my breath hold time, if you hold me down like this...

....or this

YOU'RE GETTING PUNCHED!!!!




So as Wendy would say...

...DON'T &%#$ WITH ME.


Okay, I'm calm now. Back on topic.

I'd like to find a course that will do what I'm wanting to accomplish and leave out all of the hardcore, freedive, competitive, breathhold/apnea training that I'm not interested in. So I have no desire whatsoever to do any of that, though I think it's important to know one's limitations and how to be safe in the water but it will be on my terms. Also, I'm hoping there's a course that won't cost me a fortune since I'm only asking for the safety essentials. I know there's a spearfishing only course that focuses more on being safe while diving rather than apnea training. But again, I do not spearfish so it would be a waste of money unless the course was tailored to specifically to remove that and focus on exploration instead.

I don't expect to find any buddy until I have at least gone through the basics of freediving training so I can be safe, if only for my buddy who insists on pushing themselves to the point of blacking out.

Yeah, if I want to be down longer than a minute or so, I'll use a Hookah. I see many spearos using them as an alternative to heavy scuba gear. What I don't see is a level of backup in case the Hookah suddenly stops working...

So if you've managed to read this far down the page, I want to thank you. By now, you should understand what I'm looking for, the type of diving I want to do, and which training and agency would be the best relative to my area.

I'm calling to all the experts and experienced divers to guide me. I'm greatly looking forward to reading your responses. Until then, I wish you safe and happy diving!

Thank You Again,

Sub

 

[REVAN]

And let's face it, freediving gear is just made better, period because it's all about diving fast and efficient, conserving the most air possible. Scuba divers would be fools not to follow this logic.

I agree! You will be probably be interested in the article I have coming out here on DB regarding diving performance for scuba divers. I encourage you to look for it in the next week or so.

I'd like to find a course that will do what I'm wanting to accomplish and leave out all of the hardcore, freedive, competitive, breathhold/apnea training that I'm not interested in. So I have no desire whatsoever to do any of that, though I think it's important to know one's limitations and how to be safe in the water but it will be on my terms. Also, I'm hoping there's a course that won't cost me a fortune since I'm only asking for the safety essentials. I know there's a spearfishing only course that focuses more on being safe while diving rather than apnea training. But again, I do not spearfish so it would be a waste of money unless the course was tailored to specifically to remove that and focus on exploration instead.

This spearfishing course that focuses on safety more than performance may be your best bet. The requirements for hunting and photography are really not that much different. The guys I know who like to photograph marine life while freediving are basically doing aspetto diving with a camera.

IMO; When it comes to being a safety for your dive buddy, it doesn't work unless the vis is so good that you can see the other diver at the deepest point in his/her dive such that you can follow them and be there for them when they come up, or unless you are diving on a line where you know where and approximately when they will be coming back up. For a lot of diving, people are on their own. If you don't know where your dive buddy is going to surface, how can you be a safety diver for their ascent? It is a problem, presently without an adequate solution, which is why so many people are still dying. A freediver recovery vest can help, but they are not without their own issues.

For you, my suggestion is to freedive where it makes sense, and if you need more time on the bottom than is comfortable doing without supervision, switch to scuba with a minimalist dive rig that still allows you to swim and explore without being overly restricted in your mobility. Scuba divers don't have issues with SWBO.

Ron

PS - The static coach is not holding the diver down in those pictures. I think the first pic was the coach trying to relax the diver's neck muscles during breathing contractions (personally, I'm hands off once the diver takes hold of the poolside), and the second is just holding/controlling the diver's position so they don't float away from the competition zone.

Static training is useful to learn how your body works in apnea and to know what things are likely to affect your abilities and performance for when you do other types of freediving activities. Statics have the least number of variables that affect performance, so the biological factors are more easily identified through static training.

 

[J Campbell]

Even though you don't want to, I think some initial freedive training is beneficial. Learning to press into a long breath hold will teach you a lot about your own body, what CO2 buildup feels like, contractions, hypoxia. You need to be very comfortable with these feelings when you dive in real water. You need to know what impending blackout feels like. After you have trained for a while you can drop the training - and just dive.

 

[SubCurrent]

Mark, I completely and respectfully disagree with you. Because I'm not pushing the limit anywhere near close to blacking out or learning how to ignore my body's natural urge to breathe in the first minute, I maintain a safety margin. The danger is when you ignore your body's signs.

FYI, after talking to an instructor, I have decided to take the Level 1 course. Despite the hype of learning how to go deeper and stay longer, that's not what I'm into. And according to the instructor, it's not really the focus of his course, it's optional. The main requirement is to be a safe and component diver for yourself and buddy. Even if I didn't hold my breath for more 30 secs and went down to only 10m, that wouldn't have any baring on me getting certified. It's the safety aspects I'm interested in and that's what he focuses on instead of performance freediving instruction like Ted Harry's course.

Like I said, I have a different mindset. I'll never be a competitive freediver or probably go below 60ft without tanks. But don't worry, I'll be there to save you from drowning after you blackout from being down too long. [emoji4]

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