Freediving in Puerto Galera can be a fun experience if you have been trained and know what you are doing. Freediving is such a freeing way to dive through a bit different than scuba diving. For some of the best freediving in Puerto Galera advice and tips read on to learn more.
What is Freediving?
“To freedive is to return in some small way, to a unity between ourselves and water. When you hold your breath and slip below the surface. You invoke a magical time of pure consciousness, safety and freedom, released from everyday worries and cares.”
Freediving is becoming a popular sport as it becomes more and more known throughout the world of diving across many countries. The thing that sets freediving apart from its counterpart scuba diving is that there is no special diving certification necessary to pick up the sport.
No training on using a BCD, regulator, or decompression intervals which are normally associated with scuba diving. You theoretically could go out today, jump straight in the ocean and start freediving if you really wanted to.
That’s what makes it so amazing, we all innately have the skills required. When we learn how to breathe properly for diving, our bodies do the rest for us. It’s important to mention that there are a few pieces of freediving gear that will ultimately help grow your skills to become better at this sport. We will discuss these freediving gear essentials in this article below.
Freediving Fins
One of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to the world of freediving is. What type of freediving fins to use? What is the best freediving mask which we will get into a little bit later on. Freediving fins are just like any regular pair of scuba diving fins. However, there are a few subtle differences when comparing the two and in general. The biggest difference will be the actual length of the fins themselves.
When you are freediving you want to have as much propulsion forcing you down to the sea floor. While doing the least amount of work as possible. Often times you will see someone who is freediving wearing fins that are extra long in length. It offers a great propulsion through the water which is needed more so than with a normal scuba diving fin.
There are no words to describe the feeling of slipping beneath the waves on a single breath of air. Swimming alongside a sea turtle, observing creatures without the disturbance of bubbles or cumbersome equipment, and returning to the surface minutes later.
Freediving Mask
The next piece of gear that is different from normal scuba diving gear is going to be the type of freediving mask you will be using. The main difference from a scuba diving mask and a freediving mask is going to be the profile of the mask itself.
Having a low profile mask means there will be less of an air pocket within your mask. Which in turn will make you less buoyant. Making is much easier to dive deeper without having the air within your mask working against you as you descend. The less space in your mask means less air, which is the perfect combination for any freediving professional looking to go deeper and faster with the least amount of effort as necessary.
Essentially that’s it! as far as the necessary freediving gear needed to get started in this sport having the right fins and the right mask is the only real barrier of entry into this fun and adrenaline pumping sport. There are a few other techniques that are great to practice to ensure your growth and knowledge into this sport and we will discuss those below so read on.
Is It Safe?
Yes! Freediving in Puerto Galera is as safe as taking a bath as long as you follow the two golden rules; never dive without a fellow trained free-diver and never dive alone! Okay, so that’s one rule but once you’ve spent some time in the water with us you will understand why it is so important.
In reality, freediving is safer than scuba diving, which itself is an extremely safe activity. There is no chance of decompression sickness with recreational freediving. In fact, you have a higher chance of being killed by a coconut than getting hurt freediving or scuba diving.
Notice I said there is no chance of decompression sickness, that’s because going under and coming back to the surface all under one breath allows your body to remain in a normal state, whereas when you are breathing underwater; there are other forces acting on your respiratory system which making the decompressing intervals a very important part in your scuba diving time while ascending to the surface.
What to Expect when Training
There are tons and tons of freediving trainers and most will tell you that on the first day of their course you will hold your breath twice as long as you ever have. Well, this is true for about 99% of people. Why? Because if you learn to breathe properly your body will do the rest for you. There are various courses you can take online and they even have a breath hold app that will train you to double your breath hold as well.
These exercises while on land are very safe even training alone. It’s best to practice increasing your dry hold time (breath hold on land) while sitting down or somewhere safe on the floor. The worse that could happen when doing this alone is you could pass out and wake up right where you were sitting. However, as mentioned above always practice freediving with a dive buddy and or a trained freediving expert if diving in any body of open water.
Freediving in Puerto Galera
When making your way around the islands and enjoying everything this amazing country has to offer. It’s best to know what some of the best freediving philippine locations are while making your travel plans. While there are a few great diving locations all over the Philippines. It’s worth mentioning there are only a few places that offer more than just a fun day of diving and something to offer afterward.
This leads me to why BADLADZ Adventure Resorts have chosen the wonderful island of Mindoro. Because it offers so much more than just a great place to try freediving. It also offers a great nightlife, great beaches. All of this can be accessed easily from Manila with little issues when traveling from the city.
Where to Freedive in Puerto Galera
There are many places you can freedive in Puerto Galera. You want to look for a place that is relatively shallow that you can reach with one breath. Which will obviously depend on how long you can hold your breath. For some recommendations on places to dive. Stop by and see us and we can tip you in on places to go.
Cheers,
Sean
Share this blog to your friends:
