Yeah,

Until recently I've been mostly a scuba spearfisherman. Lately I've been exploring the palm beach reefs from the shore for freedives and having fun. Depths don't seem to be much deeper than 35 feet, if that, and I don't think I could manage any deeper right now. To be honest, my 30-35 foot dives have me touching sand and thinking about my ascent right away. I feel like I'm not getting any time on the bottom to wait for a good fish or a good shot.

Where should I go to improve my skills? The Maas book? No time for the 4-day performance freediving course in Miami right now, and to be honest if I could solid dives at 40 I'd kinda be happy. Any suggestions?

:toast:no mas:whip:

I would recommend to just keep diving as often as possible; bottom time will come with practice and comfort level. The more time spend doing it, the more relaxed you will be. Always try to dive with a buddy who is watching you; this will also increase comfort level and confidence. Rick

Nothing substitutes for time in the water with divers more experienced than yourself. Many times new people substantially improve from equipment changes or modifications. Proper weighting is key as is your form on your dives. Any wasted energy detracts from your depth and the duration of your dives. A reliable dive partner is also key. When you are confident that the person watching over you can jump in and assist if necessary it really helps you to relax and make the most of your dives. BTW while the Mass book is a good read and covers basics in equipment & techniques it will do little to improve your freediving IMO. You can read every book written on freediving but until someone who knows watches you dive it will be hard to figure out where you could make improvements in form. PS don't worry too much about depth...it will come in time....but don't sit out when others are diving the deep stuff. I have shot more fish from the top third of the water column than I care to remember. Plus it is always fun to tell the guys that are busting their ass scratching the bottom on long drops that you shot your big fish while breathing through your snorkel. :D Dive safe and Happy Hunting!!

spleen,

Spearfishing Planet is a great diving forum (thus far) with a strong emphasis on spearing of course. There is another established site that focuses on the sport of freediving called www.deeperblue.net and is a huge resource of information on apnea training. Many of the deepest freedivers in the world and previous world record holders like Eric Fattah hang out on the site almost daily. The list of names is huge and I could easly drop the names of twenty members who all dive to 150', 200', and 250'. It is a virtual library of information at your finger tips.

I know you stated a 4 day course doesn't really interest you, but the PFI course is still my recommendation. When I took the course my main concern was whether it would be worth the money. Simply the answer is yes. I personally was already an experienced freediver having been mentored by a gentlman named John Larson in Palm Beach in the late 80's but the PFI course was nothing shy of being a ladder to a whole new plateau.

.......but all of this is not what you asked. You are looking for assstance for eventually hunting down to 100' comfortably over time I assume. Read up on technique at deeperblue, download and use the Apnea Training Manager from the link below, and consider either taking the PFI course or finding a mentor to explain some basics to you.

http://apnea.cz/

Hope all of this helps! :)

What I found to help me alot is not finning all the way down. I fin some then let inertia take me past my negative bouyancy point then slowly sink down.

Of course diving helps alot and proper breathe-up.

Funny I saw this for today I hit 92ft. Not my best but my best so far this year. Its hard to get anyone out to practice with me or even watch me. But today I wanted to push the limit. I tried to hit a valley where I would have suspected it to be 120ft but I missed due to little current and hit 92ft on the slope.
I found that practice makes perfect. The main thing is technique. If you dont have the right breathing down or know how to relax then your not going to see much improvement. There are things you can practice out of water to get your body use to the uncomfortable feelings.
What I do is find the right weight so Im not too heavy or too light. I breath deep and slow, longer exhale than inhale. Just relax take a deep breath from the belly and go. I usually kick and then glid down to 40-60ft and just stay relaxed and not tighten up. Just have fun and enjoy what your doing, take in the sites. Take long smooth kicks and use as much of the momentum to your advantage.
Equipment is the biggest thing as well, especially fins. Sorry I dont have much info but I have no professional experience so I dont feel I should say what to do or what not to do. Just practice and have fun. Read some articles on techniques, breathing, finning, and relaxation. Hook up with a good freediving and learn from him. That is how I got most of my info.

Spleen,

40 was also the number that seemed to give me the same problem. Partly because, for many years I had never done any diving in water that was deeper than that. When I started diving with a few guys that could easily do 80' dives, I obviously wanted to be able to do that as well. My problem was, that I would hit a point where all of my instincts told me to return to the surface. I couldn't figure it out.

After having done a lot of reading on freediving physiology, I strated to get an idea of what was going. It was mostly related to sinus squeeze which caused me to lose focus and start to "panic". After realizing over this, I started push my depths little by little, with a spotter, and ending up coming up with a bloody nose a few times. After getting some medical advice on the situation, I got the sinus problems under control. However, after trying to reach 40, I still got that panic feeling.

After finally getting a D3, I really started paying attention to the depth and time. One day I was diving at a spot that was 50' with really poor vis. 3-4' tops. I started following kelp stalks to the bottom. The interesting thing was, that I could not see beyond a few feet, so I was not concerned about looking for fish on the drop. As I made my dive, I got "that feeling". I looked at my D3 and saw that I was at 38'. I also noticed that my dive time was only 18 seconds! Knowing that I could easily do 1:20 dives, I was able to relax. I went the rest of the way to bottom. After touching down, I looked at the D3 again and the bottom was 48'. That one dive changed everything.

I don't think my issue is related to equipment or weighting at all. I do notice that I can dive longer at 25 feet than I can at 35 or 40. It seems like when I hit about 35 I get a strong urge to take a breath that I just don't feel on a 25 foot dive. Could it be physiological? Maybe as I decend and my lung volume decreases due to the ambient pressure, does my body think it has less air the deeper I go? I don't think I psyche myself out over 10 extra feet; the deeper dive just *feels* different.

At any rate good advice about diving with other freedivers. I've kinda been doing this on my own so far these past couple months. Gonna keep my eyes peels for the next Palm Beach Freedivers meeting and see if I can make some connects there.

How long do you hold at 25'?

How long do you hold at 35'?


They should be about the same. I'm guessing your body isn't used to the pressure change or you are scared to go deeper which is causing you to panic. Its definitely psychological but perfectly normal being an inexperienced freediver. With time, you will go deeper only if you want.

How heavy of a weight belt is normal for someone that weighs 169 and is 5' 11? I never really have had a problem going down 30 ft with just all my gear weighting me down, but going past 30 how much does everyone use?

How heavy of a weight belt is normal for someone that weighs 169 and is 5' 11? I never really have had a problem going down 30 ft with just all my gear weighting me down, but going past 30 how much does everyone use?

you have to specify how thick your wetsuit is.

3mm

3mm

The only way to figure that out is to test it. the rule of thumb is neutral at 30 ft according to the PFI guys. But you adjust that depending on how deep you are and what you're doing.

I read a fe w years ago that a safe normal progresion is 10 feet every year until you hit your max comfortable working depth. when i read that i thought no way that's too slow. but over the last few years that seems to be about right, for me atleast.

Ryan

I use 6lbs with a full 3 mm. I like to be a lil heavy in shallow 35ft to 50ft so i add more than 6lbs and im still buoyant on the surface. its different for everybody but this should give a decent idea. You want to be neutrally buoyant at 33 ft

Spleen,

Let me know if you go out for another shore dive particularly during weekdays. I wouldn't mind tagging along with you and giving you a few tips that work for me. Make sure to take some time to relax as kicking out towards the reef lines can get the heart rate up for considerable time depending on your level of fitness.

Actually I was out last Saturday. Went snorkeling with my daughter and then took my brother-in-law out to the first reef for a look. Vis was maybe 30 feet which made it tough to pick up the reef when it got spotty. Plus, the ocean was literally swarming with pink moon jellies. We both got tagged a few times. I managed a 'go and a black, but it was work and pain especially for my newbie bro-in-law.

We'll get out soon when I can free up a week-day, maybe next week if/when the seas chill out.

I find that the deeper I go the more comfortable I feel as well...until I hit about 75' where I'm unable to clear anymore. That's when things go awry. I know it's the lack of air pressure in my lungs and my mask volume that it's attributed to. It is really mostly psycological. I wish I had the time to take a freediving class to perfect my skills.