I think I speak for all of those present when I say that this weekend's Saltfree meet was fantastic! There were loads of divers on the platform and a really friendly atmosphere, as usual :). Here's a photo of Gary in 3D glasses, rummaging around in his kit bag for a harmonica (don't ask). We at Saltfree Divers are definitely not "up own chakras".
The sun was shining (sporadically) and the water was (relatively) warm! Tom's lovely girlfriend Silvia joined us on the platform as a spectator, and asked us lots of difficult questions. I got caught out by the obvious one: "why do you freedive?", which will be the title of a future blog post, since I really enjoyed listening to other people's responses.
I'm pleased to say that I made my first dive to 100ft this weekend! It was a really special experience and I was delighted that my AIDA** instructor Hannah was able to buddy me! Hannah's a great instructor and friend who has been cheering me on since my very first freedive - thanks Han :).
Happy pre-dive Hannah!
I've previously mentioned that there's the exiciting possibility of a competition setting for the 100ft Freedive Challenge. There's a huge difference between diving to 100ft on a relaxed August meet, and diving to 100ft under competition conditions in October so there are still many challenges ahead:
1. I get nervous. Really nervous. Shaky and nauseous and hyperventilating style nervous, which can't be good for freediving.
2. Fundraising. There's still lots of money to be raised before I meet my fundraising target, despite having flyered colleagues, pestered friends and approached local businesses...I even sent a press releease to the local papers! I was looking at the stats for this blog and realised that if the MS Society got £1 for every unique hit, I would have almost TREBLED my fundraising target. So if you're enjoying the blog, please donate a couple of quid to the MS Society! Go oooon...donation box is in the top right hand corner.
3. Equalisation. I've now reached the point where equalisation is my limiting factor. Between 30m and 33m, I can no longer equalise using Frenzel alone.
Team Smurf: Tim and Dave
One of the things I like best about freediving is that experienced freedivers will often help you out, simply becuase they love the sport. I'd already attended a workshop on Frenzel equalisation run by Mark at London Freedivers to help one of the regular freedivers, so I was confident I was already using this during constant weight dives.
However, once diaphragmatic Frenzel started to fail, I had little idea what to do next. Luckily, Dave King stepped in and explained to me the reason why I was now experiencing problems equalising. He showed me how to use mouthfill and Frenzel in combination and demonstrated how partial and full exhale dives can help to train this technique. Dave buddied me until I was doing the exercises correctly and made sure I had all the information I needed to use them safely. Thanks again Dave, if you're reading :). I'll be concentrating on equalisation technique and relaxation in the final weeks leading up to the official dive, so there'll be more on this later...
Harry and I "warming up"
I've also learnt lots by buddying the other freedivers. Safety diving is a real skill and thanks to the direction of Mike and Ryan I feel as though I've improved lots in this respect. I was privileged enough to buddy Ben Poole to a new PB this weekend - congratulations Ben!
Lest anyone think it's all PB's and no play at Saltfree, here's a run-down of the "recreational" side of things this weekend ;)
- A bottle rocket competition, judged by general consensus, with points for height, speed, and projection. Special mention to Tim, Gary and Ryan for their persistence and dedication to finding exactly the right technique... Video below.
There's loads more to say, but it'll have to wait until I leave my job at the end of this week and have time to write all the blog posts in my head! As usual, comments, tips and donations gratefully received :)
