Hi guys, i have few questions regarding freedivers courses. first off that i am already scuba certified and have been freediving in 20-35 feet my whole life but have never really tried deep water. i can hold my breath for 3:30 static (no breathing exercises) and i am not familiar with Apnea breathing exercises (besides what i have been able to learn off of the internet). i have found several level 1 courses in my area for around $350 and that's with the boat included. (though i would prefer to use mine) but i feel like i am more suited towards level 2 (being that i grew up in the water and am extremely comfortable in the water) not to mention i am scuba certified and lifeguard certified. would level 2 be too hard for me to accomplish?

the only reason i really want to do level 2 is because they guarantee you to be able to freedive like 100+ feet! i know for many that is average but for me it would be a dream come true.

Let me know what you guys think, or if you can recommend any good courses at an affordable price

Thanks!

Pm sent

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FLORIDA FREESHAFTER

www.e-searider.com/store
"Fish Hard-Ride E-Sea"

Hey Fiz, i did not get your PM. try again? if not you can email me at m.barthe0605@gmail.com
Thanks

Definitely Level 2. I had way less freediving experience and did fine in level 2 with FII. Either PFI of FII will be a good selection to fit your needs. I am partial to FII since that is the course I took. Good luck!

PFI level 2 right there in Ft Lauderdale is my recommendation.

Next one is Jan 14th, then April 14th.

C

I think there's also a level 2 PFI with a guy in Florida who focuses on spearfishing. I did the PFI level 2 and learned a lot but the biggest difference between just free diving and spearfishing is the weighting issue. I can't bottom hunt at 30-40 feet with the weights I used in the course.

Thanks guys, that was a big help

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the boards and am in the process of becoming a sponsor for spearingfishing planet. Talked to Chris today.

Hank thanks for the mention... that's me.

My name is Ted Harty and I run PFI Freediving classes in Fort Lauderdale. I worked for PFI for almost two years teaching with Kirk & Mandy and last year started Immersion Freediving to teach PFI courses independently. I keep the class size to a max of 5 people so no 20+ plus person classes. I also run the classes on my private boat. I hire a coast guard captain have first aid and DAN o2 kit. Because its my boat we get much more dive time as we are not dictated by the busy dive boat schedule.

Immersion Freediving PFI Intermediate class is $645 and had 3 boat trips. Boat trips are $60 and paid the day of the boat trip.


I shoot video at all my courses, here is video from my last class.



Feel free to give me a call at 954-324-4444 with any questions.

Here is a short compilation of video testimonials from my students in the last course.






Ted Harty
Founder of Immersion Freediving
www.ImmersionFreediving.com
US Freediving Record Holder

Just out of curiosity. what IF i have my own boat, and cover fuel, i find $60 per day to be quite expensive (especially if you use your own boat). i could fill your class at $500 per person. (4-5 people) on my boat. with a certified life guard on board.
the boat is a 35' marlin center console (or we can use my dads 45 hatteras.)
wudda ya say? lol

I would suggest you delete your post send him a PM, its not encouraged to publicly ask someone to lower their price, atleast on SFP.

__________________
FLORIDA FREESHAFTER

www.e-searider.com/store
"Fish Hard-Ride E-Sea"

Damn, i guess you haven't checked out the cost to take the class from other organizations. Personally i would refuse to teach you after being publicly accosted in such a manner.

Chris

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Chris Grauer- "To protect, promote, and grow the sport of spearfishing" www.spearfishingplanet.com

wow i meant no disrespect.

How do i delete my account?

You want to delete your account, because you didn't like my response?

If you didn't mean any disrespect, just delete your offensive post maybe offer an apology. There's nothing wrong with trying to negotiate a better deal, just do it in private. The business owner needs to make a living, if he cant make a living then he won't be around to teach anyone else. From what Ive seen his prices seem very reasonable for what he is offering. Just my .02

Chris

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Chris Grauer- "To protect, promote, and grow the sport of spearfishing" www.spearfishingplanet.com

I do offer group rates if you have 10 people, and pay in advance. For larger classes I will use Sea Experience and their boat fees are similar to mine.

My next three PFI Intermediate courses are as follows

Fort Lauderdale, FL March 15-18, 2012 (Full)

Fort Lauderdale, FL March 22-25, 2012 ( 1 spot left)

Fort Lauderdale, FL April 5-8, 2012 (3 spots left)

Please feel free to call me at 954-324-4444 with any further questions.

Hi Guys and Gals:

I have been Diving and Spearfishing for 44 Years, but always with SCUBA, except Viet Nam in 1970. I can do a Static of 2:30 no Problem but really would like to Take a Course. First of All do you think I am Too Old to Pursue this? Second, I am really stoked to give it a Try!! Bruce

Couple of things regarding age,

The US National Record holder for static apnea is in around 75. The record is around 7:30. I've been told he can dive in the 200ft range.

I've had 55 year old guys doing 115 ft dives.

In my mind is not about age its about fitness. As long as you are active and could be in the water for 2-3 hours you'd be fine.

Your static apnea is already good, in fact it was better than mine before I took the course. When I took the course I had a 2 ~ 2:15 breath hold. The first day I did 4 minutes and the second day I did 5 minutes. All very typical of what we see in the Intermediate Freediver program. The average student does a 4-5 minute breath hold and a 100ft freedive. I have a short Freediver program which is 2.5 days as opposed to 4 days. In the Freediver program the average student does a 2-3 minute breath hold and a 60 ft freedive.



Here is a video testimonial from a student, that took the course recently. He was a scuba diver converted into a freediver. One of my favorite pastimes.

At the end of march i will be a FII level 1 instructor in the Orlando area. I will be offering classes as soon as April. PM me if anyone is interested.

Hey frenchy I'm taking a course march 20th from Mac's dive shop the instructor is super cool and he's the first one to teach around the area. Price is 275 but if u add the student kit plus trip it comes out around $400

That class is level one (more or less advanced snorkeling), and It also doesn't say who the instructor is.

SSI is a SCUBA SCHOOL (SSI = scuba schools international), not a freediving outfit.

I would be very reluctant to take a freediving class from someone unless they are offering a PFI or FII course. Ted at Immersion is teaching a PFI course and the cost is for an intermediate class. Ted was one of my instructors at performance freediving and he is an awesome instructor. I have also heard great things from my peers about FII.

Freediving instruction is serious stuff, don't risk your life to save a few bucks

Another thing is you need to ask more questions: the macs class has a 1/2 day of open water diving. On a half day, I doubt they are going to take you out to blue water (unless the water is clear in close) or out to depths where you can hit a personal best.. you'll probably be in 60 ft or less. So if you go into the class hoping to break 100ft, that will be hard to do if the boat only takes you out to 60.

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www.donkeypatrol.com

Thee freediving education market is exploding in the US, which is great because gives more choices to consumers.

When I was a scuba instructor and people would ask me about who to choose for scuba I would give them the same advice I'll give here.

Many programs offered on the market are very different from each other, so a direct comparison is difficult until you have all the info. I would ask how many hours in the class room, how many hours in the pool, and how many hours in the ocean. Clearly more is better as you have more opportunity to learn.

For instance, my entry level course has 6 hours of classroom, two 3 hour pool sessions and two 3 hour ocean sessions and takes 2.5 days. I'm not aware of any program that has that much time, which is I think my freediver program is one of the best, but clearly I"m biased

The other thing I would look into is the instructors background. How long have they been teaching freediving, how many students have the taught. I would try to avoid being a new instructors first students if possible. What is their freediving capabilities. How deep can they dive, do they compete in freediving competitions, do they have national records, world records etc..

Lastly if the class is going to be large, ask questions about the assistants as they will be your teachers as well. Who will they be, and what is their background. They will be diving with you on the lines looking out for your safety and providing feedback on your dives, and are just as important as the lead instructor. Also ask what is the instructor to student ratio. You don't want one instructor and 8 students.


The bottom line is the freediving education market is growing and that's a great thing. The more safe freedivers the better!

Dive safe

__________________
Ted Harty Founder of Immersion Freediving
PFI Instructor Trainer, PFi Advanced Freediving Instructor & US Freediving Record Holder
All classes max of 5 people and I personally teach every class at Immersion Freediving
Call 954-324-4444 and I will answer any questions.