I made a promise to my self late 2014 that I was going to upgrade my snorkeling skills and reach a depth of 40 meters on one single breath. This little project has been far from easy and I had to do A LOT of training, both on land and in water before I felt ready for it.
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Two weeks ago I managed to touch the bottom on 40.5 meters outside our anchorage in Tahuata on one single breath. Because I know this is unexplored territory for me we decided to put two divers in the water that could act as “life-guards” if something would go wrong.
Our lovely guests did me this massive favour ; Bryn stood standby on 30 meters depth and Jack on 10 meters with dive-tanks meanwhile Anna and Bryns wife Jill were on standby on the surface,
It was way more difficult than I thought! I can hold my breath for over 5 minutes in a safe environment so timewise it shouldn’t be any problem to go even deeper than 40 meters. The problem is that you have so many other factors that kicks in as soon as you are down there.
One of these factors is fear and this is definitely my biggest enemy- I worry a lot and I tend to stress way to much when I pass 30 meters. This little “mind-fuck” takes a lot of oxygen from my already very small supply. I guess this is normal when you try out o new dept- but what do I know??
To equalize the ears I also find very difficult when you pass a depth of 35 meters. I am using the old “pinching-the-noose” technique, you know the one that they thought you as a kid. But to blow air from your lungs up in your head when the air is compressed over 4 times is super tricky- especially when you are facing head-down. I actually had to stop on 35 meters and turn around for 2 meters before I could equalize and continue my journey down to the bottom.
I have done a lot of sports in my life and I must say that this is by far the most difficult I have ever done- A true challenge! I also believe that it is extra hard for a guy with my type of personality. To stay calm, relaxed and trying to focus your mind and thoughts during training is not really my “cup of tea”!
I think this is the main reason I am totally hooked on this little project, for me it is extremely challenging. I would love to meet someone that really knows what he is doing and that can teach me all there is to know about free-diving!
New goal for 2016
My new goal for the year 2016 is to be able to hold my breath for 6 minutes (static) and reach a depth of 50 meters. This will be a true challenge and it will require that I stop smoking (Yes I am unfortunately a rather heavy smoker). I won’t even attempt to do this without being together with an experienced free-diver.
// A very happy Daniel
New on-board record is:
Static breath hold: 5.15
Maximum depht: 40.5 meters (132 feet)
