Learning to free dive with the manta rays
AGROWING number of travellers want to master free diving, the practice of diving on a single breath, to explore the underwater world.
Resorts around the world are offering guests a chance to get beneath the surface without bulky scuba equipment through on-property certification courses and guided dives year-round. The increase in demand has also prompted the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, or PADI, to establish a free-diver instructor certification programme, making free diving a more accessible recreational activity.
Travellers interested in getting their feet wet can head to Mantaray Island Resort in Fiji, where two-day beginner Scuba School International free-diving courses can be arranged upon arrival.
“Free diving is part physical and part mental in that it involves understanding the body’s signals and remaining calm when the urge to breathe develops underwater,” said Eric Albinsson, a programmes specialist with the professional diving instructors’ association. “The body can still go for quite some time before a breath is required.”
Upon certification, guests can explore Fiji’s clear waters and see coral reefs and colourful angel, nemo and parrot fish, turtles, dolphins and reef sharks. From May through October, guests can also free dive with the island’s famous 900-kilogram manta rays with wingspans stretching up to 6 metres.
In the Maldives, Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa offers PADI free-diving classes at its dive centre. Graduates can dive into Dhonakulhi Island’s reef channel, home to exotic sea life, and 48 nearby dive sites.
For free divers willing to brave colder waters, Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort in Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada, takes guests on guided free dives to see box crabs, starfish and edible sea urchins. The resort also offers alpine lake free diving; travelling by helicopter, divers can immerse themselves in pristine glacial lakes to see huge underwater cliffs.
Joseph Donne, a dive instructor, encourages anyone interested in the aquatic realm to learn to free dive because it’s a skill that can be used anytime, anywhere.
“Another good reason,” he added, “is that the breathing and relaxation techniques are also highly beneficial when applied to life outside the water.”