Diving on a Single Breath

What is freediving?

Freediving, also called breath-hold diving or apnea, is the sport of diving underwater without the aid of breathing apparatus. Unlike SCUBA diving, in which the diver carries a supply of compressed air from which to breathe, freedivers complete a dive on a single breath of air.

Why freedive?

Freedivers are drawn to the sport for many different reasons, including recreation, competition, and spearfishing. The freedom of diving without hefting air tanks can be quite liberating, and being able to explore the underwater world in silence (bubbles are loud!) allows the freediver to get closer to aquatic life without disturbing it. Competitive freediving is a fast-growing sport with several disciplines including time, distance, and depth. Spearfishing is a sport in which freedivers use their underwater skills to hunt and retrieve game.

My freediving story

I've been an avid snorkeler for several years, and while on the big island of Hawai'i in 2008, I learned how to SCUBA dive. While I love both snorkeling and SCUBA diving, I wanted a way to combine the gear-free experience of snorkeling with the underwater exploration offered by SCUBA. In October of 2008 I took Performance Freediving International's Intermediate Freediving Course with Mandy-Rae Cruickshank and Kirk Krack, world-renowned freediving instructors. This course was a great way to learn how to freedive safely and how to train for deeper and longer dives. Since then I have been diving recreationally with the Vancouver Apneists, and I have started competing in local freediving competitions.

When I started freediving I just wanted to get a little closer to the underwater life; I had no ambitions to go particularly deep or compete. After learning about the very interesting physiological aspects of freediving, I became much more interested in the human body's ability to adapt to greater depths. This has prompted me to become a bit more serious about freediving. I'm not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy pushing myself to improve my freediving abilities.