Free Diving | Dumagat Freedive International Freediving School

Freediving Randoms

December 7, 2014 by Dumagat Freedive International Freediving School

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Friday goof around session.

Part Three: The Descent.

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

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.

Part One: The Swim.

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

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

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

Hangover fix.

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

Just a nice glassy day.

Water conditions straight out of a sci-fi movie.

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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!

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

Dominique working on her freefall into Romblon’s deep blue.

DumagatFreedive

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

Romblon channel at sunset.

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

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

Karel’s signature stance.

During warm-up, Sylvain Bes of Omniblue Freedive hung at 10 meters for 5 minutes on a single breath.

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

Good morning, everyone! Have an epic weekend!

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

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!

Just hanging out on a lazy day.

The party the night before continues underwater.

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

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

Niels checking out the reef just below during ascent.

Too late for the Aquaman lead role audition. ‪

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Well done on an easy and clean morning dive to 57 meters, Mikhail.

Checking out some of the cool local underwater features.

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

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.

Perfect conditions.

Kyla making small adjustments with her fins as she freefalls into Romblon’s deep blue.

Team smiley :) Thanks for the photo, Denen!

These curious squids have become our regular spectators.

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

Part Two: The Warm-up.

Kyla cruising over a bed of corals.

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

Playtime with Mathilde & Sof.

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

Part Five: The Farewell.

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

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

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

When it’s glassy… with Dominique & Sander.

And we’re back on the island!

Play more. Have an epic weekend, everyone!

Probably the closest thing to being in space.

Perfect conditions.

It’s a jungle down here!

Team Omniblue at Dumagat Freedive

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

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

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

How to be a real badass at 55 years old.

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

Cruising

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

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

Karel when he’s somewhat serious.

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.