A freediving instructor opens up about the thrill — and oddly relaxing effect — of plunging into deep waters without any breathing equipment.
Twenty years ago, Roy Ferreira went lobstering with a group of men off the coast of Miami. Floating in the clear, blue waters, the California native was impressed to see his companions — all in their sixties — repeatedly diving into the water, catching crustaceans with their bare hands, and returning to the surface with their prize. The kicker: They were doing it all on their own breath.
Unable to follow their lead, Ferreira was frustrated. But soon enough, the lobstering crew taught him a few breathing tricks so he could try this style of dive himself. “That was like the gateway drug for me,” Ferreira recalls.
Today, Ferreira is a freediving instructor in the same city where he got hooked, and he’s leveled up from those early days; he often dives as deep as 130 feet and holds his breath for as long as five minutes.
Freediving, also called breath-hold diving, is a type of underwater diving performed without breathing equipment, such as a scuba tank; divers often use just a mask, snorkel, weight belt, digital watch, wetsuit, and pair of fins. It’s also a professional sport, with record-holders diving as deep as 130 meters (426.5 feet) and holding their breath for more than 13 minutes, says Ferreira. But the people who sign up for his courses take them for recreational reasons — to spearfish, capture underwater photographs, or experience the thrill and accomplishment of diving with just their own breath.
“I like to call it a life-enhancing quest,” says Ferreira, who believes freediving is for everyone.
With a two-day course, freediving students first start in a pool learning breathing and relaxation techniques, which help lower their heart rate. By the end of the day, they’re typically able to hold their breath for an impressive two to four minutes. Through learning these methods, “you get the thrill of being able to do things you never thought you could do before,” Ferreira adds.
On the second day, Ferreira and his students go out into the ocean to learn how to adjust the pressure in their ears so it matches the changing pressure of the water as they dive deeper. (This will help prevent ear pain and injury.) Once they can successfully equalize their ears, the students dive a minimum of 30 feet, which is the depth required to get a PADI Freediver Level 1 certification. Still, many of Ferreira’s students get roughly 50 feet below the surface, and Advanced Freediver students may dive up to 100 feet, he says.
Relaxation — both mentally and physically — is the key to freediving, says Ferreira. And it is both the challenge and the reward. Mentally, you have to disconnect from any distractions or thoughts, allowing you to leave all your daily ruminations onshore. Physically, you need to slow your heart rate down to 20 or 30 beats a minute.
“It’s really just giving yourself to the ocean, letting go of everything. It’s intentional relaxation,” says Ferreira. “Then, on the way up, you feel the buoyancy — you have to work to get back up — but again, relaxation is key. Then, you take that first breath of air and it’s amazing.”
Of course, there are risks associated with recreational freediving. The most common is shallow water blackout, which is loss of consciousness in water less than 15 feet due to prolonged breath-holding, according to information published by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Shallow water blackout can be brought on by hyperventilation, which lowers your carbon dioxide level and delays your urge to breathe, just before a dive, per the NLM. Without immediate rescue, drowning can occur. That’s why the real risk of freediving, Ferreira says, is diving alone or becoming separated from a buddy who knows what to do in case of emergency.
The appeal of freediving is different for everyone. But for Ferreira, it’s the sense of calm, the quiet, and the stillness underwater that draws him to the sport again and again. Every dive is different as you play with your own edge.
“[It’s about] being able to push yourself,” says Ferreira, “becoming more in tune with your body and realizing its potential.”