SCUBA vs FREEDIVING

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       "From birth man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to the earth. But man has only to sink below the surface & he is free." -Jacques Yves Cousteau 

  TO BREATHE, OR NOT TO BREATHE??🤔
     Whenever I talk about diving & spearfishing I'm often asked if I use SCUBA, & then; "why not?" -with SCUBA you can breath underwater. Why wouldn't anybody that wants to hangout under water use SCUBA??  Depends; this ability comes at a cost.

    Definitely a personal preference, SCUBA (self contained underwater breathing apparatus) suits some folks.  I can only speak to why freediving, also called breath hold diving, appeals to me.
 
    First of all, bubbles & noise from SCUBA are an unnatural phenomena to water creatures -not helpful if your goal is close encounters with live creatures.
   Heres a quote from a favorite book on this subject -DEEP by James Nestor; "It's no
 coincidence that many researchers are

Freedivers. I learned early on that Freediving was more than just a sport; it was also an efficient way to access & research some of the oceans most mysterious animals. 'SCUBA diving is like driving a 4x4 through the woods with your windows up, air conditioning on, music blaring,' one freediving researcher told me. 'You're not only removed from the environment,  you're disrupting it. Animals are scared of you.'"
 
    I lean towards keeping things simple & relying on the body's abilities. The attention needed to the gadgetry that goes with SCUBA is a turn off to me, as is the restriction of movement.
    Freedivers generally use longer fins to enhance swim ability, that, & having no tank on your back, makes the freediver swim like a seal compared to a SCUBA diver.
 
 MAMMALIAN DIVE REFLEX  -
  "Frogman Conversion", "Seal Brotherhood" "Aquaman..ness"                                                             Diving mammals;  Seals, whales, actually all air breathing creatures -but marine mammals live by this reflex- have an automatic bodily response when they dive that enables them to hold their breath for freakishly long times. A seals heart rate drops from 100 beats per minute to 10; Less oxygen is consumed, blood shifts from extremities to vital organs, the spleen contracts to produce more red blood cells.
    AMAZINGLY THE SAME THING HAPPENS TO US  as soon as we enter water & hold our breath. All you have to do is stick your face in water to initiate this response. (I just watched a guy on YouTube hold his breath, stick his face in a bowl of water & display a heart monitor. His heart rate dropped from 70 beats per min to lower 40's in a couple minutes).
    Its an amazing response & hugely contributes to the breath hold divers ability to enjoy, relax & stay below the surface longer.

   World record breath-holders: 

• Curvier Beaked Whale; 2 hrs 17 min.
• Elephant Seal; 2 hrs 
• Sperm Whale; 90 min.
• Dolphin; 20 min.
• Human; 24 min. This was done after hyperventillating with pure oxygen before the breath-hold. Though the Guinness book world record, I -& some others- consider this unnatural & illegit. 
• Human; 11 min 54 sec. By Branko Petrovic. Without the help of pure oxygen.
• Me;  4 min 45 sec  😵
• Overall record goes to a reptile -the Loggerhead Turtle; 10 hrs!

 
   FREEDIVING TAKES TRAINING                      It takes time, practice & work to get better at breath hold diving -making it more engaging to me. You can get better after just alittle training, but it takes years to come close to full potential -ongoing interest & joys of seeing improvement. Of course there are skills to learn & develop with SCUBA, but not to the extent of the breath holder, that relies 100% on the body's abilities.
 
   In the winter months -outside of lake diving season- I do 2 pool workouts a week focused on holding my breath -building my ability to handle oxygen deprivation/carbon dioxide buildup & staying relaxed as I move underwater -the main factor in longer breath holds.

   FREEDIVING VS SNORKELING  
   A snorkeler is mostly interested in staying on the surface, breathing steadily through the snorkel while gazing underwater  -love doing this too.
   The freediver uses a snorkel but spends alot more time below the surface on the limits of a single breath of air.
   To be an effective spearfisher -me, I need to get down to where the fish are & hang out with them abit  -without scaring them, i.e. breath hold.

      I like all of these dynamics of freedive/breath hold diving. Add the heightened awareness, "zoned in", effect of hunting fish in their element, & that underwater world is even more electrified -talk about being present in the moment!

    (I'll have to try this next time I see a Great White in a Wisconsin lake) 😁