It’s a breezy, but sunny, Sunday afternoon at Cobalt Coast. A few holiday-makers are stretched out on sun loungers reading their Kindles, others are quietly enjoying lunch on the terrace.
In the pool, eight motionless bodies are floating face down in the water. Ten or so people are sitting around the pool watching, but doing nothing.
It would be a strange scenario to walk in on, if you didn’t know that these people were in the middle of a free divers’ static practice session.
The three certified free diving instructors at Divetech are building up a small club for those interested in this particular branch of diving, and the practice and mini-competition held last Sunday was open to certified free divers and complete novices. Divetech staff hope to hold similar sessions regularly.
The day started with an hour of yoga stretches, courtesy of Chantelle Cooper, designed to open the chest and ribs and calm the mind, in preparation for the breath-holding to follow.
Unlike scuba diving, where holding one’s breath is the worst thing one can do, free diving is all about holding one’s breath. There are no tanks or complex equipment involved because free diving is the purest form of diving – just you, one lungful of air and the ocean.
The world’s top free divers are achieving records that defy belief: the best can survive on one breath for more than 10 minutes and the deepest dives on a single breath have reached more than 600 feet.
But for novices, a static practice in the pool is enough to be going with. This entails spending two minutes ‘breathing up’ to prepare and then, taking one long, deep breath in, putting your face in the water and holding your breath until time is called. Each breath hold is slightly longer than the last, starting at one minute and 15 seconds, and working up to three minutes or longer.
While one could do the same thing sitting in a chair, it is best to practice in the water as the mammalian dive reflex is triggered when the face comes into contact with water. This reflex is present in all mammals, but in particular aquatic mammals such as whales and dolphins and, to a lesser extent, humans.
The mammalian dive reflex causes the heartbeat to slow down and the blood to stop circulating to the extremities, concentrating it in the heart and lungs, thus extending the time one can survive without oxygen underwater.
Following the practice session a small competition timed each contestant to see how long they could hold their breath, with the top scorer managing four minutes. It was an opportunity not only for those who have experience in the sport to practice their breath holding, but also for interested people to have a go and find out more about the course.
“Static breath holding isn’t actually part of the level one certification course,” said Emma, one of the instructors. “The course covers things like duck diving, dynamic breath holds (swimming underwater on one breath) and theory, pool sessions and open water sessions. The static breath holding is actually a little more advanced, but it’s good for everyone to practice it.”
At this time of year especially, when sea conditions can make free diving in open water impossible, it’s a great way to keep one’s hand in.
For more information on courses and introductory sessions, call 946-5658.
Related Videos
