Freedivers at 105 Ft Were Inspirational....

[CBulla]

Absolutely fabulous - excellent collage by the way, its a super great visual!

 

[james croft]

Very nice. Also really like the B/W pics.

 

[Sam Miller III]

"The blissed out, glazed over expressions make me wish I could learn to get that deep."

>>>FYI
Free divers/spearfishermen aquire the skill via practice, practice and practice. There are currently courses avaliable to the novice to aquire these skills with in a short time span.

Through out history women have traditionally been better free divers than men. One only has to examine the Koren Hae-no or the famous Japanese Ama and of course Audrey Ferreras (Pippins wife) who is no longer with us --for female inspiration.

However, it is interesting that most of the early free diving records were set by men. The first recorded record was set at 30 meters in November 1949 by Raymond Butcher , who at last report was still with us. The first American on the record books was the late Robert "Bob' Croft,(USN)who hit 64.6 in February 1967, 66.2 in December 1967, and 73.4 in August 1968. And the future? One would question where and when it will end.

Since the women have entered the free diving world in the last few years the records, both male and female, have been broken with regularity--Once again=where and when will it end?

"Wow..thats all I can say. What freedom, no gear, no deco...looks cool."

>>>what Freedom?
Yes very much so
>>>no Gear--
No so the freedive equipment is very specialized, therefore can be very very expensive especially when compared to Scuba equipment
>>>No Deco?
Please review the research accomplished in the early 1960s by the late Ellis (E.R.) Cross, the subject: "Taravana." Yes, Freedivers can and have often aquired treatable bends. It is aquired by repetive Free dives or a combination of Scuba followed by Free diving or Free diving followed by Scuba.
Free divers also are probably more subject to aseptic Bone Necrosis (ABN) than Scuba divers because of the number and frequency of comressions decompressions but this is to be determined
>>>Looks cool
If you say so..but always remember in freediving you are only recognized for a round trip-remaining on the bottom does't count.


Your pictures of the SERs in formation is outstanding!

SM

 

[Cacia]

Audrey Ferreras

so what did they decide about that whole deal?

Nice shots Kurt...the Eagle Ray is a cutie.

yea, I am gonna work on this freediving stuff....I have some Cressi fins that are fun.

Really really fun to watch ya'll.

that most of the early free diving records were set by men.

never, never underestimate the effect (affect?) of testosterone on the brain.

uh...like that music on your myspace, Kurt.

 

[Ol Dirty Diver]

The music is meant to inspire me to get a haircut. "The mullet is why people hate you..." Haha.

Kurt
http://www.myspace.com/oldirtysurfer

 

[5ata]

"The blissed out, glazed over expressions make me wish I could learn to get that deep."

>>>FYI
Free divers/spearfishermen aquire the skill via practice, practice and practice. There are currently courses avaliable to the novice to aquire these skills with in a short time span.

Through out history women have traditionally been better free divers than men. One only has to examine the Koren Hae-no or the famous Japanese Ama and of course Audrey Ferreras (Pippins wife) who is no longer with us --for female inspiration.

However, it is interesting that most of the early free diving records were set by men. The first recorded record was set at 30 meters in November 1949 by Raymond Butcher , who at last report was still with us. The first American on the record books was the late Robert "Bob' Croft,(USN)who hit 64.6 in February 1967, 66.2 in December 1967, and 73.4 in August 1968. And the future? One would question where and when it will end.

Since the women have entered the free diving world in the last few years the records, both male and female, have been broken with regularity--Once again=where and when will it end?

"Wow..thats all I can say. What freedom, no gear, no deco...looks cool."

>>>what Freedom?
Yes very much so
>>>no Gear--
No so the freedive equipment is very specialized, therefore can be very very expensive especially when compared to Scuba equipment
>>>No Deco?
Please review the research accomplished in the early 1960s by the late Ellis (E.R.) Cross, the subject: "Taravana." Yes, Freedivers can and have often aquired treatable bends. It is aquired by repetive Free dives or a combination of Scuba followed by Free diving or Free diving followed by Scuba.
Free divers also are probably more subject to aseptic Bone Necrosis (ABN) than Scuba divers because of the number and frequency of comressions decompressions but this is to be determined
>>>Looks cool
If you say so..but always remember in freediving you are only recognized for a round trip-remaining on the bottom does't count.


Your pictures of the SERs in formation is outstanding!

SM

Freedive gear isn't more expensive than scuba - ok - so I paid over $200.00 for my glass composite blades from Eastern Europe, but when compared to all the gear one has to acquire to scuba dive - freediving is cake.

One can purchase a Cressi Minima, basic J-Snorkel and Cressi Gara fins for less than $200 USD total from LP. Add a freedive specific wetsuit, gloves and neoprene socks, and you maybe gome close to the the cost of a dive computer (mid range at that)

Never ceases to amaze me the assumptions bubble blowers make about freediving - I teach it, I live it, I shoot video while freediving. It's not just down and back. Besides, if you are going to dive deep, you typically are competing anyways. Recreational freediving is completely missed in the scheme of things - dive to 10 meters with a digital camera, line up a shot, capture it, then maybe get one or two other shots, then ascend. When the day is done, you have no deco, noheadaches of rinsing gear, etc.

Freediving is truly freedom, but not for the current crop of poster children that the dive industry represents after what I witnessed at DEMA. If you don't train regularly, forget it.

 

[Thalassamania]

I really like the B&Ws, don't see enough of that these days, esp. from the tropics (I assume they're color you're going to B&W in post processing?). Great shots.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Cliff,
No arguement! but good equipment does cost $$$, either for bubble blowers or freedivers..


Put a good spear in to the mix, like Alexander + arrows, points a second back up gun, rigging and money will add up very very fast. One must also take in to account the rapid advancement in spear technologies. Few use Sampsons, Bottom Scratchers, or even a five year old Riffes, who has introduced the concept of planned obsolence to spear guns.

May I suggest that your check the "Millennium Free dive Party" list of honorees as the the "Fathers of freediving and spearfishing" check number 43 as I recall. Perhaps the Acknowlegement page in Terry's book "Freedive!" Or if you have a copy of the 15 year old "Whos Who in Diving. " ----I think you may find a name you have seen somewhere on this list.

I am certain that we understand each other--even though several generations and geographical distances seperate us..

Good luck with your filming and writing,

SDM

 

[chepar]

wow - look what I've been missing by only cruising the Hawaii forums - I've got a bit of free time and a glass of Knob Creek - I've got to get around more.

excellent pictures.

I'm admiring/envious of these freedivers - something I'd love to try, but with my ear problems, it's doubtful. I watch a lot of the Skin Divers show on OC16 - and wish that I had that kind of skill.

 

[Ol Dirty Diver]

It's interesting, the debate between whether freediving or scuba diving is more expensive. Who cares who is right, but I do feel like defending that freediving is becoming VERY costly for me. One thing is that most scuba divers are not competing in any way, while it is a typical goal of any freediver to keep going deeper and to hunt larger fish. This promotes constantly purchasing newer and nicer "toys". For instance, I am about to drop the following on new freediving gear:

• Falcon C4 carbon fin blades - $270
• Effesub Black Blade open muzzle 110cm speargun - $175
• OMER XXV Gold (carbon) 90cm speargun - $190
• Effesub stainless dive knife - $40
• TOTAL = $675

And this is all at subprof.com prices, which I'm guessing are not far above wholesale. The normal retail prices of these things would easily surpass $1000. BTW, yes, I do NEED all of these things!

Here's the ultimate example: my new freediving watch, the Liquivision F1, is worth $800!!! Now tell me, are there any scuba watches that cost that much?

So the moral of the story is, don't switch to freediving because you think it's cheaper! However, it definitely is more convenient, among many other advantages it has over scuba diving.

Kurt