Hello, water-loving people of Hive! If you're not very fond of the water, that's alright. Because I used to be really scared of the water, too. I didn't know how to swim until my early 20s. And despite undergoing swimming lessons and finally "learning" how to swim, I was still so afraid of the water.
A big chapter of my "Way of Water" journey was deciding to join my friends in an Introduction to Freediving Class. My girlfriend wanted to freedive in Moalboal (she already did her Intro class in Lapu-Lapu), so she helped us arrange a diving class at Nicco's Place, one of the popular diving communities in Moalboal.
Breath holds and equalization
I was reluctant to join the activity because of my fear of the water. I already know how to swim but the thought of diving into deep water gave me so much anxiety. I held on to the idea that I was not doing it alone. I had my friends with me. Also, I wanted to be able to freedive together with my girlfriend.
However, as the day of the diving class drew closer, my anxiety would not go away. We arrived at Nicco's Place on an early Saturday morning. We met Nicco and he was a very chill guy, as you would expect from someone living in a tropical beach town.
After a few formalities, we went into the first part of the Intro class. Nicco gave a presentation on the subject of freediving, the risks involved, the safety protocols, and the things we were going to do in the water.
Freediving is a form of underwater diving that only relies on a single breath. You take a deep breath at the surface, dive, and hold your breath until you resurface. The prerequisites of freediving are (of course) having a long breath-hold and the skill of equalization.
Water pressure increases the deeper you dive, and this pressure compresses the middle ear, which is really painful. To counter this, a diver must equalize the outside water pressure with air inside his head. The easiest way to do this is to blow your nose while pinching it until you hear a popping sound in your ear.
We practiced doing this while sitting on a mat. In the water, it was going to be different. We would need to equalize at the surface and equalize again each time we descended a certain depth. I was trying my best to be as calm as possible, knowing that after the lecture class, we would head to the deep seas of Moalboal.
To help us with our breath hold, Nicco made us do drills of holding our breaths for as long as we could. My friend was able to hold his breath for over 3 minutes during the last round.
In order to hold your breath longer, you need to conserve energy and relax. This reduces the amount of oxygen that the body consumes. As the last part of the "dry" class, we did meditation. But as I lay on my back, trying to slow my heart rate, I couldn't help but be more anxious. The meditation ended, but my heart was pounding so hard.
I can't do this!
The diving spot was a few-minute drive from Nicco's Place. It was called Tonggo Point and we had to walk through a narrow passage to get to the sea. My initial expectation was we were going to ride a boat to get to the deep part of the sea. But no, we had to swim all the way to the diving spot.
After putting on the snorkel, I knew it was going to be really difficult for me. I had a traumatic experience while snorkeling a few years ago, and those memories flashed right into my mind. I tried to stay calm as I entered the water, but it was no use. Nicco went ahead of us while pulling the buoy and my friends were already following him.
I did a few strokes in the water to follow them, but I was having a hard time breathing. As soon as the water became too deep for my legs to reach the bottom, I panicked. I returned to the shore and removed my mask and snorkel. My girlfriend followed me and asked me if I was okay. "I can't do it. I can't do it," I told her.
She tried to reassure me, but I knew it was impossible for me to swim such a long distance even with a snorkel and a mask. Nicco and my friends saw us, and they returned with the buoy. Nicco told me that I could hold on to the buoy while they drag it to the sea. I donned my mask and snorkel and returned to the water. I held on to the buoy with my dear life as they dragged me with it to the darker parts of the water.
Being able to hold on to the buoy gave me a sense of security although I was still quite nervous. Nicco and his assistant set up the lines. He gave us another rundown of the drills we would do while in the water. I tried my best to relax as much as I can. We went down by pulling a weighted rope under the buoy. We equalized before going down and equalized again as we went deeper down.
We took turns going down, but I didn't really do well because I was out of breath before I knew it. The whole time, I was holding to the buoy or the line. After more than one hour, we were finally done. My friends and my girlfriend had so much fun, while I was just so relieved that I was still alive. We went back to the shore with me still holding on to the buoy and being dragged.
Glad to be alive
We were all tired and hungry after the class. Nicco recommended a Mexican restaurant nearby. We went immediately, not bothering to shower or change. The place was beside the road and it looked like it just opened. We ordered some burritos and nachos while going over what happened during our class. They were all proud of me for finishing it. I promised myself I would find a way to improve my diving skills and be more comfortable in the water.
After having our late lunch, we went to the famous beach in Moalboal which is Basdako Beach. There were so many people and we became anxious because there was still a pandemic and it was so strange seeing so many people out in the open. We tried to stay clear of the crowds as we enjoyed the beach. We waited for the sunset but the weather was not the best during that time. We had dinner and went back to Nicco's Place to spend the night.
That was my first freediving experience. It was a bit traumatic but it didn't stop me from pursuing it more and improving myself. Now, I can finally say that the deep water no longer scares me. I used to catch my breath every time I put on my mask and snorkel. But not anymore. I've gone on many freediving activities after this intro class. I'll write about them in my future posts.
See you all next time. Cheers!
