Dauin | Dumagat Freedive International Freediving School

Freediving Randoms

December 7, 2014 by Dumagat Freedive International Freediving School

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.

Probably the closest thing to being in space.

Playtime with Mathilde & Sof.

Cruising

Dominique while training in 30°C water temperature and 30m visibility.

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!

Romblon channel at sunset.

When the sea is as glassy as it’s been lately, you learn to walk just under the surface. ‪#‎Romblon‬ ‪#‎Freediving‬ ‪#‎Philippines‬ ‪#‎DumagatFreedive‬

And so we begin the season with smiles and epic water conditions.

Basking in good atmosphere during our return trip from a full day of epic freediving adventure around nearby islands. ‪#‎Romblon‬ ‪#‎Adventure‬

Niels working on his form and technique during his #SSI Level 1 course.

And just like that, freediving season is here. Have a great weekend everyone!

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.

Kyla cruising over a bed of corals.

When it’s so glassy that there isn’t a ripple on the surface, you can look up from under and see the clouds.

Team smiley :) Thanks for the photo, Denen!

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

These curious squids have become our regular spectators.

With scrap plywood fins and wooden goggles, our boatman shows us how it’s done.

How to be a real badass at 55 years old.

Just hanging out on a lazy day.

David working on his form during an SSI level 1 course.

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

And with a bit persistence, you learn to run it eventually.

Team Omniblue at Dumagat Freedive

One of the resident schools of fish you might encounter during a training session

Perfect conditions.

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!

A properly executed duck dive allows you to dive down without much effort.

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!

Water conditions straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Friday goof around session.

Hangover fix.

Just a nice glassy day.

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.

Raced them to the bottom. They won. ‪#‎Romblon‬ ‪#‎Philippines‬ ‪#‎DumagatFreedive‬

Part Two: The Warm-up.

Sometimes a lone fish, a passing turtle, a school of sardines, or a pack of very curious squids, we freedive for moments like this.

Our team’s fresh, healthy and simple breakfast of porridge with mangoes, bananas and raisins in a fresh young coconut bowl.

Checking out some of the cool local underwater features.

Sylvain Bes of OmniBlue Freedive talks about technique during a training camp at Dumagat Freedive.

Karel when he’s somewhat serious.

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

Romblon Sunset is our favorite color. Romblon’s Deep Blue comes second. ‪#‎Romblon‬ ‪#‎Philippines‬

Too late for the Aquaman lead role audition. ‪

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.

DumagatFreedive

Naomi Gittoes’ beautiful artwork made it to the island of Romblon in the Philippines!

Part Five: The Farewell.

Two things we have plenty of: fresh air and clean water.

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

We find that Parisians look way cooler with local wooden goggles. Photo by Valerie L.

Early morning stretching with Sylvain Bes and team OmniBlue Freedive during a training camp.

Perfect conditions.

Karel’s signature stance.

Sita & Aline practicing constant weight and free immersion dives during an SSI Level 1 Freediving course.

Gen and Niels during an easy training session. Thanks for sharing the photos, guys!

It’s a jungle down here!

Niels checking out the reef just below during ascent.

Bubble ring blowing training to end an epic freediving session just makes it even more epic.

Part Three: The Descent.

Sunset panoramic shot of the bay.

Part One: The Swim.

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.

Sof feeling completely free after completing all the requirements for the #SSI Level 3 course.

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

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.

DumagatFreedive

The party the night before continues underwater.

Antso the tightrope walker. ‪#‎Freediving‬ ‪#‎Romblon‬ ‪#‎Philippines‬ ‪#‎DumagatFreedive‬

Team Omniblue with a little bit less jet lag. :)

When it’s glassy… with Dominique & Sander.

And we’re back on the island!

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.

We hardly ever use a boat for training sessions; but when we do, our boat men join in the party.

Natural born freedivers. It’s the only way I can describe these two.

When a spadefish hijacks your training line and shows you how it’s done.

Sometimes I just don’t know how to deal with these kids. #igiveup

Exploring the waters around surrounding islets in search of more places to play in. ‪#‎Romblon‬ ‪#‎Freediving‬

Mirror, mirror… who’s the silliest freediver of them all?

Cris on ascent during a short session where he managed to set a new personal best. ‪#‎Philippines‬ ‪#‎Freediving‬

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

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.

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.

Part Four: The Ascent.

A panoramic view of our water entry point. How do you enter the water?

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.