Freediving Skills
Last Modified 2001-May-17
Common and Horse Sense
Rule #1
Stay within your abilities and your comfort zone.
Rule #2
Know your limitations.
Rule #3
No matter how far you drove to go diving, if it's too rough
for YOU to go diving, DO NOT go diving. (see Rules #1 &
#2) During the opening weekends of ab season in April, there
are always many rescues. (You have to wonder, would those
people have gone diving if the rescue agencies could charge
them large fees for their rescue? >> You have the
right to remain stupid.)
Rule #4
Never let equipment over rule common sense.
Breath Holding
- Relax
- Become fluid in the water
- Go with the flow (use the surge
and/or current to conserve energy). If the surge isn't
moving the direction you want to go; grab the bottom or
some kelp and wait for the surge to change direction. In
current, swim up current on the surface, dive down and
allow the current to carry you along.
- When you reach the bottom, relax again by looking at
something tiny and going "rag doll" for a second before
moving
- Streamline all your
gear
IMPORTANT PERSONAL SAFETY NOTE:
Do NOT hyperventilate to extend your breath
holding ability.
Shallow Water Blackout has no warning signs.
What hyperventilation does is lower the Carbon dioxide
level in your blood (a high CO2 level is your body's
trigger to breath, Not a low Oxygen level); at depth, the
partial pressure of O2 in your blood is higher than at
the surface (Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures and a
higher ambient pressure), which means your body thinks it
has more O2 than it really does, AND on the way up
(usually 10 to 15 feet [3.0 to 4.6m] from the
surface) the partial pressure of O2 falls below what your
body needs to function and POOF you black out. (and then
drown; because, unlike marine mammals our breathing
reflex is automatic.)
FREE DIVING BUDDY SYSTEM:
One up (watching for the other to come up),
one down.
IMPORTANT PERSONAL SAFETY NOTE:
Always weight yourself a few pounds
[1kg] light on the surface when free diving. (If you
do get shallow water blackout, hopefully you'll float to the
surface.)
To check your buoyancy:
- Hang vertically in the water with your toes pointed
straight toward the bottom. (You should have a flotation
device within reach.)
- Look straight ahead.
- Relax, Breath normally.
- The level water should go from the top to the
bottom of your mask's glass on each inhalation;
- If you exhale completely, you should barely start
to sink.
- NOW take two pounds [1kg] off you weight
belt.
(Ideally, you should start to float up at 15ft
[4.5m].)
Streamlining
- Reverse your fin straps (see illustration)
- Tape all loose straps flat back on themselves after
you have fine tuned their fit and position (especially
true with your mask and snorkel)
- Wear a small knife on the inside lower half of your
leg or across the back of your weight belt
- Use a low volume mask (the lowest volume one that
fits your face; a black silicone skirt will eliminate the
glare from the sun when you're laying on the surface
between dives)
- Use a standard snorkel (elliptical barrels don't
flutter as much as round ones when moving through the
water; No purges: they can fail and you cannot use the
displacement clear effectively)
- Use a rubber weight belt with one pound (0.5kg)
cylinder weights and a high quality stainless steel
buckle (the rubber when pretensioned by pulling it tight
putting it on will self compensate for your wetsuit
compressing; keeping the belt snug throughout your depth
range)
- Wear a wetsuit that FITS you like a second skin (not
binding or tight; custom tailored to you body; you should
be able to breath easily and have good mobility in your
arms and legs)
- If possible, get a 1/4" (6.5mm) skin II suit made out
of Rubatex G231. Skin II is the old style: no nylon,
slick rubber on both sides; it's very flexible, offers
great thermal protection in and out of the water; but, is
somewhat delicate especially if you hook your fingers
when pulling it on or off; always use the pads of your
fingers to pull a fold of material. (use talc or water
and hair conditioner in a 10 to 1 mixture to put on a
skin-in suit)
Surface Dives
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Remember to equalize the pressure in your ears and mask when
descending. If you feel any pain, you are either not
equalizing enough, equalizing correctly, or you are too
stuffed up to dive. (If you cannot equalize, get out of the
water; you can do serious damage to your inner ear [Can
you say permanent hearing loss?])
Equalization:
- For your ears:
- pinch your nose and gently blow (the Valsalva
maneuver). You should hear your ears crack.
"I also have a left eustachian tube that refuses to
open most times. The problem with Valsalva is, I
overstress my right ear to open the left. The oval
window, which conducts auditory impulses from the
middle ear to the inner ear and its sensory nerves, is
very easy to injure under these circumstances. I was
left with ringing in my right ear that's only now
starting to diminish, weeks after a dive. In short, be
very careful with your ears."
--Wyman E Miles
- rock your jaw back and forth
- stretch your neck muscles, like you are yawning
without opening your mouth.
- For your mask:
- blow a little air through your nose every time you
equalize your ears
One-leg jack knife
Illustration:
One-leg Jack Knife
- Forward motion
- Bend 90° at the waist
- Gently flip one leg straight up (keep your knee
straight and your toes pointed straight up)
- If done correctly, you should feel like you are
falling towards the bottom
- If you find yourself going down at a 45°
angle, you're bending and lifting your leg at the same
time; remember: three steps (see above)
Pike
Same steps as one-leg jack knife, except BOTH
legs are flipped up.
(not as efficient or as balanced as the one-leg jack
knife.)
Kelp (or Vertical Drop)
- Hang vertically at the surface with your toes pointed
at the bottom
- Clear a hole in the kelp, by pushing it away with
your hand and turning about 90°
- Give one strong scissors kick to get as much of your
upper body out of the water
- Point your toes directly at the bottom and sink; once
underwater you can use your arms to push yourself further
under.
- Then, tuck and pivot so your head is pointing toward
the bottom.
IMPORTANT TIP:
Since you will be diving in kelp, when
surfacing from a dive remember to:
- look for a hole in the kelp canopy
- hold you hands together above your head to split the
kelp streamers, making a hole in the canopy
Displacement clearing your snorkel
When assending to the surface:
- Look up (this points the bottom of your snorkel
toward the bottom)
- Hold one (or both) hand(s) out in front of you
- As your hand breaks the surface, gently exhale into
your snorkel and then roll out on the surface; your
snorkel should be dry. (the water flowing by the end of
your snorkel create a slight vacuum and the expanding air
you just blew into your snorkel fills that vacuum,
forcing the water out of your snorkel.) Note: you should
practice this in the pool before trying it in open water.
The first few times take a tenitive first breath or you
might get a mouth full of water.
Kicks
Flutter
This is the same kick as used in the freestyle
swim stroke, only more exaggerated and slowed down.
Remember, keep your knees fairly stiff, toes pointed
back, and kick from the hip. Can be used on the surface
or underwater
Dolphin
This kick turns your whole body into an
undulating wave; just like the kick used in the butterfly
swim stroke. Generally considered a power or speed kick.
But, can be very efficient when done slowly and smoothly
underwater. It also works well in shallow water or over
kelp.
Side Flutter
Used on the surface only. Turn on you side,
extend the arm that's in the water to point where you are
going, elongate your body as much as possible, and use a
short quick flutter stroke.
Reverse Flutter
Used on the surface only. This is the flutter
stroke, the only difference is you are in a reclining
position. Remember, tuck you chin into you chest to keep
your snorkel from becoming an economy sized straw.
Surf Entries/Exits
IMPORTANT PERSONAL SAFETY NOTE
Whenever you are on the wave face of the beach
on the North Coast of California, ALWAYS face the water and
watch the waves. (The North Coast is famous for
Sleeper/Rogue waves. Meaning there could be 3 to 4 foot
[0.9 to 1.2m] breakers on the beach and then
suddenly a 10 to 15 foot [3.7 to 4.6m] wave sweeps
the beach clean.)
Before entering the water:
- Check the WWW weather pages before you leave home
- Listen to the NOAA weather report for the area you
are going to dive
- 162.1MHz, 162.4MHz, and 162.55MHz?
- Call the dive information line for the area
- Salt Point Recorded Conditions (707) 847-3222
- Ocean Cove Store (707) 847-3422
- Dave at Timber Cove (707) 847-3278
- Mendocino Coast (707) 964-3793, (707)
961-1143
- Sit on the beach for a minimum of 25 minutes watching
the wave sets.
- Are the waves getting bigger or smaller?
- Can you handle the large waves in a set?
- Is the lull in the set long enough to get through?
(going out OR coming in)
When entering the water:
- TIP: If a wave is going to break on top of
you, push the nose of your float down into the face of
the wave, tuck your head and torso tight to the float,
hold on tight, and KICK. (This is called "ducking a
wave.") If done correctly, you will pop up on the
backside of the wave; but, be prepared for another
breaker.
Exiting:
- Stop on the outside edge of the surf line
- Watch and wait for a lull in the set
- Swim quickly through the surf line
- Crawl/Walk until you are on DRY sand.
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE:
Try to stay on the backside of breaking waves. (Otherwise,
you'll know what it feels like to be clothes in a washing
machine.)
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE:
ALWAYS have an alternate exit(s).
© 2000 Kelpfish.net. All rights reserved.
Last Modified 2001-May-17
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