Freediving

This page is a compilation of all of my contributions to deeperBlue forum since July 2002. Because of many positive responses from other forum members, I decided to categorize my posts scattered all over deeperBlue forum into major subjects and make them available on my homepage. I want others to benefit from my experience of over 30 years of freediving.   Here are the responses of other deeperBlue forum members

Equalizing is one of the most important subjects in freediving because we feel comfortable at depth as long as we still "have air" for our ears. If we run out of air for equalization, we are psychologically convinced that we run out of air - period, i.e. no more air to survive.

Contributions of Eric Fattah on the internet, especially the THE MOUTHFILL EQUALIZATION TECHNIQUE have helped me to improve my maximum depth substantially. Have a look at Eric Fattah's Paper on Equalization

My purpose for this article is to complement Eric's document with a practical "down to earth" description, how someone like me with small resources (time, money, ...) and lots of responsibilities (kids, job, ...) was able to break his equalization-barrier by applying Eric's document without even being able to follow all the exercises prescribed in his paper.

I had the same problem as so many freedivers have! No air left to equalize my ears - and I have an urge to communicate how much the observation of this technique has helped me - because it is easy to learn.

Please don't worry if you don't master all the exercises as prescribed in the famous frenzel.doc. Personally I haven't managed yet to use my tongue as a piston to pump air against the roof of my mouth. Enlightening for me was the fact that every equalization without the help of the lungs will be useful to apply this technique , whether it may still be called Frenzel or not. What is so brilliant about this document: There we find more than most of us would ever need in order to go deeper. Even partial application (as in my case) helped tremendeously. Eric Fattah's document has great value and I would like to complement his work by explaining how it has helped me to advance from 40 to 50 Meters after relatively few tries from a "nuts and bolts"-perspective.

My description below is almost too precise for a general application. I would call it the "Frenzel Fattah Schmidt"-method. However I want any reader of this article to grasp the main idea - which is to shut off the connection between the lung and the mouth with the help of the epiglottis (German: Kehldeckel) and - based on that - customize their own technique

To re-explain Eric's method in my own words: you close the epiglottis and shut off the connection between your mouth and your lungs. As pressure increases you are pushing pockets of air into your mouth (squeeze them through your otherwise closed epiglottis). You begin about 15-20 mt before failure depth and continue to do this as long as you can. Failure depth is the point after which you would not be able to equalize with "conventional methods"

Actually a very simple trick

As You go deeper the pressure in your lungs will always be below the pressure in your mouth. Your closed epiglottis (Kehldeckel) will keep the air from rushing back into your lungs. This trapped air (your cheeks should be inflated) has to be pressed into your ears with your cheeks (not with your lungs!). It is absolutely important never to open the epiglottis (German: Kehldeckel) accidentally after closing it, otherwise you would loose the very air that you were trying to preserve for equalizing past failure depth . It will take a little practice in the beginning to move your cheeks for equalization while still keeping the epiglottis (German: Kehldeckel) closed. This is especially difficult in mountain lakes, where the water temperature at failure depth is always around 5° degree centigrade (41° Fahrenheit). Under these conditions the facial muscles are getting numb, and then it's getting really hard to move them.

My personal testimony

My failure depth used to be -35mt (couldn't do equalizations past that depth) allowing me to cheat my way further down to a maximum of -40 to -42mt, depending on my shape for that day. I did the first Austrian national record that way in Sardinia at the 2.WC in 1998. I wanted to go down to -42mt with the uncertainty to reach my goal - even though there would have been enough oxygen to go deeper! I am sure, many freedivers can identify with me in this situation. Fortunately I reached my goal that day even though my ears were bulged inward and were starting to hurt. But with the Mouthfill Equalization Method now I can equalize at a depth of -50mt without packing (=forcing extra air into the lungs by pumping it down with the cheeks) and with a "normal" Cressi Sub Super Occhio mask.

Reiteration

The most important thing is to close the epiglottis (German: Kehldeckel) and push air through it into your closed mouth (as if you would clear your throat). You should begin to do this 15-20 Meters before failure depth, in my case at a depth of 15-20m, afterwards it's too late. With increasing water pressure my cheeks collaps again, however I am still able to get little portions of air out of my lungs - in my case that would be between 20-28mt, where there is still enough air left to "refill" them. In a good, concentrated dive I should have my cheeks refilled for the last time at -28mt (in my humble case). From there I have no more lung support and "live off" the air in my cheeks. By this time I have already been equalizing with my cheeks for (at least) the last 10mt. I have to, otherwise I "loose" the air that is trapped in my mouth. It would escape through my open epiglottis right back into my lungs. (For "shallow" dives down to 35mt I don't even need that technique, in fact, here I can equalize freehand). It takes a little practice to fill the cheeks, use them to equalize the next second and then to refill them again. The greatest difficulty is keeping the epiglottis (German: Kehldeckel) closed while pumping new air into the cheeks and while pressurizing the air further into the eustachian tubes. Below approx. -28mt it is getting easier, since no longer I am pumping air into my cheeks, I am only squeezing air with my cheeks into your tubes. By this time I am already in a free-fall and can totally focus on my "cheek-equalization". Don't forget to prevent the air from being sucked back into your lungs - the epiglottis (German: Kehldeckel) must be shut at approximately 15-20mt prior to failure depth until You reach the bottom! It takes practice in the pool and also in deep water to keep that from happening. Sometimes I still loose air back into my lungs on my way down. Have patience with yourself and don't get discouraged, you will get over it!

A very reputable freediving-school fell short of passing on to me a proper equalization technique, instead they were vaguely alluding to a diaphragmatic move in a "relaxed" state. Which is fine when you live close to perfect training conditions all Year round. In contrast, Eric Fattah's - method is not only brilliant, but absolutely for free on the internet! Applause!! It allows me to improve on my depth inspite of having only 10 days of practice in a year(!). I am all for proper freediving education but we better make sure we ask people if they have clear concepts for teaching all subjects, including equalization, before we sign a check!

In Conclusion:

The application of the the mouthfill equalization technique is not limited to records or personal bests but also for reaching familiar depths with greater ease and comfort. Even if you only move with 55 m/ph along the highway it still makes a difference if you are sitting in an old beat down car or a in luxury limousine with air condition.

Packing (German: Karpfen)

To pump additional air into your lungs after they are completely full is called "packing". You suck in air the way you would drink from a straw, filling your cheeks, while you keep your epiglottis closed. Then you close your mouth and push this air down into your lungs. This can be done up to 20 to 30 times, but please be careful! A similar exercise may be familiar to those who have pumped down some air to be able to burp. The difference: the air goes into your stomach for burping, but into your lungs for packing.

During my last health check I used a spirometer to measure the effctiveness of packing for the first time. Immediately my vital capacity was increased by 800ml. It's definitely a good exercise for lung-stretching and neccessary for reaching the absolute limits, but it should be practiced very carefully, to avoid pre-dive blackouts (I watched a world-record holder having one recently!) and to avoid secondary injuries due to collapsing (from a standing position). I am not against packing, I only recommend to practice it under supervision.

I have found people complain at forums that packing didn't help them to go deeper. Is it of any wonder that I am absolutely fond of the the mouthfill equalization technique , also called Mouthfill Technique? What is working so well is not hard to advertize. This technique is so efficient, that I don't see a need to resort to packing for deepdives yet, even though I only have a "normal" lung capacity (5.5 l) and a Cressi Sub Super Occhio mask. A german idiom transliterated into english goes like this: trying to hit a sparrow with a canon-ball . In application: mastering the Mouthfill Technique (and using a small diving mask of course) will shift the "packing-zone" (the depth where packing becomes indispensable) to a much deeper level, a level that most of us will never have to be concerned about.

Empty lung dives

Empty lung-dives are a good warmup to stimulate the body into a bloodshift-mode without wasting energy for a subsequent maximum-dive. Due to them the pressure on the thorax will definitely come later (deeper) depending also on your daily shape. Fortunately I had to turn very rarely because of a thoraxic pressure, but very often because of unseccessful equalization.

Packing and empty lung dives are useful for lung stretching

Please consider: empty lung dives (negative dives) and pack-stretching are excellent warm-up methods just to prepare the lungs for a deep dive! This is an advice from the Australian national record holder, Walter Steyn: "I definitely recommend pack stretching , even if you don't use packing on the actual dive. After you have 'stretched', your maximum inhale without packing will be slightly more, or you can hold the normal amount with much less strain..."

Instead of fighting the pressure under water, why not letting it work for you? This is the philosophy to my customized BTV (Beance Tubaire Voluntaire or voluntary tube opening), facilitated by water pressure. I have been practicing this for decades!

It may take a few careful tries until you get the feeling. It is important that you strap your mask really tight to your face before you dive. Starting from the surface going down, just allow a little pressure to build up in your mask very carefully. While you ventilate the mask you take advantage of the pressurized air that is now escaping into your tubes (moving of the jaws facilitates the opening of the tubes). If you can equalize very easy by pinching your nose you should not have any problems with the "mask-technique". As you continue to equalize, the mask is kept away from squeezing your face and at the same time the tube is acting like a valve, opening up at every blow into your mask. This technique has helped me to go -30m/plus in unassisted constant weight (without fins) and has added a lot of joy to my freediving experience. However I am limited to a maximum of -40mt that way (with the last equalization around -36mt).

Important: You should feel some "resistance" in your mask, while ventilating it with your nose, otherwise you have to strap it tighter, but not too tight! It must not feel uncomfortable on your face.

For maximum dives I have to resort to the newly acquired the mouthfill equalization technique technique. How I was able to apply this technique successfully, even though I failed some of the exercises prescribed in Eric Fattah's famous document, You can read here

My main purpose was to reach a depth of -50mt just with my diving mask and a pair of fins. Right in the beginning I was awestruck when I least expected it: by the beauty of the Sinai desert. As I was flying into Egypt, even before touching the ground I was overwhelmed by what I saw from the plane.

Within 10km up/down the coast of Dahab there are approx. 20 interesting dive sites of which the last two in the north are by far the most interesting ones (and only 200 mt apart): "Bells" and the "Blue Hole". What makes the Blue Hole so special? I would say it is a place of pilgrimage for freedivers. Not only is it spectacular, but it's coral wall serves as a shelter against the wind and waves from the ocean. It is offering perfect training conditions almost always.

So far my personal best was -45mt done in October 2001 in Croatia and I have been freediving since 1969.

Because of perfect conditions (great buddies from germany, calm sea, good weather, I actually succeeded to -46mt, the next day to -47mt and on the last day to -51.2mt, right above the arch of the blue hole.

Interesting how I did my preparation for the last one: instead of meditating and turning inward, I decided to inspect the blue hole, measuring the visibility. I took my little dive line (has 1Kilo of led on one end and a plastic-bottle serving as a floating reel on the other end). Each 10 metre-section of this line has another colour. I wrapped a white plastic bag around the weight at the bottom and lowered it down until it got a foothold on a narrow ledge at -27 mt from where the white plastic was still visible! That was part of my preparation before I started my breathe-up! This seemingly silly little ritual magnified my joy over this incredible place. The only thing I was counting on for my record dive: pure joy . Joy must not be underestimated, it provides incredible strength!

Then I went to the big line that my german buddies had put up in the meantime. It went down vertically, right along the inner wall of the blue hole, with the weight dangling in the blue nothingness right in front of the archway that leads to the open sea (starts below -55mt). Another rope, that was anchored to a rock in the shallow corals stabilized our diving rope and kept it from drifting. Then I did my attempt. Instead of looking at the rope on my way up, I chose to look at the coral wall passing by me. That was not only awesome, but it helped me to survive the dive without the help of the rope and still coming up "clean". The Suunto-Computer showed -51.2mt. I still can't believe I went so deep, I thought that would take years to happen. Nevertheless, had I only done rope dives, I would have missed a lot there. I am glad I took the effort and time just to slide down along the walls of the blue hole in a wild and unpredictable course. One of the nicest dives of my entire life was right after my record. I followed my little line (that was parked at 27mt) unassisted (no fins). At the bottom I felt so comfortable that I continued to -30mt looking down to the next ledge somewhere around a depth of 50mt.

One day I was diving with tanks at the lighthouse reef. SCUBA stations are very strict and don't allow people to scuba-dive without a guide. (Maximum depth: 30mt!) Because of my Brevet*** (3 star CMAS) licence I had the liberty to go by myself and take a buddy with me (was very cheap too!). During this dive I saw the greatest grouper ever: length: 1 Meter (depth: 40 metres)

The transport to/from the dive places afforded us breathtaking views into the Sinai desert and also across the Gulf of Aquaba towards the mountains of the arabian desert. The first reflected each sunrise, the latter each sunset in a spectacular, almost indescribeable way, taking on hundreds of different colours during the transition. (probably Ayers Rock in Australia has the same phenomena). I hope some of the pictures that I posted on my homepage give at least a remote idea of what I saw.

Room and board was incredibly cheap: (2 Euros/night for accomodation, 5 Euros/day for food). Dahab is still a place for trampers and hippies, although they slowly prepare it for mass-tourism. Pics from my "hotel" are also posted!

To sum up everything: I went there to pursue a freedive-goal and I returned in total awe of the beauty of creation around the Sinai Peninsular - below as well as above the water!

I would like to express my thanks to Wolle (Wolfram Neugebauer) from Berlin who organized this trip, and also to Christian Günther and Sebastian Petzet, who went right along with him. I would also like to thank Seddon Collier from Vienna, Austria for the great time we had together, SCUBA Diving. For the strangest reasons I didn't have a freedive-buddy in Austria for the last three years, except for my wife - waiting for me at the surface. She is an awesome moral support to me! Herbert Nitsch is very cooperative - however his crazy schedule (flying airplanes) affords him comparatively little time to dive - which makes his achievements even more remarkable. So far we were never free from our jobs at the same time.

Because of various responsibilities my time for freediving is limited to an average of one week in a year. Nevertheless I made substantial progress by applying the mouthfill equalization technique. It works wonderfully and made my trainingsweek worthwhile. It also helped Sebastian to improve his personal record from -34mt to -44mt within a short week.

For those who are interested I have posted a transcript of my record dive from a Suunto D3 to an excel-spreadsheet (first sheet: numbers and second sheet: chart). The dive was done with "normal" Cressi Gara 2000 and a Cressi super occhio mask. It was surprisingly slow, taking 2:04 instead of an expected time of 1:50, a clear indication that I have to work on my finning style.
Click here to view the graph of my dive

I would also like to express my thanks to deeperBlue forum , that helps me to maintain a vivid exchange beyond the limitations of my geographical area with folks all over the world that share the same passion with me. I appreciate how people in this forum are willing to make an effort to share their secrets with others. At a recent seminar the definition of a mentor was given to me: someone passing on life's secrets. This is what is happening there! I also appreciate the liberty given to us as forum members. Even if I was not a freediver I would still enjoy it

After last years expedition I had another opportunity to train with a group of committed freedivers from Berlin: Wolle Neugebauer, Erasmus and Jonas. Wolfgang Dafert and myself from Vienna, Austria met them in Dahab. Later, Andi and Nina from Bremen would join us. I really would like to express my thanks to everybody in our group, my diving would not have been as successful without them. Here are the details

Accomodation: This time I lived in a little shack on the roof of Alaska Hotel. The wind was blowing thru the holes and sometimes I had to turn over my sleeping bag in the middle of the night. Nevertheless I slept comfortably for only a little more than 1 Euro per night. The Germans stayed in Seven Heaven, the place where Lotta Ericcson is residing at the moment. Lotta was also diving with us for a couple of days.

Transportation: We went to the Blue Hole every day. It is a 30 min ride over rugged terrain. Sometimes the driver wanted to demonstrate his skills to us and except for the front passenger all were violently shaken during the ride. We were splitting up a daily taxi-fare of 60 L.E. between the six of us, that meant only 1.20 Euro/Person at the present exchange rate. (1 Euro was L.E. 8.30)

Weather: it was not as sunny as last time. When the sun was out it was windy. We also had days that were overcast with no wind, the average temperature: air 20°, water 22°

My personal goal: was to reach again 50mt in Constant Weight. Due to the mouthfill technique I went a little over -51m in 2003. I was asking myself, if this was a freak dive that happended coincidentally or if it was possible to do that again. In spite of difficulties, such as a stomach flu and an irritated nerve that caused much pain in my back I was able to reach -49-50m on a regular basis in the second week of my vacation. Last year a dive of this magnitude would take me more than two minutes. This year I purposed to work on my fin-style and reduced it down to 1:40. I am very happy and content with that, so I don't resent the fact that there was no more time/energy left to improve in unassisted constant ballast, as originally planned.

OUR EQUIPMENT:

This time we were better equipped than ever before:
1. We had a permanent Free-Immersion-15mm rope set up at the Blue Hole right in front of the Arch.
2. We had Wolles' rope for Constant weight
3. A tank filled with pure oxygen to counteract saturation from multiple deep dives. We placed it in a little raft close to our diving line.
4. Suunto D3 depth gauges.
5. A laptop to evaluate profiles of dives between training sessions.

The owner of the Camel Restaurant at the Blue Hole kept an eye on our free immersion rope. On top of that we could rely on him whenever somebody left a piece of equipment behind. Nothing got lost or stolen!.

LINE DIVING: We made a lot of valuable experience that is worth sharing. We mutually encouraged each other to disciplined diving. Three of us have had already competition experience and even though not all of us were training for the next competition, we were all zealous to accomplish safe and clean dives. Personally I became aware how easy it is to "unlearn" good diving habits, if things go well for a while and I became sloppy and too familiar. It is easy to get the wrong kind of confidence but I had to abandon it in oder to re-establish a certain respect, almost some kind of humility.

I am still pondering over somebodies remark at Deeper Blue forum: "I'm convinced freediving is totally counter-intuitive. Unlike every other sport I've ever done, the less I try, the better I do". I agree that there seems to be a paradox in depth-hunting. (Like in deer-hunting!). We have to wait patiently for the right moment and then strike. On the other hand we have to be well prepared (ie well trained) to take advantage of this few moments. I discerned when it was time for me to take a break, skipping two of my last three days without worrying. Sure enough my last day was an easy and relaxed day with great performances.

I had to remind myself to:
1. stay close to the line towards the end of the dive. (last 15 meters of ascent)
2. hold on to the rope after surfacing - say nothing and do nothing, just breathe until full recovery.

We implemented a new technique at the end of our dives. For the first time Wolfgang and I practiced "hook-breathing". It is taking a deep breath after a long breathhold and bearing down on it for a couple of seconds to speed up the transfer of oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body as well as to force blood up to the head and to keep the O2 moving. Clinics teach it and it really helps to recover faster. It reduces the urge to breathe, diminishes the risk of Samba/BO and keeps the diver from ventilating frantically after the dive. There are more posts about hook-breathing in the Forum of DeepeBlue.net.

Do I really wanna know how deep I am? On the last day I used the FI-rope for a CW-attempt. The dive was more relaxed, because the rope didn't have any meter-marks. I found it less disturbing not to know how deep I am but rather concentrate on my equalizations.

REEF DIVING (FREE FREEDIVING):

Of course I took the time to enjoy the submarine environment besides deep diving. I did several freedives through bells (only 200m north of Blue Hole), a canyon that terminates into an almost vertical tunnel (chimney) located between -22 and -28 meters. I also did a lot of dives on the outside wall of the Blue Hole. I remember a particular spot with a gorgonia sitting at -34m/110ft. One day I purposed to dive 6 metres below it and to look at it against the light blue background of the surface 40 meters above me- awesome! We also visisted the famous Canyon where we did several freedives to approx. -30 metres while Wolle made some pictures of us.

FREEDIVING - SUMMARY:

Wolle: He exceeded -60m in Constant Weight and -65m in free immersion. Because of his initiative I enjoyed the benefits of a professional training camp for the second time and was able to improve substantially. We had such an amazing time together. Thanks a lot!

Rasmus: He improved his personal best from -38m to -46m to -52m and finally to -57m. They were souvereign and easy performances with the last dive slightly exceeding a dive time of 1:30 (monofin!). Congratulations! Rasmus exhibited great cooperativeness. Very often he would get wet only to secure somebody else. He was a great dive buddy that we could count on and also great fun to be with.

Wolfgang: He succeeded to reach -53m in free immersion and on his last day -50m in Constant weight, two new personal bests. Congratulations to Wolfgang!

Jonas: In spite of having clogged ears and some other illnesses for most of the time, Jonas made amazing progress. He never complained but always took advantage, whenever his ears would let him go further. On my last day He reached -37m in Constant weight without breaking any sweat. I just got an email from Rasmus where he told me about his successful free immersion dive to -45m and his freedive thru the bells. I guess without his laid back, phlegmatic temperament he would never have been so successfull. By the way, he is only 19 Years old. Congratulations to Jonas for two personal records!

Andi: Andi joined us in the second week. Encouraged by our company he succeeded do -37m in Constant weight and dared a freedive thru the bells together with Jonas. Remember that a freedive thru the bells requires a minimum depth of -30m! Congratulations to Andi!

SCUBA DIVING:

Like last year I went for a scuba dive with my buddy Seddon Collier from Vienna, Austria. This year we entered thru bells and proceeded along the outside wall for approx. 200 meters until we finally returned into the Blue Hole via the shallow entry. Sad thing about it: even though both of us were certified and experienced scubadivers (hundreds of dives done thru the decades) we were supervised by a guide who had just one year of experience, including his dive-instructor certificate. He was very apprehensive as he was shoving us along the wall of the reef. We didn't even resent the fact that we were limited to a depth of -30m, but certainly irritated that we couldn't move along such an interesting divesite at our own pace. Nevertheless this was one of the most beautiful scuba-trips I have ever made. To dive thru the arch with scuba tanks remains an unfulfilled dream that we will keep on pursuing next year. By now regulations in Egypt have become so strict that it would be easier to escape Alcatraz state prison rather than diving a site in dahab without a guide. Besides, it is the guide that makes scuba diving expensive. You may have to spend a lot of money to hire somebody that puts You under awkward limitations. There are at least two reasons for these restrictions:

1. too many unexperienced divers die every year
2. The government is overprotective regarding it's submarine environment. Understandable if tourists break off corals carelessly.

PETS: If You come to Dahab You don't have to take Your pet with You. In almost all of the restaurants a cat or a dog will hop on Your lap. Even though they are not owned by anybody in particular, animals are treated well and are very clean.

HIKING: As some of You already know from my homepage, I am a passionate hiker. Whenever I discerned it was neccessary to take a break from my freedive training I explored the environment and made two major expeditions starting from the Blue Hole.

The first one took me along the coral coast towards the north. The Blue Hole is 10km north of Dahab. From there I continued further north for another 10km, past Ras Abu Gallum, a Bedouin village (5km north of Blue Hole) until I reached a beautiful lagoon. It was a cool and cloudy day, good for running around and taking pictures. Close to Ras Abu Gallum I discovered a beautiful freediving spot: I only had my camera, a water bottle, two oranges, a mask and a snorkel, enough for this moment. I sat on a coral block with the deep blue below me, took a few deep breaths and started an unassisted dive to -25m, right from the edge of the reef.

For the second one I planned to go westward along the southern boundary of Ras Abu National Park until I would eventuall reach the Highway between Eilat and Sharm El Sheik. (Air distance from Blue Hole: 8km). I was able to cross the first mountain range (approx 600mt/2000ft high) but because there wasn't enough time I decided not to cross the second mountain range (approx 900mt/3000ft). However I was partially successful because I returned back to the sea by another way, reaching it somewhere between the Blue Hole and Ras Abu Gallum. Then I followed the coast towards the south for 3km until I arrived at the Blue Hole, completing this awesome and beautiful round trip.

Hiking on the Sinai Peninsular is very difficult, because inland there are no hiking trails, marked paths or direction signs.