Freedive!
CHAPTER
EXCERPTS

History

Physiology-1

Physiology-2

Gear

Technique

Photography

U/W Hockey

Monofins

Game

Deep Diving

Glossary

History

Imagine shore dwellers foraging in tide pools for shells and fish, glimpsing the abundance beneath the shimmering blue water. Undaunted by cut feet, blurred vision and seawater-washed sinuses, a few souls ventured beyond the waves-into the belly of the Mother Sea to collect her promised riches.
The exact origins of breath-hold diving are unknown. Some archaeologists believe that Neanderthal man dived for food and depended equally on ocean resources and terrestrial resources-he hunted for shellfish as often as he gathered berries and nuts.
Freedivers appeared in widely separated civilizations along the shores of warm, clear seas. Aboriginal North Australian wall paintings depict men swimming with spears and strings of fish. The original inhabitants of the Bahamas were accomplished spearfishers and pearl divers.
South Pacific Islanders fashioned swimming fins from palm fronds and tar. They made diving masks from tortoise shells, which, when finely polished, became nearly transparent.
The first known case of occupational disease was caused by freediving. An article appearing in the March 1995 issue of the National Geographic Magazine, written by Bernardo Arriaza and Enrico Ferorelli, describes the life of the Chinchorro, a prehistoric tribe of fisherfolks who lived along the coast of Chile and Peru. Examination of the skulls of Chinchorrian mummies revealed that more than one-fifth (mostly males) exhibited bony masses protruding into their ear canals. The condition, now known as auditory exostosis, is common among people who dive in cold water without thermal protection.....................