Pool for training in bay area/silicon valley?

[moonshade]

Hi, I came to bay area from Taiwan last year. I am doing recreational freediving/snorkeling for many years (but no spearfishing).
I went to many great place in the south Pacific but the other side of Pacific is a total stranger to me.

Do you guys know is there a good place for training? I found diving masks and fins are not allowed in most of pools.

 

[TheBob]

When I wanted to accustom a (former) girlfriend to use of mask and snorkel, we took our gear to the 24-hour fitness pool a few times and didn't run into any problem. It's not at all deep, and only three double lanes, but there are a lot of clubs in the valley.

That was before I learned of freediving and took my FII Level I course; at this point my gear is mostly assembled and should be complete within 1-2 weeks.

Let me know when/if you are ready to dive and want a buddy, even for training. I personally recommend that you take a course before doing any serious freediving, my personal preference being FII.

Bob

 

[moonshade]

Let me know when/if you are ready to dive and want a buddy, even for training. I personally recommend that you take a course before doing any serious freediving, my personal preference being FII.

Bob

Thanks for the advise. I will look for fitness clubs. I thought the diving pool of Santa Clara swimming center is good but they don't allow fins and it's an outdoor pool. I took few courses in Cebu with Wolfgang. I think those organization with levels (ex. AIDA) are for competition instead of recreational/spearfishing. So I am not interested in doing further courses.

 

[TheBob]

Good luck.

For what it's worth, I'm purely focused on freediving for its own sake, no spearfishing, no competition. (No idea what the future holds, though, lol.)

What I like about FII is its focus on safety and skills, which are applicable to any freediving focus. Knowing about blackouts and loss of motor control is one thing, knowing exactly what to do about it is another... so I feel much more capable of being a useful dive buddy if something goes wrong.

I know that some organizations do focus on performance and competition, no slight intended to any of them... just familiar with FII and like it.

Dive well-

Bob