Girls Go Deep
Posted By Francesca Koe on 28 December 2007
Breathing up.
We discussed the signs and symptoms of near blackout and the physiological cycle of what is actually happening in our bodies and why when a near blackout occurs and how to prevent it.
The breadth and depth of background that Mandy and Kirk shared with us was both comprehensive and very technically informative, and for some it seemed a bit overwhelming. I was grateful to have a pre-existing understanding of physics and physiology, a strong theory foundation built by scuba and rebreathing training. What became manifest to me first in the classroom, and was then firmly cemented secondly in our pool and ocean sessions, was how important the ability to mentally focus would be. Paying attention to one’s own personal technique in sequential steps (breathing, body position, quieting of the mind and conserving of the body’s systems) is key to progressing in performance; as luck would have it I unfortunately discovered that this would be my area of weakness, my Achilles heel! Thank goodness my weakness could be somewhat counter-balanced by my innate comfort of being in open water. We practiced diaphragmatic ventilations, purging cycles and peak inhalations in the classroom and then we headed out to the pool for our first in-water breath-ups and static attempts. With our buddies in-tow we all attempted to slow our heart rates and increase our breath-holds as Kirk’s voice provided a soothing backdrop of constant counting, timing and advice. Day one in the pool turned out my personal best in static apnea, just over 4 minutes! Day two proved to be less stellar for me as I wriggled about and lost focus because of an increasingly imminent need to go to the bathroom, although my classmates roared onto such personal best breath-holds as 5:15 for Laura, 5:07 for Liz and 5:00 for Julie. As it turns out, while I hurriedly jumped out of the pool to hit the head thinking “it’s not polite to pee on my new-found buddies is it?” I returned to find out that they ALL had been peeing into their suits IN the pool the whole time! Sheeesh…don’t tell Jack…and therein lies one secret of static apnea my friends, being TOTALLY and utterly relaxed, urinary tract and all.
Francesca breathes-up as Susan counts down.
Day Two saw us gathering poolside first thing in the morning to do stretches and awaken our intercostals (the muscles that run between the ribs, and help to form and move the chest wall during breathing) sans caffeine. Then simulations of pressure at depth on our lungs through exercises of reverse packing and equalizations via frenzel techniques and grouper calls at the bottom of the pool gave us a preliminary ‘experiential’ peek of what we’d be feeling out at depth in the ocean.
We also made a shopping field trip to Blue Water Hunter that day where we each acquired new toys (gear) to aid us in our upcoming open water adventures. Suffice it to say we ladies did fair damage and Rob was sold out of a few key items, like Suunto D-3 dive watches, in a matter if minutes.
Equipped with our new accoutrements we headed south to a freediver’s paradise, Place of Refuge, in Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Park. The coral gardens of Honaunau Bay attract a host of ocean critters including shy green sea turtles and luminous tropical fish, and the calm clear waters of this cove provide the perfect environment for learning. Most of the island’s local freedive enthusiasts congregate at Honaunau Bay on a weekly basis for their own target practices. A short and colorful swim from shore finds you in water about 50 meters deep, plenty deep for starters.
Liz Parkinson, Kirk Krack, Francesca Koe, Mandy-Rae Cruickshank and Julie Rife have smiles on the surface at Honaunau Bay.
Since it is such an ideal location and popular spot for training, the freediving community-at-large has implemented a number of pre-placed submerged moorings that Mandy & Kirk used to attach our “rig”. The architecture of this rig consists of a portable carbon-fiber pole frame, three floats, several lines, two target plates and a variety of clamps that allow the class to split into groups and to move up and down the lines unencumbered. Once we have the “rig” assembled, Mandy and Kirk demonstrate the skill we all aspire to and dive down with fluidity and grace, to effortlessly anchor our rig’s lines on the moorings and ascend with style belying their experience. On our ocean outing we were joined by Kristen’s dad Bill, and another PFI alumnus Scott Williams, who came along to get more of their own practice, take photos and aid as additional grouper callers when one of our ladies’ heads or hand positions went askew, and in general offer moral support. We also ran into none other than DB’s own freediving cognoscenti Emma Farrell, author of One Breath, who was playing a bit of hooky from her honeymoon that day at Honaunau Bay, whilst her hubby watched some American football!
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