The FREEDOM of FREEDIVING

You float on the surface, breathing deep and slowly, watching the bottom 40 feet below you. In tune with your body, you begin to slow your heart rate down...100...90...80...70...65...55 beats per minute.

With a last completely full breath, you jackknife, your feet rise up out of the water and their weight above the surface begins to thrust your body downward.
You take big, almost stiff-legged kicks, very slow frequency, but with large amplitude. You almost try to sleep your way down to the bottom, staying as relaxed as possible, exerting the minimum amount possible.

Twenty seconds later you are moving along the bottom about 50 feet deep, effortless and free, watching the antics of damselfish, triggers and the constant schools of mangrove snappers among the bright hues of sponges, gorgonians, and complex coral colonies.

You glide along, at close to twice the speed you could have traveled with scuba gear on, but with virtually no exertion. Your fins are close to twice as long as the sluggish versions made for most scuba divers, and amazing flexibility of them allows for huge thrusts with little muscular contraction.



You begin to imagine the efficiency of functions that a fish or dolphin must realize with their superior hydrodynamic designs, and wonder why you took so long to experience this natural euphoria.
Just ahead of you a 25 pound hogsnapper changes color from sandy beige to orange , and heads in your direction. You instantly become a human targeting mechanism, calculating his trajectory, speed and potential directions, and then reach out to take aim...Snap. ..One 35 mm photo of a very cool fish trying to blend into one of the most spectacularly colorful environments on the planet!

You tilt upwards and begin a slow frequency, big amplitude kick toward the surface 50 feet above you. You stay relaxed, you maintain a slow steady kick, and then the surface approaches. You hit the surface exhaling hard through the snorkel, and the fresh taste of air has never felt so good. Your body feels somewhat heavy all over, from lactate developed throughout your body as it was forced to power you with anaerobic metabolism.



You now pay back the oxygen debt, converting the blood lactate to a form of blood sugar (pyruvate), and your muscles begin to "sing" with new energy and they feel great. Its a perfect workout. Your focus and concentration improves with each dive, and the euphoria of the activity keeps you compelled towards several hours of more freedives until exhaustion suggests you retire until your next opportunity on another day. This is what freediving is all about, the freedom, maybe that's where the name came from. The freedom of being able to freedive no matter who you are, where ever you want and what ever time you decide makes this sport one you must try in your short existence on this planet.

Contributed by: The Zen of Free Diving


FREE DIVING FACTS AND LINKS

FUN FACT 1: Who still dives the same way their ancestors did thousands of years ago?

Free divers (those holding their breath) in Japan and Korea today still dive for oysters, edible shellfish and seaweed. Except for the lead weights carried on their belts and their glass face masks, these divers work in the same manner as did their ancestors thousands of years ago.

Most of these modern divers are women. They can stay underwater longer and are better able to withstand the cold than can men. Divers of the Japanese Ama culture can spend four or five minutes underwater, and have been known to reach depths of 150 feet.

FUN FACT 2: With a single deep, disciplined breath - who captured the freshwater constant ballast free diving record?

The record for constant-ballast free diving in freshwater is held by Tanya Streeter of the Cayman Islands. In 1998 Tanya dived to a depth of 185 feet. In a constant-ballast dive, the diver wears weights both during the descent into the deep and the ascent back to the surface. Tanya also holds the record for an assisted free dive, to a depth of 370 feet. Also in 1998 she made this dive using a single breath and was pulled downward with weights and helped back up with an inflated balloon.

FUN FACT 3: Did you know that some insects and spiders are also divers?



Other air-breathing creatures are divers too. Like humans, whales and dolphins are mammals and have to breathe air into their lungs to survive, unlike fish that get oxygen directly from the water. Whales and dolphins, of course, live in the ocean and dive all the time. But did you know that some insects and spiders are also divers? Here are a few examples:

Have you ever seen those beetles that skate around in circles on top of the water in ponds and lakes? If you watch them long enough, you may see them dive under the water. When they do this, they take a bubble of air with them that gets trapped between their body and wing covers. They breathe this air while underwater, then come to the surface again when they need more.

Another diving insect is the larva of the drone fly, which looks like a little round worm, but lives on the muddy bottoms of ponds. These larvae are equipped with a very thin tube that emerges from their body and telescopes out in length until it might be 10 times as long as their body! When they need air, they send this tube to the surface to get it. You might say they have their own built-in snorkel.

http://www.sfdj.com/sand/freedive.html - Zen of free diving

http://www.performancefreediving.com/

http://www.aidaworlds2004.com/

http://www.divingfree.com/

http://www.freediving.co.il/

http://www.holdyourbreath.ca/

A photographers adventure in Utila, Honduras

Utila, Honduras 5 days from a photographers perspective. Chris Kovaz - www.divingwithchriskovaz.com



Getting there:

On our summer 2006 trip to Utila aboard the Aggressor, we took the most direct route. We started from our home town of Fort Myers, Florida, and from there we made connections in Houston, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba before finally reaching our destination in Utila. Traveling here was quite a difficult task, not due to the distance, but rather the amount of equipment we were able to bring. We had a severe weight limit of only 50 lbs per person. We photographers know how difficult it can be to limit ourselves to the bare necessities in this new digital age, with bigger DSLR‘s and their housings. I, myself, usually travel with a spare Rebel 300d with an 18-55 mm lens, housed by Sea and Sea, with flat port and dome port. So with the weight restrictions I had to limit myself to the bare minimum with my equipment. This included my camera, the Canon 1DS Mark II, a 28-90 macro lens and 17-40 wide-angle lens, and a Seacam housing with super dome and flat port. Along with all of that were the necessary accessories, o-ring grease, and tools needed to maintain the housing and ports. My strobes were the Ikelite DS 200 and the Sea and Sea YS 90 Auto. Talk about roughing it!

The Crew:

The crew consisted of 5 people, which worked out to a 2-1 ratio of passengers to crew. This made it very simple for the crew to keep track of us and attend to any problems that might occur, whether it was photography equipment issues or buoyancy underwater. The crew members were Capt Eddie, Photo tech –Shara, Video tech –Nestor, and cooks –Shane and Candy. Each of them was very personal and interested in each of us. All of the food they served was excellent in its simplicity, with lots of BBQ, which is the way I like it after a long day of diving. Finally, they would always go out of their way to see that all of out needs were met. They were very knowledgeable about camera equipment and always willing to help us out in any way they possibly could. Thanks to the amazing eyes of Shara, Eddie, and Nestor, amazing macro subjects, such as sea horses, flatworms, scorpion fish, and nudibranchs, were made visible.

The Ship – The Utila Aggressor is a 3-decked boat. The 1st level (lower deck) contains the cabins and the engine room. The middle level is composed of the dive deck at the stern, which includes the camera table and air compressor, and the galley and salon are located inside. The top level is where cookouts were held and where the HOT TUB WAS! That’s right, a hot tub on a live aboard. I never would have expected that!

Conditions:

The temperature was at a constant 81 degrees, which was very nice for summer diving. There was minimal surge and the waves did not exceed 2 feet. Current was no problem either and barley noticeable.



Diving:

Day 1, Dives 1 and 2: Old Bank

Now, this being Utila, I was expecting something a little better than what we started with, but this was just a checkout dive. Here I took the time to break in my newly acquired super dome port from Sea Cam, using it with my 28-90 lens, even though my photo advisors said this lens would not work with this port. I saw that it did not focus quite as well with my flat port but still did an adequate job. After testing that port and focusing mainly on composition techniques, I switched to the flat port. This proved beneficial to me. On this dive the sun was brighter, and it was easier to spot macro life, and a nine-inch dome just doesn’t cut it. Macro life we spotted consisted mainly of arrow crabs and blennies.

Dives 3 and 4: Ragged Cay

These dives were on a much steeper and deeper wall. Here we found a lot more life, such as turtles, moray eels, lobsters, bandit shrimp, arrow crabs, and lots of angelfish, despite the impaired visibility. I think the most interesting thing on this dive was the fact that our turtle was in between me and my father. So, many of our photos contained not only the turtle, but also us shooting the turtle as well.



Day 2, Dive 1: Old Bank

Now this was a magnificent wall dive with amazing visibility and life. When our crew said it would be good for wide angle, they couldn’t have been more right. With my 17-40 lens and superdome port, there was never a dull moment. I especially loved it when I shot from the inside of a cave with my father nearby outside the cave in beautiful blue background. This made for an amazing moment indeed. The sun was the final factor in this dive, and never have I had it corporate better for me than today. With blazing light, these wide-angle shots were poetry in motion.

Dives 2 and 3: The Pinnacle

This site was actually shaped like a histogram in photo shop; pretty ironic. This made for great diver shots with wide angle, using the pinnacles as each diver would come across it, almost like climbing up a hill. The site was loaded with tons of macro life, including peppermint shrimp, cleaner shrimp, blennies, and a barracuda.



Day 3, Dive 1: Aquila Wreck

This site was down 110 feet on huge wreck broken apart into three pieces. Despite the wreck structure, there was an abundance of sponges and algae, which made for great color. Along with that, a friendly green moray and tons of different species of grouper made for an interesting wreck dive.

Dive 2: Tauianas Wall

This wall was very interesting due to all of the different marine life. Throughout this reef were lots of bubble sponges and sponges of different colors of green, blue, and purple, which I had not encountered on this trip. Then to encounter lizardfish and a very photogenic turtle topped off anther good dive in Roatan in our journey through Honduras.



Dive 3: Half Moon Bay

This dive was a beautifully lit wall with gaps in between the coral structures. This made for a unique layout which I loved shooting. The different sponges were optimal subjects for the unique layout of the reef.

Day 4, Dive 1: Dolphins Cave

This dive was not as good for photos as previous dives, because it was a narrow cave with 10-12 divers entering at the same time. This created massive amounts of backscatter. However, there were interesting amounts sunlight shining through the rocks, creating great wide-angle shots, although only a few were decent enough to save.

Dive 2: Crawfish

Of all the sites, this seemed like the most basic one of the trip. It reminded me of good old Florida Keys diving. Still more life and more to see, of course, but the feeling was there. Notable subjects were Grey, French, and Queen Angels, and juvenile spotted drums.



Dive 3: Eels Garden

This dive was the most notable site of Roatan. Magnificent walls etched with canyons throughout the site made for great topography. Along with that there were great Caribbean anemones, Queen, Gray, and French angles, and a baby spotted moray. I would call that a great dive to top off the day.



Final Day, Final Dive: Ted’s Point

This was the last dive of the trip, and, as always, I love it when these final dives to go off with a bang. Here I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. Right after I jumped in the water right behind my father was a southern stingray. With no time to adjust settings, it was a good thing I have gotten good at predicting my settings in advance. After that we came across two sea horses; both a male and female in red and black colors. When we came back to dive the site again, we actually witnessed the mating of the two seahorses. Talk about one for the record books and a great way to wrap up a trip!



Getting Back Home:

We started from Utila and flew to San Pedro Sula, then to Houston, and finally to Tampa. Then we drove back to Fort Myers from there.

Final Afterthought:

I enjoyed diving in Utila very much. The crew was amazing, and the people I had the pleasure of living with this week were very friendly. I invite the crew and divers on this excursion to Utila to come back and dive with me and CK Photo Tours again. It was indeed a pleasure meeting them all. As for the diving, it was some of the best of the Caribbean, with frequent turtle encounters, flat worms, and many species of shrimp and macro life. Huge wide angle opportunities and, of course, sea horse mating made this trip one to remember.

Editorial and Photos by Chris Kovaz -

www.divingwithchriskovaz.com

Interview with Underwater Videographer - Mark Leichnitz

What's your name, age, and position in the dive industry?

Mark Leichnitz
Age 49
Dive instructor (PADI)
Underwater Videographer


What got you into diving and when did you start?

A buddy of mine was a commercial diver. He got me interested in trying out diving in 1985. I earned my Open Water certification in Vancouver. Then my buddy got married and I only went diving with him once!


Since you started diving, tell us some of your highlights in your dive career?

In the late 80’s and through the 90’s, I travelled to Australia and the Philippines frequently for work purposes. I started to bring along my dive gear and take vacation time at the end of my business trips. Warm water was just so much more exciting and interesting for me. I went to the Great Barrier Reef several times on liveaboards, and to a wide variety of island reefs in the Visayas region of the Philippiness.

In more recent years I’ve begun to explore the Caribbean, with trips to Barbados, Cozumel, Costa Rica, Grand Cayman and Cuba.

But I still love the Pacific most of all. Last Winter I went to Fiji and French Polynesia.

I had my first dives in the Mediterranean this Summer.

When I decided to become a dive professional in 2004, I sought out my old Philippino friends and went back there for about 4 months to complete my courses and go on safari.




When did you start getting into underwater videography?

When I decided to go professional, I felt that I needed a specialty that would provide me with an edge – to enable me to visit and find work in warm, exotic locations, especially during the cold and wet Vancouver winters. At the same time, video-shooting hardware and editing software were becoming affordable for amateur shooters. I took the plunge and invested in all the gear before I went to the Philippines. When I returned home with more than 50 logged video dives, I began to realize the true possibilities in the dive business, and decided to upgrade my editing studio.


What's your camera and editing set up?

Sony Handicam PC350, Gates housing, Green Force lights
Imac G5 with 2 gigs of RAM
Final Cut Pro 4 suite


Where has been the best place in the world for you to shoot underwater video?

For me, the Philippines is the most amazing location for shooting video. The water is very warm (mid to high 20’s celcius), with outstanding visibility (frequently 30 metres or more) and an unbelievable diversity of underwater life and topography. It’s possible to island hop over large distances, while staying in good quality hotels at night. The food is plentiful and of good quality, and the ethnic Philippino style of cooking is very tasty. The people are very friendly, well-educated and English-speaking. Costs and expenses in the Philippines are a fraction of what you’d pay elsewhere.


Big shout outs to everyone who helped you out along the way.

I’d like to say thanks to friends and peers who’ve helped me to launch this transition in my life, including: Emi, Noli, Windy and Mario – my four Philippino dive guru’s; Peter – who’s covered off my home issues while I’m abroad; and my friends – who’ve encouraged and supported my creative work.

Contact Mark at: simonelc@shaw.ca

Girls Gone Wild - Tips for the traveling female diver

Going Solo - Travel Smarts for Alone Time

Many women dream of taking a solo adventure. Kayaker extrodinairre Sheryl Clough coined the phrase, "Go now, and go solo". Women travel safely all over the world, both solo and in the company of others. As you embark on a solo adventure, you'll have naysayers. Thank them for their concern, prepare yourself well and then you'll be ready as you arrive at your destination.

Before you go, research your destination. Not just the fish that you'll see on your dives, but the culture of the country so you'll know what to expect when you arrive. Be sure to understand their dress code. In some cultures, women are expected to wear long skirts or not expose their shoulders and arms. Some cultures are "beach casual" where others dress more formally for land based activities. It's important as you travel to respect the culture you're exploring and avoid negative attention. Pack smart.

You will be bringing your dive kit along, so think carefully about the clothing/accessories that you'll want to bring so you can cart your gear and get around without assistance from others.

Take a self-defense class. This is not just a good idea for foreign travel, but also for day to day explorations. Bad guys don't just abide overseas. Being aware of your surroundings and learning a few techniques to ward off would-be attackers can give you a greater sense of confidence.




When traveling abroad, realize that though a foreign environment may seem intimidating at first, if you stay alert and in tune with the surroundings, you'll soon feel like the locals. To ensure your safety while abroad, make sure someone knows where you're going. Leave your travel itinerary with someone at home and send an email or phone call upon arrivals and departures. Many cell phones are able to be used overseas so you may want to check with your carrier to see if yours is compatible with your destination.

Arrive at your destination during the day. This does two things, first it allows you to take in the area by daylight and second, it helps your body to adjust to the lag time when changing time zones. If you must arrive at night, be sure to secure your lodging and your transportation ahead of time. If the hotel does not have a driver for airport arrivals, then definitely hire a "registered" taxi driver. These drivers have been approved by the local municipalities to drive visitors and are a safer choice.

Walk with a purpose. Even if you don't know where you're going, by appearing that you're confident and in control, you'll avoid looking like a target. If you must carry a map, try to leave the poster sized version at home. Be discreet and don't hesitate to ask for directions, afterall...we're girls, we can do that. Be aware of how other women in the country interact, as non-verbal signals mean different things in different cultures.

When in Rome....Safe travel is about common sense. Don't walk down a dark street, late at night by yourself. Don't allow men you don't know into your room. If you didn't call for room service, and "room service" knocks, call the hotel desk. Remember...there is no such thing as a free lunch. Be wary of men who offer free, private dive tours. They may have something else in mind.

So, what do the "bad guys" look like? Yes, there really are men who set out to prey on women travelers. They typically fall into a few basic categories that will help you to pick them out.




- The Silent Type: This man is the one who seems to be constantly where you are. They'll trail you for a couple of hours, trying to make eye contact or get recognition from you. They may even try to start a conversation. This gentleman can be annoying, but normally is not a danger. To deal with Mr. Silent, ignore him and avoid eye contact, while keeping an eye on the situation at large. If this doesn't drive him away, consider going to a police station or hotel, and chances are he'll not follow.

- The Crossing Boundaries Guy: This man will start with questions. Maybe in multiple languages, if needed, until he finds the language that you speak. Again, if you ignore him, he'll probably go away. Note here, that not all gentlemen who try to engage you in conversation are dangerous. Brilliant stories abound about women meeting the love of their life on holiday. Just be aware that if the questions get to personal, dealing with where you are staying, are you traveling alone or other questions that make you feel uncomfortable, you should simply stop talking to him.

- The Guide: This is the local native who offers the free boat ride, jungle exploration or simply a car ride. These types usually inhabit touristy destinations and can be easily dissuaded, as there are many other travelers for them to focus their attention on. Trust your instincts...if they seem creepy, they probably are.

If you find yourself the target of unwanted attention, you'll want to deal effectively with it. First, intuition is a gift that we have been given...embrace it. If that little voice says somethings wrong, it's usually right. Don't let someone talk you into something you don't want to do. You are ultimately responsible for your decisions, make sure your decisions are the responsible ones for you.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Worldwide, most people are eager to help travelers to their country, especially women going solo. If you're being followed on foot, the local police station or hotel front desk will gladly give you assistance. On a bus or train, ask a fellow passenger or driver for help. Men like playing the part of hero. It's in their wiring, no matter where they are from.
Leave your polite self at home.

If you're being harrassed or encroached upon, stop talking and ignore the person, while being aware of their actions. If you need to say "NO!", say it repeatedly and loudly to get your point across. If you're attacked, be loud and aggressive to show that you're not an easy target. Remember, the bad guys are not a hard working lot, and they like victims that don't require a lot of work.





Article provided by: www.girldiver.com