Nothing terrifies a freediver more than round numbers. A 59 metre dive? Not a problem! 60 metres? Oh, that’s deep…
Freediving is so often referred to as a sport that is more mental than physical and many athletes develop tricks to manipulate their own minds when they are uneasy about a dive. Freediving instructors have a very similar repertoire of tricks that they use to manipulate, put to ease or in short ‘mind fuck’ their
“But isn’t that dangerous?” I get asked all the time when I tell people that I freedive. “Not at all,” I tell them as I try not to sigh. Or at least, not for the reasons they think it is.
What people seem to think is most dangerous about diving deep is running out of oxygen. But ‘blacking out’ is the least of our worries. Once a diver has depleted enough of their oxygen and falls unconscious there are still several minutes before the onset of any kind of brain damage. And believe it
When a competition nears freedivers become paranoid about getting sick. I take more vitamin supplements than my body knows what to do with and at the sound of coughing while I walk down the street I instantly hold my breath and move fast until I’m out of the contamination zone.
Convenient breath holds like this are one of the many perks of freedive training. I haven’t had to deal with the smells of a public bathroom for years! Flatulence too isn’t a problem…as long as I know
In the blue hole in Dahab, Egypt there is a huge cave opening that looks out into the ocean 55 metres down. It’s called ‘the arch.’ Many freedivers use the view to motivate themselves to dive deeper and seeing it is a milestone in the freediving world.
I had been in Dahab, diving deeper that 55m for 2 months before I made a point to look at it. Formations like stalactites drip down off the rock, back-dropped by infinite blue water. It was stunning. But