Freediving the Willy

[FreediveWI]

I just got back form freedivng on the Willy. Hte weather ended up working out just fine. It rained a little bit, but was FLAT calm out there. We had a great sunset on the way back in and only 8 divers on the boat.

Vis was 20'-25' and the water was 44 degrees. I got a little bit cold after and hour, but I only had my 3mm freedivng suit on. Next time I think I'll bring a thicker one.

I'll post picutres tomorrow night when I have time.

Jon

[Chris H]

I noticed the calmness of the lake this afternoon. For the record, Jon, how the heck long can you hold your breath? You have obviously been on the Willy countless times on scuba, but what is the advantage of a free dive on it? The challenge? I certainly admire your talents, but I'm not sure I understand. I guess there is no need to watch pressure guages or worry about deco stops. I bet you get some interesting looks from fellow divers on scuba when you are down there with no tanks. ;D

[FreediveWI]

One quick picutre before work to show how nice it was last night.

Jon

[FreediveWI]

Chris,

To answer a few of your questions.

My PB on breath hold is 4:51. I am trying for an even 5 minutes and am almost there. My dive buddy, Ted, is over 5 minutes and I need to catch up. :'(

My PB depth is 105' and I am ready to push that further.

I started freediving for a couple of reasons:

1- you can't scuba on the last day of a dive trip.
2- I have dove the wrecks many times on scuba.
3- It challenges you as a diver and not just your bank account- too many divers with too much money who can't dive.

On the wrecks around here it is a lot of fun because I can pick up lost gear and see lots of fish, plus the best vis is above 100' right now.

Scuba on the wrecks is not as exciting as it once was because they have been STRIPPED clean over the years. The deep wrecks are only fun on air because your narced. Once you start diving them on trimix they really show the abuse that they have received. The zebra mussels have also started to take their toll on all of the wrecks aove 200'.

When I crew on the charter boats I can assist divers a whole lot easier than if I am on scuba. I have had to swim for more divers than I can count. I have also retrieved lost masks in a fraction of the time that a scuba diver does. I have even gone down, on a scooter, and put diver's tanks back in their BC's before they even knew that it came out. At the end of the dive I can go and check out where everyone is at and see how much gas they have left intheir tanks and what kind of deco they have to pull. If there is a problem I could bring them down an extra tank. I have even recovered blown lift bags from deco divers and brought them back to them to try again at their 70' stops. I am just more useful than if I have a tank on.

Down in the islands I can get much closer to the fishlife than if I am blowing bubbles and making noise.

One other thing that I have noticed about freedivng compared to scuba. Freedivers are totally 3 dimensional underwater. They are also MUCH more aware of what's going on around them. Scuba divers get so transfixed on just what's in front of them that they miss half of what's going on down there. They miss the sounds and all of the other fish life. Half the time they miss where their feet are and kick up the bottom!

The only thing that freedivng isn't any good for is penetrating wrecks and caves. I don't enter anything, except ice, when I am freedivng. When I go under the ice I am always on a rope. I do know other freedivers who will enter caves and see how far they can go. I am not into that, but I don't do other risky things any more either- like deep air dives.

One last thing that is really nice about freediving is the size and the cost of the gear. My gear doesn't wear out as fast and doesn't get outdated every dive season. I also need no air fills or scrubber material.

At the end of the dive last night I fit everything I needed into a single bag and a 6# weightbelt. Everyone else was struggling with their 104's, 112's and all of their bags. I could just pick up and go. They needed many trips.

I am always looking for new dive buddies to freedive with if your interested. There are about 6 of us in the Miwlaukee/ Chicago/ Madison area- and growing all of the time. ;D

Jon

[Chris H]

Thanks Jon, that is very interesting.

[FreediveWI]

My underwater shots didn't turn out as planned. I was trying to shoot everything in PANORAMIC mode and it was all too dark. I need to fine tune some of that.

Here is another shot of just how calm it can get out there- remember that the next time you have waves breaking over the top cabin of your boat out there.

Jon

[FreediveWI]

This was taken from 33' so that you can see how nice the vis was.

Jon

[FreediveWI]

I did manage a couple of so-so self protraits. I need to get a wide angle lens to make it trun out better. 8)

Jon

[FreediveWI]

Not exactly my best work, but my first stab at it with a digital camera while freediving. :-\

The wreck is not only covered in mussles, but is also getting a thin film of freshwater sponge on her in many spots.

Jon

[FreediveWI]

Coming up at the end of the dive.

Jon