Newbies come together

[Seal]

Well I read that Umberto Pelizzari doesn't pack. So it might not be for you, I have the same problem, it expans my lungs tho, I can pack 1 litre or more, but it doesn't provide extra time.

I just pack to expand my lungs. Besides I find packing pretty useless when diving in the sea. But hey that's just me.

 

[Rax]

Translation of article in swedish

I am a newbie too. First of all I can translate the swedish article. It really did not say to much. There will be an extensive investigation and more info might be available later

Maybe Monkeyman has some more info.

"Young diver died in the Gullmarsfjorden (That is the deepest accessible water in sweden, it is the only true fjord in sweden, located at the swedish westcoast, if I remember right it is up to 130 m deep and you can easily access atleast 70-80 m, I was there doing scuba a few times in the late eighties and the visibility was quite poor)

A young man 20-years old died monday night while diving in the Gullmarsfjorden west of Uddevalla.

Five persons where diving close to the ferry lina at Skar, Bokenaset.

Three of the divers where doing scuba while two, one man and one woman did freediving. Suddenly the woman found the man floating motionless in the water. She called for help and one of the ferries stopped and brought the victim aboard.

First aid and CPR was started and continued in the helicopter transport to the hospital in Uddevalla, unfortunately the divers life could not be saved.

The man was an experienced diver. The police will investigate what happened but does not believe it was a crime. "

 

[Rax]

I have been like a water mammal since I was a kid. When someone lost something in the river I was called and usually I found it. When our anchor got stuck and my daddy could not manage I did my first variable weight dive as maybe 12 years old. I just took our spare anchor in my hand and went down.

Later on I took up scuba here in sweden. My training was under the CMAS organisation that at least at that time had extensive training. We did 5 months of freediving (2-3 hours once a week) in the swimmingpool before we could try air for the first time. I was in very good shape after this training and my best memory from the next summer was when I caught flatfish with my hands in 10-15 m of water. I caught maybe 15 in an hour at the swedish westcoast.

Later on I continued scuba diving, worked for the swedish Meteorological, Hydrological and Oceanographic institute doing scientific diving. 4.5 years ago I moved the Philippines where I did a lot of scuba and a lot of snorkeling. Anyone interested I can recomend a few very nice dive sites.

Now I am back in sweden and will study for a few years. Since my economy will not be too good I thought freediving would be something for me. The more I read about it the crazier I get. I definitely need a monofin soon. If I had found this forum I had probably switched to freediving years ago.

 

[Seal]

Hi Rax! and welcome to the forums.

Well it sounds like freediving is really something for you. I just started doing it again, after having blown my ear drum 2 years ago :duh And it is the biggest thrill, it gets very addictive.

Funny with the hand catching of flaties, I just tried and got 6! They don't seem to suspect anything when they are covered with sand Well I let them go anyways, I have plenty in the freezer.

Just keep posting, the forum is a bit slow. Cya around.

 

[Rax]

Thanks Seal. The trick with the flaties is to be negative and hoover down on them with no movements. Do not move your hand until you touch them. I used to catch many more flaties than my scuba friends did with their knifes. I figured out that this was because they did not manage to be cool. With a knife they always did a fast move the last 20-30 cm. and very often lost or injured the fish.

I also had some ear troubles the last few years. It developed while living and scubadiving in the Philippies. I guess dirty warm water in combination with warm air and humidity that never allowed my ears to dry up was my problem.

The big thing seems to be that it takes lots of time before your ears are ok and resistant again. I mean they might be ok in a few weeks but it will take a long time before the ear can manage what it could before.

 

[Seal]

Yes I would like to hoover down on them, but the problem is they are at 4 metres only, and I only use 6kg lead, so that's impossible. But I won't hurt any fish this way, so ill just keep trying for fun.

About the ear thing, you are right, I tried diving after a month but my ear started ringing (tinitus I think) so bad that I had to quit. Well now it's fine again and seems easier to equalize than before.

 

[groats]

Hey, let`s not make this thread disappear!

I was in the pool the other day and got disappointed more and more eventually... My performance was terrible and i thought it might be because i maybe did not prepare correctly for the dives. I mean, I had a good day (statics in the evening were ok) so it must have been my prep. What do you do in the last couple of minutes before a dive? Do you make a big breathe-up before a session? How does it look like? I mean I`m talkin about some normal easy workout in a public pool we`re I`m not exactly looking for yoga and dodgy breathing sounds at the pool side as people look already stupid enough when I just arrive with my fins...

Thanks in advance for any help, dive often, groats

 

[OceanSwimmer]

Newbie checking in....

Hi everyone! It's taken me a while to post on this thread; I think it's a great idea!
--I'd have to say I got interested in freediving after a trip to Fiji in 2000. I've been thinking about SCUBA. I have to say I like to get out of the car (the coast is 4-5 miles from my place) and jump into the water without much gear= freediving. My 'training' for it has been roughwater swimming for the past 2 years. My goal is to enjoy the ocean and get to know the environment and inhabitants better.
In fact I'm leaving shortly for a swim with a group --so I'm happy this morning!
I find this site to be a great source of information just by cruising the topics...and the archives are good too.
There is much to learn.
Oh, and Groats, about the pool experiences.....I hear what you mean; when I first got my fins I swam in the pool here to get used to them b4 going into the ocean. Boy did I get some looks and laughter. Now I just don't care! Being prepared and comfortable with your gear is part of being safe.

More later, see you under the waves!

 

[ruddyduck]

I'm a newbie. Snorkled on vacations most my life, and just wanted to go deeper, see some more stuff. After a trip to Hawai'i last summer I started researching, bought some better gear, and began training. I never push it hard, and stay well within my limits. The training really pays off, and teaches me what those limits are. I hope to spear a few fish this year and get more comfortable at depth longer.

This is a great site ! I've learned a lot from these forums.
Ruddyduck

 

[FreeFloat]

Hi folks

Brand new person here.

I didn't know there was such a thing as freediving until after I tried a "scuba experience" day in March. The mask they gave me kept flooding and annoying me, and somehow breathing from the regulator just doesn't feel natural. So in researching scuba to find out whether my discomfort was "just me" or whether there are others in similar position, I discovered that diving ithout clumsy equipment actually has a name: freediving.

I think I'll have lots of fun.

As a kid, I always got sick and tired of surface swimming. Somehow I'm just better at it under the waves. I suppose in a way it's doing dynamic when as a kid you want to see just how many laps you can complete under the water before coming up to breathe.

Here in Kingston, there doesn't seem to be anything about freediving. The closest I can find is a group in Toronto and one in Ottawa. The group in Ottawa wants money to teach "freediving courses" (money is one thing I don't have enough of; any spare gets dumped into my sailboat, my other passion) and the group in Toronto seems obsessed with competition and record-setting.

What happened to just enjoying the water and diving because you can?

OK I'll quit whining and griping.

I just wanted to introduce myself a bit, and hopefully someone will offer me tips or advice, or a pointer on where in Kingston to find a like-minded buddy patient with a newbie.

 

[Static]

I'm the king of newbs I dont own a weight belt, hooded suit or free dive fins. I have been divin for a couple weeks now I say ocean Men on T.V last year and thats what got me into it but over the winter i almost quit. Because I hate pools so much My pbs r dryland static 2:50 (it was a lucky one) and the rest I dont know

 

[1 Tadpole]

Nice thread idea!

Here's my path to this point!

As a young kid I became interested in diving while watching Sea Hunt, Flipper and Cousteau on TV, whilst my dad was building a boat. Thanks to my nurturing parents they indulged me with a wetsuit, snorkle, fins and a mask and I had a try at it a couple of times during trips on the boat. Oh was it cold in Puget Sound! Always a restless mind [and body], I found other things to dabble in and the interest faded away. Far away.

About 15 years ago I took my first trip to Hawaii. My honeymoon. I snorkled in Hanauma Bay and the dive bug bit again. I looked into scuba after returning home but it was too expensive thus the idea faded as time passed, until I saw Big Blue a couple of years later! That started it. FREEdiving! Sans-tank and all the DC/BCD crap. To be reliant only on the air in your lungs. Simple. [yea right.]

I did some research and to my disappointment found nothing in terms of equipment or instruction locally. Job, relationship and a new found interest in mountaineering took hold. Mountains were nearby with plenty of peaks and opportunities to learn. Then came house, then came baby. Well, he's 5 now and finding time to get away to the mountains I love for a climb is pretty tough.

At 4 years old my son hopped into a pool last summer and loved it. Freediving came back into my thoughts as I played around the pool. The dreams I'd had at night in my younger days of being underwater and overcoming the urge to gasp for air then magically swimming free in the abyss came back.

Last fall I mustered the time and cash to venture up to Vancouver B.C. Canada and take a course from Kirk Krack. Whoa! What a rush! I hadn't been in a wetsuit in open water since I was a kid. It took some time to get comfortable but I loved it. Kirk, Mandy Rae, Performance Freediving and the freediving community in Vancouver are a tremendous wealth of talent and knowledge. At the end of the course my static PB was 4:00 and I'd reached a meager depth of 51 feet in open water. What a wonderful way to [finally] start freediving.

Unfortunately due to a few months of unemployment and a couple injuries I was unable to get back in the water since the course but now, healthy and employed, it looks like I'll be getting wet again within a week thanks to hooking up with Dean here in Seattle. Through Deeper Blue I've been able to reach out to find a few freedivers in my area, learn alot more about freediving from the depth of experience in this forum and converse with some of the giants of this sport. I look forward to the dives ahead, the knowledge I'll acquire and the people I'll meet in this pursuit called freediving.

Be safe. Be free. Have fun.

 

[BatRay]

I'm new to freediving too.

I swam a lot when I was younger, but somehow it was always more fun to swim below the surface than above it. Competition swimming was about speed, not about simply enjoying being in the water. That didn't last very long for me. This last fall, I took a scuba certification course and quickly discovered that it costs way too much for me. With the equipment I have I can freedive, and I find that more challenging and enjoyable than scuba, not to mention easier to afford. The gear costs so much less (I wish I had discovered freediving suits first ) and freediving is more concerned with the activity than the gear you're carrying. I wish I had more free time for diving, but I'm glad I discovered freediving and DeeperBlue...

 

[icarus pacific]

Nice stuff everyone!

Keep up the great dialogue.

 

[leaker]

Hello everyone. I havent actually begun freediving yet, but plan to very soon. I was intrigued when I read the June 16th issue of Sports Illustrated, which has an article "The Rapture Of The Deep" Its about Pipin and Audrey Ferrarras and her tragic death attempting the world record. Ive also been perusing these boards and reading up on a lot of different info. I live about 2 miles from Lake Champlain which has some decent depth so I will eventually plan to try some free diving there. For now though, nothing beats the feeling of holding my breath in my kids 3 ft pool in the back yard, LOL. So far my personal best is a 2:13, but at least its something to work from.

I hope to meet any great people here and learn a lot. This looks to be a very well run and organized site.

 

[Stephan Whelan]

Welcome to all new members and freedivers!

You're in a safe environment here to talk about freediving and you're watched over by our resident mentor for this forum - Sven (aka Icarus Pacific).

I'd like to just point out that whilst it's safe in here it isn't always safe in the real world.

When practicing FreeDiving - never dive alone and most certainly never hold your breath in the bath or swimming pool without someone observing you. My team and I want to see you continue to come back here and participate!

If in doubt, just ask in here and we'll get someone to talk with you or help you find a buddy in your local area.

Anyway - dive safe and don't hesitate to contact me or any of the mentors directly!

 

[bluecape]

Progress!!

Hi again all

I posted a few weeks back having just started free-diving, and am now nearly 2 months into this new sport which has become a great passion already! I am fortunate to already be on our local freediving South Africa list, and getting tons of advice and assistance from the freediving community and spearo's in SA.

Last weekend, after hanging around 4-7 meters for a month or so getting comfortable, I visited 13 meters for the first time on a series of dives. Average bottom time just 50 seconds, but enough to appreciate the new depth, new pressure, and learn to relax in the 'new zone'. Am currently running about 24 kilometers a week and doing some cardio stuff in gym to get fit, also starting pool training soon.
I am going to spend a day ( hopefully) with a great white shark expert in Gansbaai in 2 weeks to view from a cage, hopefully to learn more about the GW as I'm likely to be operating in his areas at some stage when I start spear fishing. Knowledge dispells fear, and I do know that the popular impression of the GW as a killing machine is not totally accurate! Will post pics from my first 'encounter' and story if anyone is interested.

Regards All

Jeff,.

 

[icarus pacific]

lemme drop in here...

Welcome and congrats to all on your current interest and PB's, (Personal Bests) I cannot stress, well, I can, the importance of what Stephan said a couple of posts to the North- that you do your learning under the eye of someone with at least as much skills as have you and preferably more.

Things to ask yourself before ANY attempts at extending your range and times are much like a pre dive for SCUBA- where am I? Who is spotting me? Where are the nearest med facilities, and how do I get there? Where's the phone?...

These are no bullshit minimums that you need to have answered fully and understood by everyone present before you even suit or breathe up. There are a lot of easier ways to get hurt than freediving, but the ramifications of any accident extend far beyond what you may realize.

 

[virgil]

Leaker,

Could you please post your impressions about diving the Champlain lake: visibility, temperature, sites and depth and access. I'm not to far from the place myself.
On my side of the border I dive quite often the St-Francois lake which is not deep (15m / 45' max.) but has fairly good visibility. Some wild curents too...
Memphremagog lake is another nice area although the visibility is not that good and below 10m / 30' is dark and very, very cold. Very deep too; probably more than 100m.
I'm very much a newbie myself; I started spearfishing and freediving last year and had lots of fun. Underwater hockey has been in my canadian winter survival strategy for quite a few years now; there's simply no better way to have fun at the pool!
Dive safe!

Virgil

 

[leaker]

Virgil,

I have not actually done any free diving yet. I am prolly going to try some later this summer, but first I need to get i better shape and get my static times up to an acceptable level. From what I hear, Lake Champlain is a very dark murky lake and also very cold. I not sure of the exact depths and what not. I have a guy that I work with at the fire station that does quite a bit of scuba diving so I may try to see if he wants to go out on the lake some this summer. If you are ever interested in getting together and doing some diving some time, let me know. As I said before, I am an absolute beginner, but it would be fun to meet someone else and actually try diving. Actually, if you live in Montreal, your only about an hour from Plattsburgh. Hope to hear from you soon.

Everyone else:

I think I may have scared some of your more experienced divers when I was talking about doing statics in my kids pool. Most of my static attempts are while I lay supine on my couch Whenever I do statics in my pool, my wife usually calls out times to me while I hold her hand. I would never try that alone. Hope that clears up some stuff. I have also started using the tables to improve my times. I am going to alternate them every day.

One problem that I ran into: I got a 2:13 at one point, but dont seem to be able to get more than 1:30-1:40 or so. Is there a chance that maybe that was just a lucky attempt? Should I be trying for bests almost every day, or should I keep working on the tables and give a shot at a PB about twice a week or so? Thanks in advance and sorry for rambling:duh