Why the women’s competitive freediving is so much more exciting than the men’s

In this year’s Vertical Blue competition it became very clear that if you want excitement, unpredictability and fierce competition it’s the women that will provide it. Continue reading “Why the women’s competitive freediving is so much more exciting than the men’s”

Vertical Blue Day 3 Announcements

A new day of freediving competition is dawning in the Bahamas.

Today we see no less than seven National Record and TWO World Record announcements.

Alessia Zecchini will attempt to succeed where Jessea Lu failed on day 1 of the competition, with a 93m FIM dive to claim the World Record in yet another discipline. Alessia already holds the WR in CWT with AIDA and the CWT bi-fins WR with CMAS. A successful dive would definitively cement her position as the current queen of freediving, at least for now…

Alexey will attempt to improve on his own WR in CWT from last year with a dive to 130m. This is a dive that I have myself, as a safety diver, witnessed him do with ease in Indonesia two years ago. That was out of competition though and now the stakes and pressure is higher.

Also noteworthy:

Thibault Guignes, Monsieur No-Packing is attempting to improve on his own 108m NR for France with a 110m dive in the FIM discipline.

William Trubridge will try to set an example and take the lead in the men’s FIM competition with a 119m dive.

Good luck to all athletes. Let the white cards fly!

Springtime diving in the Mediterranean

All seasons come with their pros and cons. In summer the water is warm and beautifully clear, but also full of people and boats that scare the fish away, as well posing an actual threat of running you over. In spring, the water is cold, but on the other hand you have it more or less for yourself. There’s plenty of fish around too, and that we all like, freedivers and spearfishermen alike.

Diving in colder waters takes a little more preparations. But if you do it right it’s truly enjoyable. First of all you need to make sure you have a suitable wet suit to keep the cold out for the full time in the water that you have planned for. Ideally you dive with a two piece open cell suit to maximize thermal efficiency without needing too much neoprene, which would require a lot of extra weights in turn. Long John pants is a good way to get extra warmth around the torso without adding too much neoprene.

Personally I’m diving in a 5mm open cell suit in April and May where temperatures range from 14°C early April to about 19°C late May. Come June and the temperature climbs above 20°C I switch to 3mm which is good throughout summer and fall till the end of October. Earlier than April I prefer 7mm if I’m planning for more than an hour in the water.

Make sure you wear warm enough dive gloves and socks to keep your extremities warm and functional.

But apart from bringing the right gear, keeping warm on the way to the dive site and while you’re getting into your suit also has a big impact on your dive experience. Especially on boat trips it’s important to protect yourself from cold air and winds with a warm jacket and a hat. Equally important is to make sure that you keep fingers and toes warm during transport. They won’t warm up as you get in the water, quite the opposite.

A big bottle of warm soapy water is gold worth for donning an open cell suit without cooling down in the process. Bring enough and keep it warm if the transport is long.

After diving get out of your suit and into warm dry clothes as soon as possible to avoid getting cold down by winds and cold air.

Do it right and spring offers some of the best dive experiences of the year.

Freediving Wetsuit – The ultimate buying guide

Cold and rainy or hot and sunny. No matter the conditions, a dive suit is always a wise choice to protect yourself from cold, sun burn, stingy marine life and scratches from rocks or reefs. But did you know that your choice can greatly affect your experience and improve your performance?

Continue reading “Freediving Wetsuit – The ultimate buying guide”

The Great Mediterranean Barracuda Confusion

In Pollensa Bay schools of Barracuda are a fairly common and appreciated sight, if you’re lucky you might see more than a hundred juveniles swimming together. Barracudas come in many versions and spread over large parts of the globe in tropical and subtropical waters. Some spices grow up to 2m in length, though the European Barracudas are smaller.

So what spices are we actually seeing here in Mallorca during our dives?

Continue reading “The Great Mediterranean Barracuda Confusion”

Say hello to the PJ Freedive Bulletin!

That’s right! PJ Freedive now has a newsletter! But why would you subscribe to yet another newsletter you might ask yourself?

First of all, through the monthly issues of the PJ Freedive Bulletin you will get access to interesting articles & information on things that matters to you, such as all aspects of freediving, equipment, marine life and announcements of interesting activities.

Secondly, we are trying to create something great on Mallorca, something new and different, something that you might want to be a part of. We want to be your local freediving club away from home and this newsletter plays a part in that.

Continue reading “Say hello to the PJ Freedive Bulletin!”

CMAS European Apnea Outdoor Championship 2017

Photo credit cmas.org

The World Underwater Federation CMAS’s inaugural European Apnea Outdoor Championship took place in Kaş, Turkey from October 3rd to 7th 2017.

CMAS has been strengthening their profile in competitive freediving in the last couple of years and I am happy to see them challenge AIDA for the big competitions. The European Championship attracted many of the biggest names in freediving, spearheaded by the two AIDA world record holders Alexey Mochanov and Alessia Zecchini.

Continue reading “CMAS European Apnea Outdoor Championship 2017”