And just like that, freediving season is here. Have a great weekend everyone!
Water conditions straight out of a sci-fi movie.
It’s a jungle down here!
Sunset panoramic shot of the bay.
Niels checking out the reef just below during ascent.
Perfect conditions.
When it’s glassy… with Dominique & Sander.
Basking in good atmosphere during our return trip from a full day of epic freediving adventure around nearby islands. #Romblon #Adventure
Good morning, everyone! Have an epic weekend!
Benjamin of team Omniblue Freedive looking epic on a dive with skandalopetra. Skandalopetra diving is a breath-hold dive aided by a stone tied to a rope. It dates back from ancient Greece and was used by sponge fishermen. Photo by Sylvain Bes.
So we recently just learned about this hipster thing, collective global art project, another silly internet craze, or whatever you want to call it, here we are snail planking it. #Romblon #SnailPlanking
How to be a real badass at 55 years old.
Sita & Aline practicing constant weight and free immersion dives during an SSI Level 1 Freediving course.
Play more. Have an epic weekend, everyone!
Kyla cruising over a bed of corals.
DumagatFreedive
Breathing and relaxation exercise with Michal & Karl. Both held their breaths for nearly 4 and a half impressive minutes! Not bad at all for first timers!
When a spadefish hijacks your training line and shows you how it’s done.
Part Two: The Warm-up.
When the sea is as glassy as it’s been lately, you learn to walk just under the surface. #Romblon #Freediving #Philippines #DumagatFreedive
Cris on ascent during a short session where he managed to set a new personal best. #Philippines #Freediving
We hardly ever use a boat for training sessions; but when we do, our boat men join in the party.
Romblon Sunset is our favorite color. Romblon’s Deep Blue comes second. #Romblon #Philippines
Two things we have plenty of: fresh air and clean water.
During warm-up, Sylvain Bes of Omniblue Freedive hung at 10 meters for 5 minutes on a single breath.
David working on his form during an SSI level 1 course.
And with a bit persistence, you learn to run it eventually.
Raced them to the bottom. They won. #Romblon #Philippines #DumagatFreedive
Reliving the ancient times of skandalopetra diving with team Omniblue Freedive. Skandalopetra diving is a breath-hold dive aided by a stone tied to a rope. It dates back from ancient Greece and was used by sponge fishermen. #Freediving #Romblon #Philippines
Mirror, mirror… who’s the silliest freediver of them all?
Sylvain Bes of OmniBlue Freedive talks about technique during a training camp at Dumagat Freedive.
Dominique working on her freefall into Romblon’s deep blue.
Told them there was a bottle of beer at the bottom. Of course, Louis bolted down the fastest. Romblon misses you already, Louis. See you next year.
Sometimes a lone fish, a passing turtle, a school of sardines, or a pack of very curious squids, we freedive for moments like this.
This kid wanted to play a little farther from shore on his birthday so we did. Not only did he do a fun variable weight dive to 65 meters, he also managed to do an easy free immersion to 62 meters. Happy Birthday, old man! Beers on you!
Playtime with Mathilde & Sof.
Part Three: The Descent.
A properly executed duck dive allows you to dive down without much effort.
Coffee and all things sugary – some of the things freedivers do without for the love of the sport. But it’s Sunday and we’re going wild. #DumagatFreediveSunday #FreediversGoneWild
The newest member of the Dumagat Freedive team. Mostly he’s been busy murdering anything that moves and considerably smaller than him, but in time we’re hoping that he’d learn to do other things.
Proper breathe-up before every dive relaxes the body and the mind making each dive easier, safer and more enjoyable. This fundamental relaxation skill is just as important on shallow dives as it is on much deeper dives like this one. #freediving #philippines
First morning of the 7-day freediving training stage in beautiful and charming Romblon. Sylvain wakes up the team with light breathing and stretching exercises.
Part One: The Swim.
Dominique while training in 30°C water temperature and 30m visibility.
Exploring the waters around surrounding islets in search of more places to play in. #Romblon #Freediving
Too late for the Aquaman lead role audition.
Island style freediver with wooden goggles and bamboo noseclip vs. the modern style freediver. I think it’s pretty obvious who has better style, no? #Freediving #Philippines
DumagatFreedive
Hanging at a relatively shallow depth is one of the usual warm-up routines freedivers use at the beginning of a freediving session. Hanging helps trigger the mammalian diving reflex which helps the body adapt to each dive. And, if you’re lucky like on this session, you might find yourself amused by a turtle that’s even more amused by you. Maybe next time we’ll get the turtle in the shot too.
Antso the tightrope walker. #Freediving #Romblon #Philippines #DumagatFreedive
One of the resident schools of fish you might encounter during a training session
Bubble ring blowing training to end an epic freediving session just makes it even more epic.
Well done on an easy and clean morning dive to 57 meters, Mikhail.
Romblon channel at sunset.
We don’t like classrooms so we decided to visit another island to do the freediving final exam. Here’s Janis completing the exam at Tuburan Community, perhaps the coolest and most chill place in the province. Congratulations, Janis! Welcome to freediving! And big thanks to Tuburan for welcoming and hosting us.
Natural born freedivers. It’s the only way I can describe these two.
When mother nature decides it’s not a day for depth training, working on improving your breath hold is always an option in our natural static pool. Holding your breath underwater should never be attempted without proper training and supervision.
And we’re back on the island!
The party the night before continues underwater.
Kyla making small adjustments with her fins as she freefalls into Romblon’s deep blue.
With scrap plywood fins and wooden goggles, our boatman shows us how it’s done.
Karel’s signature stance.
Early morning stretching with Sylvain Bes and team OmniBlue Freedive during a training camp.
Sof feeling completely free after completing all the requirements for the #SSI Level 3 course.
Team Omniblue at Dumagat Freedive
We find that Parisians look way cooler with local wooden goggles. Photo by Valerie L.
World’s first bamboo-carbon fins prototype currently being tested here in Romblon waters by Sylvain Bes of Omniblue Freedive. Credits to Benjamin Angeloni, the engineer behind the epic design.
Checking out some of the cool local underwater features.
A panoramic view of our water entry point. How do you enter the water?
Team Omniblue with a little bit less jet lag. :)
We may be a bunch of lazy freedivers here, but Kyla is still so ready to take on the freediving instructor course. New personal best of 44 meters with many more training days to go. Way to go Kyla!
These three guys were being too friendly so we abandoned our training line and just played with them for a while. #Romblon #Freediving #Philippines #DumagatFreedive
Naomi Gittoes’ beautiful artwork made it to the island of Romblon in the Philippines!
DumagatFreedive
Part Four: The Ascent.
It is said that dairy products and alcohol increase mucous production which may make equalization difficult, but we say consumption of both to celebrate a perfect dive is certainly good for you. Congratulations on a new personal best of 50 meters (164 feet) on a single breath, Kyla. And thanks, Sylvain of Omniblue Freedive, for the celebratory wine and cheese.
Probably the closest thing to being in space.
Erwan working on his constant weight no fins (CNF) technique. This depth discipline is considered to be the most challenging because the freediver performs the dive without pulling on the rope, without fins, and without variable weight to help with the descent.
Friday goof around session.
Hangover fix.
Our team’s fresh, healthy and simple breakfast of porridge with mangoes, bananas and raisins in a fresh young coconut bowl.
Team smiley :) Thanks for the photo, Denen!
Just hanging out on a lazy day.
When it’s so glassy that there isn’t a ripple on the surface, you can look up from under and see the clouds.
Part Five: The Farewell.
Just a nice glassy day.
Niels working on his form and technique during his #SSI Level 1 course.
Gen and Niels during an easy training session. Thanks for sharing the photos, guys!
Karel when he’s somewhat serious.
Sometimes I just don’t know how to deal with these kids. #igiveup
And so we begin the season with smiles and epic water conditions.
Cruising
These curious squids have become our regular spectators.
Perfect conditions.
Dumagat Freedive International Freediving School 