April 19, 2008 was the 20th birthday of my oldest son Robert. That day will also always be the anniversary of the day I nearly lost my two oldest boys in a freedive accident. On the ascent from a 90’ dive, Robert attempted to rescue his brother David, who had blacked out, but Robert also […]
A New Trend in Breath-hold Training?
Recently, several safety advocates made me aware of an activity that could become a new trend in underwater breath-hold training. Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver recently shared with Outside magazine his interest in extreme fitness challenges once a year. This year he and four of his hard-core friends relayed underwater for 5K with an 85.2 […]
F.I.I. Competition to Benefit DiveWise
Freediving Instructors International (F.I.I.) will be hosting a charity breath- hold competition at the 2015 Blue Wild Ocean Adventure and Marine Art Expo on Saturday, February 21 at noon at the Nautical Ventures Pool. The competition will be hosted by 13x World Record Freediver Martin Stepanek with special guest World Record Spearfisherman Cameron Kirkconnell. The […]
12 Ideas for Freedivers in 2015
Every New Year’s Eve I consider new goals to set and accomplish, a bucket list for a year’s worth of achievable things. Some are measurable and some are not. I’ve never actually achieved all the goals I’ve set out to do in a year, but I get several done and call it good. Some lists […]
Doing Something Breathtaking
Although DiveWise is primarily focused on furthering safety in the breath-hold sport of freediving, there are many breath-hold sports that involve risks which need to be mitigated. This week we are taking a look at breath-hold safety for the underwater escape artist Alexanderia the Great, whose work is truly breathtaking. Alex’s act involves her wearing […]
Probing Boyle’s Law in James Nestor’s ‘Deep’
To be clear, I do not know James Nestor, but I was intrigued recently after reading the NY Times review of his new book Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves. In it, the review states he explores the mysteries of the mammalian dive reflex observed in humans who depth dive. Nestor […]
Freedive Training: Why You Should Get Certified
I first began freediving by snorkeling with a boyfriend as he spearfished. I borrowed one of his old masks and a snorkel and he bought me a pair of flippers that looked like something a duck might wear. In I went. I knew nothing about it but I learned to purge my snorkel and to […]