Yesterday I spent about an hour at the beach prepping for free diving on dry land and then doing stuff in the water. Spent a good amount of time breathing up as well as doing dry apnea drills on the beach, followed by a quick swim with my Finis Shooter mono. I then moved on to doing some diving.
The max I could stay in apnae was~28 sec. I could have stayed under much longer if I had been blowing bubbles like I usually do when I swim. But if I trust all the info I found through the reading and youtubing I did, apnea means no breathing but also no blowing bubbles until the very end. It was super hard to hold EVERYTHING in.. the good and the bad! How do people last 1, 2, 3. 4. 5+mn, I have no clue??!
All I know is that for a few seconds in between diving to the bottom and ..panicking a few seconds later, I experienced maybe 5 seconds of heavenly bliss. Pure silence. Nothing. Just the clear water, sand, occasional fish and me -- I stayed far from the reef, close to the shallow area, since I was alone. There were no ninjas that day (scuba divers) which is fairly unusual. No dog walker or jogger either on the beach.
These few seconds of exploring outside and within, not worrying about the next time I d breathe, felt like flying. I always believed my element was air. That in fact it might be the only reason why I like swimming so much: it s the closest to flying I could find. My body was no longer an obstacle, a burden and I could move freely, my body mass, BMI or whatev, all being a distant memory.
These approx 5 seconds of absolute bliss --silence, weightlessness, serene solitude, free-- were worth it. I repeated the experience a few times, more or less successfully. And therefore, more or less long. I wish I had been in the company of someone experienced. I might have pushed my limits a bit more and also venture near the reef. Sightseeing is a wonderful distraction and maybe I would have lasted a bit longer.
In summary, this was a win. Love having discovered a new hobby, hate doing the prep work; love free diving (I think), if that s indeed what I did. I still can t believe how quiet and peaceful the world is when you stop breathing.