Almost exactly a year ago, I jumped on a boat for a scuba dive. What was different about this boat, was that it usually carried freedivers out to sea, but we were a group of bubble blowers. After chatting to the skipper about Aliwal, Umkomaas, sharks and the ocean in general, I thought it would be a good idea to book a friend for a shark snorkel experience on this boat. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had a swim with sharks. In fact, I intentionally go looking for them when diving! So I was excited to share this experience with friends. On that dive, something shifted. We got in the water with just the basics. Masks, fins and snorkel. The water was warm and clean and I had never really seen Aliwal from this perspective.
In the beginning I didn’t really know where to start or what to do but a fellow freedive friend said, “just go, they will show you”. Over the next 12 months, I would keep coming back to Wetu Safaris and slowly started falling in love with this new way to enjoy the ocean. I started stumbling upon other freedivers on social media who were not only incredible divers, but just pretty cool people. On each dive, I was meeting these people. People I admired from a distance and secretly wanted to learn from. When I first met Libby Meyer, I fell in love. Watching her dive was beautiful. When she extended the offer for me to join her next course, it was a no brainer.
The course follows the Molchanovs education program.
In this introductory course, you learn the basics of freediving and discover your natural freediving ability. You are taught techniques to hold your breath beyond a minute. Topics include physics and physiology of freediving, an introduction to freediving equalization, relaxation and breathing techniques, and rescue and safety procedures. You are also taught to freedive to a depth of 12-20 meters in open water.
The dive conditions were touch and go on the morning of our first open water dive. The ocean isn’t always clean to the bottom. Cold, nutrient rich water is pushing to the surface causing what is known as an upwelling. The dark water can be scary, but it’s the ultimate energy base in the ocean for large animal populations higher in the food chain. We were reminded by this when a friendly black tip shark circled us for a few minutes before moving on to find something more interesting. It was testing trying to complete new skills in rough conditions. But the reality is that you won’t always have calm, ideal conditions in real life situations. We all got the nod of approval from Libby that we had successfully completed our skills.
Freediving offers us happiness from nothing more than a single breath of air.
-Natalia Molchanova, 41x World Record holder and 23x World Champion freediver
We shared a few laughs over pizza after passing the exam. I’m officially addicted to freediving and it won’t be long until I start Wave 2 training.
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