Premie from Southern California.
By premie I mean I'm not even a newbie. I've never been too much into water sports even though I've lived in Long Beach, California over half my life. I suppose the fact that my folks never went to the beach and then we moved to the desert for my teenage years it just didn't happen. I've had a sailboat and a canoe, and just last weekend bought a sit-on-top kayak.
Personal stats: 41 years old this Sunday, married, two kids- 5 & 3. Good life insurance.
Last month while camping along Bahia Concepcion in Baja California I borrowed a mask, snorkel, and fins. Even without a wetsuit you couldn't keep me out of the water. That was (almost) enough to convince me to quit my job and run away to a tropical reef. I want to get into more than just floating on the surface. I started looking for classes and trips but although it seems that SCUBA classes and combined class/trips are a dime a dozen there's almost nothing out there for freediving.
In the past I've done a lot of motorcycling and bicycling- then chosen to keep with bicycles; I've played around with powerboats before deciding to keep to paddle & sail; So for me I am much more interested in freediving than SCUBA.
For now I just want to start exploring the undersea
environment. Eventually though I definitely see myself putting some nice fillets on the grill!
So how to get started? My wife and kids are out of town from May 21 to June 9 so I was looking for an outfitter in Baja so I could combine safe instruction with a nice trip, but found nothing. I did find that Performance Freediving has a 2 day Basic class in Malibu during my time window. The price seems a big bite but it looks like I'm lucky to find a local class.
I guess my question is, if I take the class, will I then be at a point that I can find local dive buddies who are willing to help me along from there? With a job and two little kids my schedule (and finances!) are stretched pretty thin.
Thanks,
Jim
By premie I mean I'm not even a newbie. I've never been too much into water sports even though I've lived in Long Beach, California over half my life. I suppose the fact that my folks never went to the beach and then we moved to the desert for my teenage years it just didn't happen. I've had a sailboat and a canoe, and just last weekend bought a sit-on-top kayak.
Personal stats: 41 years old this Sunday, married, two kids- 5 & 3. Good life insurance.
Last month while camping along Bahia Concepcion in Baja California I borrowed a mask, snorkel, and fins. Even without a wetsuit you couldn't keep me out of the water. That was (almost) enough to convince me to quit my job and run away to a tropical reef. I want to get into more than just floating on the surface. I started looking for classes and trips but although it seems that SCUBA classes and combined class/trips are a dime a dozen there's almost nothing out there for freediving.
In the past I've done a lot of motorcycling and bicycling- then chosen to keep with bicycles; I've played around with powerboats before deciding to keep to paddle & sail; So for me I am much more interested in freediving than SCUBA.
For now I just want to start exploring the undersea
environment. Eventually though I definitely see myself putting some nice fillets on the grill!
So how to get started? My wife and kids are out of town from May 21 to June 9 so I was looking for an outfitter in Baja so I could combine safe instruction with a nice trip, but found nothing. I did find that Performance Freediving has a 2 day Basic class in Malibu during my time window. The price seems a big bite but it looks like I'm lucky to find a local class.
I guess my question is, if I take the class, will I then be at a point that I can find local dive buddies who are willing to help me along from there? With a job and two little kids my schedule (and finances!) are stretched pretty thin.
Thanks,
Jim
