Freediving and Ocean Safaris
Our trips are famously inclusive; no certification is required, just a bit of comfort in open ocean and some basic snorkeling experience. That said, we can apply a lot of wisdom from freedive training to enhance the experience, both for our own enjoyment and safety, and for the respect of the wildlife.
We’ve compiled a collection of basic pointers learned from freediving that can be easily adapted and applied to interacting with marine life in open ocean. This advice is by no means substitution for a course with an instructor, but you don’t have to dive deep or hold your breath for minutes to better your safari experience.
1. Calm down.
The primary tenet of freediving; just relax. It’s quite literally the answer to almost every roadblock encountered in progression in freediving, and can be applied to life in general. But we’re talking about safaris, where calming down can be a taller order. We know the thrill of encountering a species for the first time that you’ve wanted to see your whole life better than most, but being too amped up is an easy way to make things go awry. There’s nothing the beats the excitement of the anticipation of that first drop, but without composure this is where fins and masks fly off, cameras get dropped, and drones fall out of the sky! When the stoke gets high, use your breath as a regulator to control your heart beat, focusing on long slow exhalations, which in turn will allow your brain to stay nice and oxygenated so you can think straight and make sure your ducks are in a row. One controlled drop is worth far more than many messy ones, so our best advice is to stay as calm as possible to make it count.
2. Your snorkel is your friend.
This is mainly for the scuba divers out there, who once they breathed from a regulator for the first time abandoned their snorkels completely. Comfortable snorkel breathing is key for a successful ocean safari. This requires refining your breath control, using your tongue to block water from coming into your mouth, and using sharp exhales from the diaphragm to clear it out (say the word “too!”).
One technique that always separates a freediver from a snorkeler is removing the snorkel from the mouth when diving down. This is a big safety standard, to protect your airway while it is submerged to prevent water from coming in the mouth, and when you return to the surface you can take a fresh breath without the need of clearing out the snorkel. On safari it maybe tempting to keep snorkel in and clear it on the surface so you can keep your face in the water, which is totally fine for shallow dips a meter or 2 below. For deeper dives we recommend a nice full inhale, snorkel out, and pre-equalize your ears, and then back on the surface, take a few recovery breaths without the snorkel before clearing it and resume breathing with your face in the water. Building this safety practice into your muscle memory can help keep you fresh and prevent accidental water intake, and eventually you’ll find you spit your snorkel out without even thinking about it.
3. Less weights are more.
Safaris are often more on the surface, where we can passively observe the wildlife without physically entering the third dimension of their underwater world. Once we do so by freediving, it can often spook the animals by crossing this threshold, so its not always the best practice. We can be perceived as a threat or a competition predator when underwater, whereas when we’re on the surface we still have a safe separation. For this reason we recommend wearing the minimal amount of weight, so on the surface you can swim easily and efficiently without too much effort. This is true also in freediving, wherein we always want positive buoyancy on the surface for maximum relaxation, and for safety, so in our ascents, the most vulnerable part of the dive, we can come up without any effort. This also makes it easier for quickly getting back on the boat for a quick reset. Having a little bit of weight is not a bad thing, especially when interacting with playful dolphins or to be able to dive for a beautiful backlit photo, but overdoing it is not the best practice both for your comfort and safety.
4. Slow approach
When we do actually freedive, it’s best to do so with a calm controlled approach. We don’t want to scare the animals by our presence, and we want to be in full control of our movements. Take a full inhale. This is adjustable, and we can compensate for carrying less weight by not taking such a full breath, but always dive with positive pressure in the lungs to prevent injury and to ensure you have plenty of oxygen. Remove your snorkel (see above). Equalize once on the surface, then early and often on your descent, trying to keep one hand always on your nose for when you feel the need, and don’t forget to let a bit of air pass into the mask. Approach animals from a distance in a cautious manner, and observe their reaction to you and adjust accordingly, backing off to give space, and ascending away from the animals as well. There is no need to go deep, for shooting photo and video all your light is at the surface anyway. We have a general 10m/30ft maximum depth limit on our trips, however this is shallower for other environments/wildlife. Use good judgement and you shall be rewarded!
5. Buddy up!
Just like in freediving, in open ocean we need to practice the buddy system. Look out for each other both while diving down and on the surface, practicing the one up/one down rule both for safety and control, but also to not overwhelm the animals. Staying together as a group will also facilitate better interactions, as the animals are more likely to approach closely if we are not spread all over the surface. Adventures are more meaningful when shared!
While it’s by no means a requirement to be a freediver on our trips, it doesn’t hurt! We recommend if you’re wanting to improve your general comfort in the water, enrolling in an entry level freediving course, or even a discovery course, can vastly improve your relaxation, techniques, and overall aptitudes. And if you’re already a freediver, keep training and keep your skills fresh! We’re happy to continue offering tips and tricks on safari with us, and to recommend freediving course and training options, either locally or worldwide!
