They float on the surface, breathing slowly, focusing on the bottom and slowing down their heart rate by 100..90…80…70…60 beats pre-minute. A final full breath and thrust downward, kicking slowly with big stiff legged kicks, relaxed and trying to minimize exertion. They reach the bottom and glide along at twice the speed that they could with scuba gear and the feel a part of the environment. Soft, smooth, serene, peaceful is how freedivers describe their experiences. A euphoria they can get only from this activity! And they look breathtaking as they are doing a dive!
I have been increasingly infatuated with the sport of freediving since starting to scuba dive. The beauty of watching the diver descend with nothing more than a mask and fins, then dive deeper than some recreational scuba divers go is absolutely mesmerizing. I watched countless videos on you tube.
There are actually several different ways to freedive, with fins, without fins, with a line or without, among others. There are world records held by men and women diving to depths of over 200 meters! These freedivers hold their breath a long time…no not seconds, MINUTES! Tanya Streeter won an Absolute World Record in 2002 doing a no limits dive to 160 meters and did it in 3 minutes 26 seconds! What a great athlete Tanya is, holding a number of records in this sport. You can find all the record holders in each class on the AIDA’s site (International Association for the Development of Freedivers).
I am going to put it on my list of goals to take a freediving class.
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