Freediving Training Course

[Manuel Sam]

For those contemplating taking a Freediving course, I just completed a 5-day course run by William Trubridge of Vertical Blue (do a Google search for Vertical Blue) in Long Island in the Bahamas and recommend it highly.

Will is an Apnea Academy certified instructor and until recently held the depth record for unassisted (no fins) constant weight dive. As has been often mentioned in this forum, a major asset of getting formal training is having the peace of mind of learning under the supervision of a competent person who knows his/her stuff and can get you out of trouble if need be. Will is an excellent instructor.

The course combined daily theoretical instruction, breathing techniques sessions, and in-water training (at least two hours per day).

The setting is quite neat since all in-water training is done at Dean's Blue Hole, which is over 600 feet deep, and is less than 100 feet from shore in a protected cove.

There are daily flights into Deadman's Cay in Long Island from Nassau. Preferred accomodations are at apartment houses just south of Deadman's Cay. The one I stayed at was $85 a night and was less than 10 minutes drive from the Blue Hole. The one drawback might be that you need to rent a car to get around - even the closest restaurant was a 30 minute walk.

 

[Rich (UTAH)]

Thanks for the info. I've been thinking about taking a freediving class, but not for the purpose of setting any depth records per se, but more along the lines of getting past what I think of as advanced snorkeling in the 20-25' range, where I am very comfortable, to diving in the 40-50-60' range and being comfortable and safe.

Do you think this class would do that? I typically hold my breath less than a minute, 45-50 sec range. Or would it be necessary to start at the 'beginner' level?

 

[Manuel Sam]

It should comfort you to know that I had basically the same goals and expectations. I would never envision myself doing what the people who are in it competitively are able to do - all that I am interested in and the main reason that I snorkel or scubadive is to see, photograph, and maybe interact with marine life.

As a snorkeler, the best I had done was 40 ft. and I had steadily worked on my resting breathholding capacity to over 4 minutes. You can do the same. So for my purposes, reaching 100 ft. was plenty good. It was still scary nonetheless, but what the course provided me was the level of confidence and the skills to be able to go a little beyond my previous 40 ft. without the fear that I might not make it back up. Beyond that, I feel that (1) I improved on some of my other in-water skills, which I feel will benefit my overall performance when freediving while snorkeling or when scubadiving itself - for example, Will was quick to point out my "lazy" flutter kick and how to fix it, as well as improve my dolphin kick; (2) I learned breathing exercises and techniques, which with practice, may allow me to get beyond 5 minutes of breathholding; and (3) I also learned what some of my other deficiencies are, such as perhaps my need to learn a hands-free method of equalization (Frenzel) as opposed to what I currently do (Valsalva).

I hope that the above answers your question regarding what the class will do. As far as which class to take, I would recommend talking to the instructor and asking him which class would be most appropriate for you.

 

[Rich (UTAH)]

Thanks for the reply, that really does help.

 

[holdingmybreath]

....nt out my "lazy" flutter kick and how to fix it, as well as improve my dolphin kick; (2) I learned breathing exercises and techniques, which with practice, may allow me to get beyond 5 minutes of breathholding; and (3) I also learned what some of my other deficiencies are, such as perhaps my need to learn a hands-free method of equalization (Frenzel) as opposed to what I currently do (Valsalva). ....

just to clarify, the frenzel is not necessarily "hands free", but the BTV is.. and for freediving you will want to for sure do something different then the valsalva. Remember the limiting factor in depth is always about equalizing, and not so much about holding your breath. Most do a 100' turn around dive with a breathold of just over 1 minute.
Practice, practice equalizing, because if you can't, you won't get deep.

You can get to very long breath holds without taking a course.. do a search for apnea tables, co2 or o2 tables and by using them you can get to extreme breath holds in short order on your own. As for getting to depth, a day with an experienced freediver will get you to your goals of 40-50' pretty easily. Be sure whoever you go with is versed well in the safety protocols for freediving.
of course, any class will for sure bring peace of mind to attain these goals in the water.