going on a vacation soon

[winter_diamond]

hi guys! im going on a vacation to cuba soon (and yes, i know about the american thing) and i wanted to try free diving. You all have no idea how confused i am. I was reading thorugh some topics in here which got me more confused. if you have any reccomendations for which i should use open hell/closed and which companies? I was looking up the "cressi" company and i liked it, and then i read here thats it "cracks"?
and also do i have to go free diving in a special suit? can i just put on my swim suit, fins, mask and go diving? also i was sondering, a point of intrest, how do you "equilize" the preassure in a mask?

Thanks, any comments are appreciated
Alissa

EDIT
also, for the fins there are going to be reefs, and i think its called beach diving? so any reccomnedations for reef diving are good :)

[sasscuba]

Welcome to the board. Lots of freedivers here, someone will chime in soon.

[winter_diamond]

thank you for the welcome, and hopefully :D

[holdingmybreath]

hello alissa, welcome to the board. can I ask how you found this place to ask snorkeling/freediving questions?
All you need for freediving is mask, fins, and snorkel. cressi fins are tough as nails.. if you're looking at getting a good pair of freediving fins they are tough to beat... look at closed heel fins.. the long freediving fins (like the cressi gara's) are tough to travel with sometimes as they are about 1 meter long.
You equalize the mask by exhaling through your nose.. a snorkeling/diving mask will house your nose and your eyes.. not like swim goggles that only house your eyes. you have got to be able to equalize your mask if you are going beyond a depth of say 6 meters or so (depends on the mask.. some mask require much less equalization then others).
You don't need a special suit.. and if this is a one time trip and one time freediving excursion you really don't need any of the pro type fins, masks, suits, weights and belts, depth gauge/computer.. all the gear that we just love to spend our money on.. my daughters do real well with an el cheapo wetsuit, good fitting masks, and they prefer the smaller fins too.. they are comfortable getting to 10 meters or so and do not really freedive very often. A wetsuit is nice as it allows you to stay in the water nearly forever, but depending on body type (fat, muscular, toned, soft) a wetsuit may or may not be necessary.. more fat equals more retained heat and less need for wetsuit. Another option that my wife likes for the warmer climates is a dive skin which is just a lycra type jump suit, but keeps the jellies or other little stingys and the sun from bothering her.
You don't say where you are from in canada.. but there are some very active freediving clubs up there that I'm aware of that I'm sure would love to give you good direction if you are near them..
Fred

[winter_diamond]

thanks for the very thorough answer. I found this board by searching up difference between fins.
so the gara fin is a good fin or a bad fin? 1 meter fin sounds pretty cool to me....
more on the subject, is the longer or the shorter fin better for freediving? and what is the technical difference betweeb scuba diving and freediving fins? is the texture?

I would love to do freediving as a hobby, im just not sure if me and my parents can afford for me to go dive in a pool somewhere...
Im located in Richmond Hill, Canada. I have found a couple of clubs that offer scuba diving lessons, im not too sure about freediving. and some good directions to maybe clubs or stores would be lovely.
Im looking into the dive skin option.

Alissa

[holdingmybreath]

Richmond Hill, Canada....a Provence would help too...a anyway. the gara fin is good fin, but stiff. A longer fin with closed heel is better for freediving.. a scuba fin is generally a short fin, open heel (straps), may be split down the middle, and usually doesn't compare in efficiency to a freediving fin.. the composites that they are made of can be the same or similar. Lots of freediving fins to chose from that's for sure... Mares, Esclapez, OMER, Sporasub, Cressi, Picasso, just to name a few.

[5ata]

Hi Alissa...

Personal recommendations on Gear:

Cressi Minima Mask
Simple snorkel - no purge valves (I use a Picasso snorkel)
Fins - full foot pocket long blades - since you are new to this, get soft blades - I would recommend the Cressi 3000LD's - they seem to be resonably priced. Make sure you get the correct size and if needed, get a pair of 5mm neoprene socks if they are too big.

Wetsuit is only for extended periods in the water. Living in Canada, you will probably want a 7mm freedive suit - again, they can be had for a reasonable price. Take a look at Leisure Pro or diveINN as a source - the vast majority of LDS have no clue when it comes to freedive equipment.

Where is Richmond Hill??? If you're in BC, you have alot of resources available.

[winter_diamond]

Thanks 5ata for the great reccomendations! I live in Ontario, Richmond Hill. Each time Im not being specific enough...
Thanks holdingmybreath for the explanation, I've been wondering about that a lot and they dont have a good explantion online :)

Now, im going shopping :D

[5ata]

Alissa, contact Performance freediving - they can probably put you in touch with local freedivers in Ontario. http://performancefreediving.com

[winter_diamond]

Alissa, contact Performance freediving - they can probably put you in touch with local freedivers in Ontario. http://performancefreediving.com
thanks

[CJ Waid]

A couple suggestions:

Right when you get your mask, fins, and snorkle ( I have no suggestions on brands, I am a no-brand kind of guy, if it fits good, its cool with me )

But, I right when you get your stuff, go into water a little deeper than your waste, just deep enough so that when you go down onto your knees, your head will be underwater, or at least most of it and play with your gear in the shallows for a little while, it will make it a lot easier to advance your abilities once you are in open water.

I would try the following exercises, or skills, or whatever you want to call them:

1) Practice plugging your nose and blowing through your ears underwater, I would only do it once or twice, just so you aren't doing it for the first time in open water. Remember as you dive down, do this before you feel a lot of pressure on your ears.

2) go ALL the way underwater, so that your snorkle fills with water, and then come up so just your snorkle is sticking out of the water, and use the air in your lungs to BLOW the water out of your snorkle.

Use your tongue as a "splash guard", in other words use your tongue as kind of a guard to make sure only air passes by it, and no water goes down your throght. You probably will swallow some water, probably a lot at first.

Remember before you go under to have air in your lungs, so you will have enough air to BLOW the water out of the snorkle. Once you are good at it, little kids should mistake you for a small whale.

If you are having trouble blowing all the water out, Take a DEEP, as DEEP as possible breath... Use your tongue to make sure no water goes in your lungs, and take this breath very slowly, SLOWLY AND DEEPLY BREATH in THEN BLOW SUPER HARD... WALLA no water.

2) Go under water, with just the snorkle sticking out, and blow air through your nose, don't just exhale, BLOW the air out of your nose (try to blow only air out, no bugers, but bugers can be useful, I will explain in a minute)

This will not only help you to know how to equalize your mask, but it helps with the next exercise too.

3) Go under water, and fill your mask with water (I would close my eyes if you aren't use to salt water) and then
With your index fingers pressed up against the top of your mask, Don't press hard, just enough so that the top doesn't come off your face,
AND
Use your thumbs to take your mask away from your face
While you LOOK UP.... AIR GOES UP IN WATER, SO LOOK UP or it won't work
And BLOW through your nose.
This is how you Clear your mask, if any water gets in it... It is easier than having to take your mask off.

4) The BUGERS; Actually SPIT, but spit with a good loogie in it works best, spit into the inside of your mask, whipe it around with your finger, and then dip it into the water, ONCE, then put it back on your face. This is how you de-fog your mask. You can buy de-fogger too, and use that instead, but it takes the fun out of the sport.

5) With your fins on, swim around in the shallows for a little while, focus on becoming STREAMLINED, in other words, you water to be as horizontal in the water as possible so you don't start breathing heavy, because breathing heavy through a snorkle sucks.

The horizontal thing obviously doesn't apply when you are in a dive.

To dive I always bend my upper body down, and then kick my feet up, my feet go up in the air, then my body shoots straight down head first... But I know people dive differently, so people feel more comfortable diagnoly, I even know a guy that dives butt first, don't ask...

But it is a good idea to practice these skills in the shallows, if you ever start Scuba diving you have to know them anyway.