By David Watson, AIDA & PADI Master Freediver Instructor and Owner & Founder at One Breath Freediving, based in Malta

Recently, during a shallower freediving session (that was forced on to us due to bad weather), I was diving down to the sea floor and just lying still on the sandy bottom playing with the sand in my hands. It was here during these breath holds that I was reminded of the importance of fun for freediving training. So for this blog post I wanted to discuss the concept of fun in sport and the importance of making practice ‘fun’, and how this can apply to freediving.

Freediving is a sport that can too often be overly focused on its end goals as a measure of success, as in “how deep was your dive?” or “how long did you hold your breath?”. Even at a recreational level it is still very easy to compare yourself with the person training next to you, or even comparing yourself to your own performance in the session you had last week. This ‘end goal’ focus can not only cause anxiety or increase fear of ‘failure’ but also as a consequence, reduce performance and decrease the positive feeling and sensation of the dive (which is why most of us do it in the first place, right?).

If we can try to recall our childhood when we played with our friends, maybe it was a football ‘kick about’ or a game of tag. There would usually be a winner overall but it more often than not, that that didn’t matter. The reason we played was for the joy of the play itself, not to try to beat our friends! To bring some of this fun back into adult sports can be very beneficial but at the same time it is difficult, especially to put our ego to one side. Having fun can increase physical and psychological health, releasing endorphins and decreasing stress. And what was the favourite word of us freediving instructors that we say to our students during the courses? .......RELAX..... This word is used so often in freediving that sometimes we can lose perspective of what we actually mean by it. Relax what? Relax how? Participating in an activity purely for the pleasure of the activity itself (with no end goals expected), can open up a doorway to new levels of relaxation due to the decrease in performance anxiety, (which creates tension and stress in both body and mind).

So what can this mean for our freediving training? It means sometimes dive off the line. Dive down to blow a bubble ring. Dive down to play with the marine life. Dive down and close your eyes. Dive down to look into a tunnel to see what is in there....just for the hell of it (exploration is FUN!). Sessions do not have to be about depth or times on every occasion. Playing and fun can distract from the breath hold and any anxiety (conscious or otherwise) associated with it. Hang and close your eyes.... Feel the sensation of the water on the skin... Try something new in the water with no expectations (no-fins maybe)! Or even like me, just lie on the seafloor totally engrossed with what small details or tiny creatures are before you on the sand, and this could provide you with a level of relaxation (and dive times) that simply cannot be achieved through force.
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Thanks for reading

By David Watson, AIDA & PADI Master Freediver Instructor and Owner & Founder at One Breath Freediving, based in Malta

If there is one aspect in the sport of freediving that gets the most overlooked by new freedivers it has to be ear equalisation. Many people start freediving expecting it to be the physical breath hold or mental capacity to deal with being underwater to be the most challenging aspect of the sport, and are often surprised when it is actually  equalisation of the middle ear that proves to be the challenge. Because it’s just as simple as pinching your nose and blowing, right?

Well not exactly. Firstly lets refresh and look at Boyle's Law as to why we need to equalise our ears during a dive. On an airplane you can get away with a simple blow against a pinched nose (or sometimes just swallowing!) to help compensate for the change in pressure in the cabin, this because the pressure change in an airplane is relatively very small. In scuba diving, the other place where you might equalise your ears, you can descend slowly, come to a head up position (which makes it easier), wait some time for it to work (and breathe!) before carrying on. In freediving we are descending fast in a head down position which makes the whole process more difficult if not done correctly or efficiently.

So here are the six most common mistakes of equalising for freediving that I encounter with my students as a professional freediving instructor:

1) Not being relaxed: 
Suddenly finding yourself upside down underwater and holding your breath is not conducive to being relaxed! Then trying to add another complicated skill (equalisation) makes things even more difficult.
Solution: Practice breath holds dry to get used to that sensation and the urge to breathe. Practice pool dynamics or statics to get used to that sensation in the water. Use muscle relaxation exercises to give you greater awareness of your body and how you hold it.
 
2) Descending too fast:
The quicker you descend the quicker you need to equalise. Fine if you are proficient at it, otherwise it can be hard to keep pace.
Solution: Slow down the descent speed, use the discipline of Free Immersion where you can stop or slow easier using the line. Remember that as you get deeper you will become negatively buoyant so will still descend without even kicking or pulling.
 
3) Using the incorrect or an inefficient equalisation technique:
FRENZEL technique (not VALSALVA) is the best method of freediving equalisation. Some people do it automatically, and some people need to learn it.
Solution: Learn Frenzel technique and figure out the best tongue position that works for you and how to control the ‘gates’ (soft palette and glottis). You can do all of this away from the water.
 
4) Not equalising frequently enough:
Freediving equalisation has to be done fast so you need to be ready so as to do it as often and as quickly as possible.
Solution: Keep your fingers close to your nose ready to pinch quickly when needed. Equalise in a rhythm pattern in anticipation of greater pressure coming up, not just waiting to feel pressure before reacting to it, which will prove too slow.
 
5) Not equalising the mask:
The mask often gets forgotten as an airspace and needs to be equalised via exhaling through the nose. If not done this can have a knock on effect to the ability to equalise the ears.
Solution: Exhale into the mask when you feel the pressure on the face increasing with depth.
 
6) Not training or practicing:
As with any skill, ear equalisation takes time to master. The control of the parts of the body involved does not often come naturally (who knew before how to ‘close your glotis’!?!). But practice makes perfect! You can’t expect to be good at something without practicing it repeatedly.
Solution: Learn and practice, practice, practice! Fortunately most ear equalisation training can be done dry so you can practice any time before even getting in the water. Doing a little bit of training every day will pay off greatly in the long term.
 
I hope this topic has provided some insight and will help you on your freediving journey! Of course the best way to learn a new skill is with an experienced freediving instructor that can observe and correct any mistakes and offer you correct advice and training solutions.

By David Watson, AIDA & PADI Master Freediver Instructor and Owner & Founder at One Breath Freediving, based in Malta

The snorkel has to be one of the most maligned or taken for granted piece of equipment in the kit bag of a freediver. It is great for buddying or extended periods of waiting, watching or relaxing on the surface, and although some freediving agencies and some individual instructors seem to teach freediving with little or no snorkel use, for me it is one of the pieces of equipment that can make the biggest difference to the experience of our wonderful sport, especially to beginners and relatively inexperienced freedivers. But, its correct use is not often taught it is just assumed that it is known!

​5 Tips for good snorkel use and control:

• Hold it loosely in your jaw, not clenched (there is no bonus for biting through it!) And let the tip of your tongue sit at the entrance to the snorkel mouth piece (between your teeth), to sense any water that enters before you inadvertently breathe it in
• Angle it correctly so it points up (not forward) when you are relaxing and lying face down on the surface before your dive. Turn more with your whole body if you need to look a long way to the sides. This avoids dipping the top of the snorkel in the water
• Always inhale a little more cautiously than normal and remember to keep the breathing slow and calm, using the diaphragm, with longer exhales
• Take it out the mouth during the dive! It is no use underwater and can in fact be dangerous to leave it in your mouth as it is a passageway for water into the lungs if you black out
• Use it! I often see people during the session, such as when putting on fins, and they struggle for breath and to complete a task when they could be using the snorkel to breathe AND be face down in the water doing what they need to do

By David Watson, AIDA & PADI Master Freediver Instructor and Owner & Founder at One Breath Freediving, based in Malta

Octopus is a company producing innovative freediving equipment, and is owned by Swiss freediver and designer, Pascal Berger. Best known for their high quality products especially the nose clips which have proved to be extremely popular, the Octopus line now includes lanyards, an equalisation tool and the newest product in the range, the pulling system.
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The pulling system is a smart product designed to allow you to pull up or let out the freediving rope in a controlled, safe and more energy efficient manner. Made from the strongest and lightest and strongest possible materials (including aluminium and carbon fibre), the first thing you notice is the size and the quality of the material. It is significantly smaller than other similar pully systems that are now on the market, and much more compact. The ergonomic triangle shape allows one handed, handling using a ‘trigger’ hand position as you release the line. Pull the trigger and the line flows through and release to let the tension stop the rope dead. 

To pull up you can put one foot on the carbineer (that the tool is clipped on to under the buoy), lean back and pull the rope towards you in a ‘left/right’ alternate pull. The great thing here is that with every release of the tension after each pull, the weight is taken back by the locking mechanism, allowing you to take a break every so often.  This is a huge improvement on the traditional bottom weight lifting method of climbing on top of the buoy and lying face down pulling the rope up, with no chance of a break and the potential of falling off / getting tangled in the line / swallowing sea water / losing your weight belt (as you get on or off), all of which I have seen happen or experienced myself!

Post dive maintenance is minimal and it is advertised as requiring very little care: “It is so resistant that you can just leave it hanging under your buoy. No real need to rinse in fresh water.” Says the marketing, and so far this has proved absolutely true.
 
PROS:

• Great energy saver, especially when pulling up rope from depth
• Small and compact and ergonomic design (one handed use)
• Very easy to adjust the depth of the rope up or down
• Added safety for deeper divers (250kg load capacity)
• Works with ropes 8-12mm

​CONS:

• Can pull off the rope length markers that are electrical tape
• Not so easy to transfer it between ropes
• Can make for a lazy freediver! :D  

​Final Thoughts:
A great addition to a freediving buoy set up. Very easy to use and requiring little or no maintenance, it is easy to have and forget about but adds a lot to the organisation of a freediving. Overall, a great solution for much easier rope handing for freediving training and a very well designed product.
 
The Octopus Pulling System is available now at One Breath Freediving
RRP: €50

We are super pleased to announce that One Breath Freediving has been awarded the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence for 2019 - the second year running!
A big thank you to all freedivers and customers that have dived with us, past and present. We could not have done it without you!
David

Freediving in the Maltese Islands has lots of wonderful features that make it spectacular; the stunning underwater visibility of up to 40m, the cliffs and caves that are prevalent across the islands, the deep blue colour of the water that is unique to the Mediterranean Sea. But one thing that really draws freedivers to Malta is the chance to dive on ship wrecks. Malta has a LOT of wrecks, some sunk by nature (storms), by humans (wars), or on purpose to create artificial reefs. The P-31 wreck falls into the latter category.

Since being purchased by the Maltese Tourism Authority and sank as an artificial reef attraction for divers, the P-31 now sits upright on the sandy seabed West of Comino( just South of Blue Lagoon and just West of Crystal Lagoon), approximately 200m from shore. The depth on the bottom here is 20m and the top of the wreck is at just 10m deep. In fact the P-31 sits so shallow that it was necessary to cut off the mast of the ship before sinking her so as not to obstruct boat traffic. The wreck can often be seen clearly from the surface when you arrive by boat and I have even seen it occasionally from out of the airplane window when arriving or leaving Malta on certain days! In the summer months you will see a yellow ‘X’ marker buoy above to indicate the wrecks position.
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Since her sinking, the P-31 has had to weather some rough storms as the prevailing winds on the islands are from a NW direction and sitting this shallow in the water means that waves and swell have had an impact, but considering that she has been underwater for 10 years already the wreck is still in very good condition. Before sinking she was thoroughly cleaned and made safe for divers. This means doors and hatches were removed and obstructions such fixtures, wires and cables were cleared out. There are a number of levels to explore and for a freediver it is normally clear and obvious which direction it is possible and safe to go in.

Monofin Training Drill:
Here Jose is using a kick board to help stabilise the upper body and a front snorkel to allow him to breath during the training exercise. This takes away the 'apnea' element away from this particular drill and allows him to focus on technique over breath hold while he adjusts to using the full sized monofin.

​How do you think he is doing?

The freefall can be one of the nicest aspects of depth freediving. The moment on the descent when you become 'negatively buoyant' and start to sink independently of effort. This of course has it's advantages, most prominently; saving energy (and therefore oxygen) and aiding relaxation (saving oxygen and facilitating ear equalisation).
So what is involved in a good freefall? Let's take a look:

• Correct weight: This allolws you to stop kicking at the correct point of the dive to start the freefall. Too light and you wont freefall early enough. Too heavy and you will waste energy on the ascent.
• Body position: Tucked in (elbows and knees), legs together, looking ahead (not down), and relaxed shoulders and neck.
• Equalisation: Remember to equalise! Use the movement of the lanyard or your fingers on the line to help judge the speed you are falling. Equalise frequently and before pressure is felt.
• Turn: With the correct hand position to turn, the momentum of the freefall can mean very little effort is needed to make a smooth turn at the bottom of the dive.
• .....and not forgetting..... The Way up!: Using POSITIVE buoyancy to finish your dive by stopping kicking in the last 3-8m  before the surface.

Those of you following One Breath Freediving on your social media channels will already know that I have been using the Paralenz dive camera quite extensively already, for both photos and videos, so for this review part 2 (part 1 is un-boxing and initial impressions),I wanted to look at it's use in the water. More than numbers such as pixels and frame rates, I wanted to discuss it's functionality and how well it works specifically from a freediver's point of view. 

Firstly, it's primary mount method that I have employed so far with the Paralenz dive camera has been the mask mount. For me this has been the most convenient as I am normallly using it while teaching or guiding. Once the mask attachment is threaded to the mask strap, you clip the camera on using the 'T-Rail' mount system that gives a reassuring double 'click' when properly secured.

The first thing you notice while wearing it in the water is.....that you don't actually notice the camera! Despite feeling substantial and solid when held in the hand, once attached to the mask I can honestly say that I forget that the camera is actually there. Being so non-intrusive is a huge plus for freedivers as we take in the water minimum equipment and definitely don't like things that create drag or resistance.

Functionality from this position is another massive plus. The feedback loop of vibrations of the camera unit, mean that you do not need to remove the camera (and mask) at all to know what setting you are in! For example, rotate the selector ring clockwise while turned on gives one vibration for video, two vibrations for camera, three for settings etc. And then long or short holds of the activation switch can start or stop recording or offer other functions. This creates a simple user and selector operating system and excellent hands free usability.

Now lets look at the quality of photos that Paralenz is capable of (for videos, check the OBF YouTube channel). All the snaps in this review were taken from the mask mount position, so just a reach to the side of the head and a short pull on the activation switch can give you some great photos. While primarily a video camera, the photos are surprisingly clear, sharp and lacking in distortion at the edges (as can be common for extremely wide angle cameras). In these photos I had Depth Colour Correction (DCC) turned on and Depth & Temperature overlay turned on. The photo above from 5m displays nice blue water and clear white logos on the wetsuit hood. The first photo handles the reflecting light from the shallow water very well and also created a shot that is not blurred or distorted from the divers movement.

Initial in water conclusions:

• Mask mount is very useful for hands free use
  
• Unit vibration feedback is a great idea and super useful with mask mount 
• Photos lack distortion and are very sharp
• DCC is perfect for multiple depth change diving (such as freediving)

Look out for part three of the test where I will review the features of the Paralenz App.

One Breath Freediving is now renting a full freediving set up (buoy/rope/bottom weights) as well as weights and weight belts, to certified freedivers (AIDA3 certified or above).
So if you are visiting Malta and want to do your own training and exploring, we can now accommodate your needs. Contact us for more information, or find the price list, here.