Looking back on the year that past.
It’s taken me some time to put these thoughts onto paper. There was a huge amount of transformation work for me last year. I intentionally carved out more “me time” and that meant going back to the stillness of the sea. Back to the depths I’ve always been drawn to.
The year started off with signing up for my Level 1 Molchanovs freediving course with Elizabeth Meyer. I had stumbled upon the world of freediving the year before and after almost 13 years of blowing bubbles, I wanted to learn how to hold my breath. Freediving seemed to consume me… I was obsessed.
February was my first time visiting Sodwana and feeling like I had found “home” for the first time. I can’t believe that this underwater paradise has been only 4 hours away! I’d always heard that it was great for diving, but with Aliwal being so close, I never made the effort! Until some good friends talked me and the hubby into joining them for a short weekend visit. An experience that I will NEVER forget was the encounter swimming with wild dolphins. My friend and I were the only two people in the water and it felt as if time had stopped. The local dollies circled us, clicking and squeaking as they looked us up and down. This is not an experience that I can explain and do justice to, you have to be in the water to understand the magic.
I returned to Sodwana in May to host a Retreat. The weather conditions didn’t agree with our plans, but we turned into a great weekend anyway! Luckily my ocean-wife and I decided to head up a day early and enjoyed some sun in the shallow rock pools before the rain came through.
In August I celebrated my birthday with Cake By The Ocean (I bet you can hear that song in your head now!) The beautiful people who I share the ocean with literally bought me a cake that we ate out on the ocean!
Falling even more in love with Sodwana Bay
I made another Sodwana trip for the Freediving Festival hosted by John McCarthy – Ocean Child. Anyone with an interest in freediving, regardless of your level of experience, should make the effort to join this festival. It’s a weekend of like minded people getting together to learn, play and explore. The festival takes place towards the end of the annual migration of Humpback whale season. The whales make their journey north from June to July. Once they drop their calves, they then turn back to head home to the colder waters of the Atlantic. Having the sound of whale song vibrate through your chest while diving into endless blue water is something I will hold dear in my heart for a very long time!
Wanting to improve my breath hold fitness, I joined the Hurricane Squad in September. The squad is made up of a group of underwater warriors. After telling a friend about my first drills with them, her immediate response was – “Are you training to swim into war!” Without a doubt, this hypoxic swim training elevated my ability freedive. Sadly, only a few months into training with Wilma and her squad, she broke the news that she’d soon be leaving for New Zealand. The training didn’t stop though! Mermaid Thalia stepped forward to continue the training and while she’s away for the yachting season, I put my hand up to keep the drills going. Although I’m shattered that I only got to met Wilma shortly before she had to leave, I’m grateful that I did! The pool time has been a game changer.
At this point, it started feeling like my days of bubble blowing were behind me… but I jumped at an opportunity to join some scuba divers in a hyperbaric chamber to raise funds for the facility at St Augustine’s. The dive profile was set to 50m depth. We played with balloons to see the real time effects of pressure and got the narcosis giggles when we reached “depth”. We even got to take some “party packs” provided by DAN.
In less than 10 months after qualifying for my Level 1 freediving course, I smashed out the skill requirements for Level 2 in October. All the time spent in the pool paid off!
Also in October, I participated in a 24 hour dive relay hosted at uShaka Marine world in partnership with SAAMBR and SANCCOB for International African Penguin Awareness Day. The initiative was to raise awareness for African Penguins and ocean conservation. Taking part in the relay meant that I got the opportunity to sleep over in the aquarium!
November and December ended off the year with diving just about every opportunity there was to go out! If the weather was good and the launch was confirmed, you best believe I was on the boat!
The big lesson for 2022 was “go with no expectations”. I wasn’t sure what the year had waiting for me, but in hindsight, it was pretty incredible.
I followed the path to freediving with the intention of wanting to have more close encounters without the noisy bubbles. What this sport has brought into my life is so much more than just swimming with ocean animals! At the risk of sounding cheesy, freediving has changed my life. It brought me new friends, it’s taken me to new places and taught me that I’m capable of more than what my mind believes. Not only have I had the most beautiful moments at sea, I’ve also learned to better understand my mental state and how to quiet the mind. So often it’s the voices in our heads that are our biggest limitations. So here’s to 2023 and the ocean adventures that are waiting to be shared!
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