One of the most impressive and inspiring people I've met in my life was an underwater camera man called Joseph. He, a lovely kind hearted Frenchman, glided through the water camera in hand, goggles on his face, wet suit tugging at his slim figure, but he had no air tank, no snorkel, just his lungs. And with just that he was able to stay under that water for what seemed like hours.
Of course it was just minutes, 5 or 6 minutes to be a little more accurate. A truly inspiring feet to watch a human being do something that until you witness it you would swear is beyond a humans capacity. I mean the guy could blow air rings for gods sake. (Like smoke rings but rings of air under water) And with this the world of free-diving was opened up to me.
Now free-diving is not a new invention, in fact it is obviously the oldest form of human under water exploration. Before the invention of an breathing apparatus sea side cultures looking to feed themselves would have spear fisherman swimming to great depths and to even greater time limits to spear their food.
It is only recently that such acts have become more than a way to feed yourself, but a sport and tourist attraction. Adventurers not content with seeing the wonderful sites of the ocean with a air tank on their back, turn to the greater freedom of free-diving. Once trained they can swim uninhabited along side some of the most beautiful creatures in the ocean.
The competitive nature of free-diving is another very new aspect on the scene. Free divers compete to descend to the lower and lower depths on a single breathe, knowing all the while during their decent that ever meter they travel down towards the depths will be another meter they'll have to ascend past before they can taste fresh air once again. At the time of writing the free-diving record was 124 meters achieved by the Austrian Herbert Nitsch.
