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By David Watson, AIDA Instructor Trainer & PADI Master Freediver Instructor and Owner & Founder at One Breath Freediving  “Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time — past and future — the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”
Eckhart Tolle
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By David Watson, AIDA & PADI Master Freediver Instructor and Owner & Founder at One Breath Freediving, based in Malta Dahab on the Red Sea Sinai coast of Egypt has long been home to a thriving freediving scene. Let’s look at ten good reasons you should visit as a freediver this winter! 1. Blue Hole: Visit the famous Blue Hole of Dahab which has 100m deep water just metres from the shore (see photo). Here you will find some of the world’s top freedivers training alongside the stunning scenery of the deep blue water and mountain back drop. 2. Tropical Water: The red sea is the closest tropical water to Europe and it is very different to the Mediterranean Sea with much more colours and corals. Here water temperatures range from 22c-30c, so even at its coldest in winter, it is still much warmer than the nearby Mediterranean at the same time of year. 3. Winter Sun: Dahab is lovely and sunny! While Northern Europe gets rain and darkness, Egypt is still a lovely 18c-28c which is perfect without feeling like it is too much. And being in a desert region there is virtually no rain. 4. Depth: Very easy access to depth for deeper freediving. The bay where Dahab sits is sheltered from any wind and gives depths of up to 50m just metres from the shore. For depths over 50m, the Blue Hole is just a short taxi ride away. And all with no thermoclines. 5. Social – Lots of Freedivers!: Dahab has to be one of, if not the only, place in the world where freedivers are not greatly outnumbered by scuba divers, and to talk to someone about freediving does not have to involve a long explanation about the sport (“No...... not cliff jumping”).  Dahabs Blue Hole 6. Chilled Out & Friendly Vibe: Unlike the more touristy parts of Egypt or North Africa, Dahab has a slower and more relaxed vibe. There is less hassle and a much more relaxed atmosphere than many other parts of Egypt, such as Sherm el Sheikh. 7. ‘Finding Nemo’: Naturally, as the water is more tropical, so the marine life is more colourful and there are lots of colourful corals and fish to see. A favourite at recreational freediving depths are the numerous Anemone Fish (Nemo fish). If you are really luck the turtles in Dahab bay will come over to say hello. 8. Multi-Sports: Dahab has to be one of the few places in the world that is good for both freediving and kite surfing. With a prevailing wind from the North, the main dive sites remain sheltered while giving enough wind to make superb windsurfing and kite surfing conditions. Not to mention scuba diving, rock climbing, trekking....... 9. Bedouin Camp Hospitality: The Bedouins, the nomadic people of this region of the world, are extremely friendly and always offer wonderful hospitality. There is nothing better for an evening than sitting under the stars next to a camp fire with a cup of sweet Bedouin tea in your hand. 10. One Breath Freediving: In winter One Breath Freediving will be providing high quality and customised freediving training and courses from Dahab. Expect the same high standard just in a different location! So if you have seen Malta and want to experience somewhere different, this is definitely the place to go next.
There can't be many places as alluring and iconic to freedivers as the Blue Hole in Dahab. With imposing, barren mountains just metres from deep blue water and a kaliedoscope of colours amongst the corals on the reef with every shape and colour of fish possible, it is a truely beautiful place and draws freedivers from accross the world.
A natural submarine sinkhole, the depth within the hole is 100m and just outside, on the reef's edge, the depth reaches over 1,000m. A sheltered location and lack of current just metres from shore means that this is a wonderful place to train for freediving. One Breath Freediving will be conducting a Training camp in in Dahab Egypt in January and February 2019. Enquire for further information.  We have been training hard recently and on a visit to the Blue Hole I managed a new PB of 44.6m Free Immersion. I was still able to equalise at that depth so there is potential for more PB's soon!
Now I just need to shift this head cold so I can get back in the water......  A new Personal Best for Lyndsay in Constant Weight Diving - (Finning down and back up). A depth of 32.1m! Great effort, keep up the good work. Tomorrow we go to the Blue Hole, should be a great day.
After over a week out of the water with an inflammation of the middle ear, Lyndsay, and me also, are really looking forward to getting back into the sea today! The conditions are a bit more windy than the previous few days, but a relaxing snorkel along Eel Garden Reef will be a great way to get back into it, and give us chance to play around with our cameras.
Finally the wind has died down after what seemed like weeks of relentlessly strong wind which made the water choppy and a bit uncomfortable. Today was beautiful conditions and great visibility out at Lighthouse dive site, Dahab.
Lyndsay's Level 3 course was going wonderfully (Dynamic 75m PB!) until suffering some inflamation to the middle ear after FRC mouth-fill training :-( So unfortunately it will be a few days resting out of the water for her, but no doubt she will be back stronger than before! Tomorrow.......... BLUE HOLE and a bit more depth training, not to mention the chance to snorkel at 'El Bell' (video coming soon?!?). Speaking of videos, check the YouTube channel for the videos uploaded only yesterday and today: www.youtube.com/user/onebreathfreediving I hope you enjoy them On this blog you can find out all the up to date information of what we are up to at 'One Breath Freediving'
Currently we are in the water in Dahab, Egypt training for ourselves and also completing courses. The sun is shining and the water is warm, so it sure beats January in Northern Europe! We will keep this blog updated regularly with our freediving goals and achievements and any other interesting goings on in our time here. Look out for videos and photos too which we will put on this website or our YouTube channel. Welcome to the underwater world.........on a single breath.......... |
AuthorFind out what the One Breath Freediving team is up to with the latest posts on this blog page. Archives
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