Learning on my own how to Freedive

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

swimmer_spe

Contributor
Messages
637
Reaction score
99
Location
Sudbury, Ontario
# of dives
50 - 99
I want to learn how to swim deeper and stay under longer.

I have decided that I will teach myself, as my current schedule does not give me time to take any courses locally, and I will be moving within 6 months to a place that is far from anywhere that does.

To ensure that I am as safe as I can be, I will not be weighting myself at all. I will also be wearing a 5mm wetsuit. Worst case scenario, I float up to the surface unconscious. I am not someone to takes any extreme risks, so, chances of that even happening are pretty slim.

To work on getting deeper, I will have a depth gauge on my wrist. I will also have a float with 50 feet of rope tied to a weight. I will have it marked off at 10 foot intervals. Once I can safely get to the bottom, I will get a longer rope.

I know, I know, I should do a course. However, since I cannot, any suggestions to help me keep safe and improve would be helpful.

Eventually, I will get better gear and some weights to make me neutral buoyant too.

Thoughts?
 
Don't trust the fact that you have wetsuit and no weights to be enough in case you pass out. Even if the suit brings you to the surface, you may stay there with your face in the water. Will there be any shore cover?
Don't get close to your breathold time limits in the water, do it on land.
A free diver recently died when he was practicing alone. The case was reported on the Accidents board.
 
I will be doing it at a lake that is popular spot for walkers and cyclists and runner along the shore.

In the lake, it is popular with all manner of small human powered craft and with other swimmers.

It is close to hospitals and easy to get to for an ambulance.

There is excellent cell phone coverage.

So, if someone was just floating on the water, they wouldn't be for long.
 
If you dont get a buddy your chances of drowning increase dramatically.

So, just like I was taught as a kid, swim with a buddy. Good thing I know of several people who would be more than comfortable being with me in the water swimming around, or in a boat. Either way, I will have someone ready to help me if needed.
 
Aside from the safety aspect, do you realize the considerable amount of energy you'll be wasting during dive-off, wearing a 5mm/no weights?

Even in freshwater, just getting off the surface is gonna be a struggle.
 
So, if someone was just floating on the water, they wouldn't be for long.

If you are facedown you will be drowned within 3-4 minutes. I highly doubt that anybody on shore or in a boat would be able to get to you in time and to initiate emergency procedures assuming they even knew what to do.
 
Bad idea all around.

Having said that, I used to regularly do 40 km trail runs in remote areas alone, and regularly dive alone, so I'm not really one to judge. But be aware that there is significant additional risk in what you are proposing.
 
Lakes are a real bad idea for freediving IMO.
We have a few lakes around here that I have scuba dove in. They creep me out 100 times worse than the ocean because of limited vis deeper down plus the unknown factor with fishing line and submerged trees and debris. As far as I'm concerned lakes are no place to freedive unless maybe they are a clean quarry that is set up for it with decent vis so you can see what's coming up. I don't know I've never dove in a quarry.

You are in Victoria, isn't that right on the sound?
Why don't you skip the lake and go straight to the ocean?
You're actually better off.
But do me a favor, please get a buddy to do this with. Read any book or talk to any veteran freediver and they will tell you, you only get one chance and it is a very short chance while freediving. Every dive has to be perfect by nature. You are only sustaining yourself on one breath and nothing can go wrong or else it's over. Freediving is nothing to play around with and needs to be taken seriously.
An in shape marine just perished in San Diego. We lose about 5 to 8 abalone freedivers a year here in Norcal.
And like I said before get a few good books on the subject and read up.
Please take this seriously.

And stop the trolls (if that's what they are), it's not funny. If they are not trolls then I apologize.
 

Back
Top Bottom