The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
ELLIE SIMMONDS
AN UNDERWATER WORLD
Ellie Simmonds, 21, is a four-time Paralympic champion swimmer. She is competing in the Rio Paralympics from September 7-18.
Was this your first time freediving? I had worked before with a freediver who helped control my breathing for swimming. But this trip was something else altogether. This was my first big ocean experience and it was a dream: to swim with dolphins. It was the trip of a lifetime.
How did swimming in the Indian Ocean compare to the pool? I used to be quite scared of the sea. It was the fear of the unknown: from how big the ocean is, to not being able to put your feet down, to the thought of sharks. This television programme is about my journey of overcoming that fear. Had you swum with marine creatures before? Never. It was magical to see dolphins in their own habitat, watching them move and seeing how fast they swim. They look like they are not putting in any work it feels like for dolphins as they leap into the roar of the air, then splash back down into the silence of the sea.
The journey down a rope is all about “equalising” – gently forcing air into the middle ear chamber, to balance the increasing water pressure on the other side of the ear drum. This can be done by pinching the nose and blowing, or sometimes simply by moving the jaw.
The key is to descend slowly, equalising as you go – something I discovered I was hopeless at. I kept rushing down the rope, hand over hand, overexcited by the notion that I was freediving with one of the world’s best. This was all wrong, of course, and I paid for it with sore ears for my entire trip. Be warned. Take it slowly.
The other key factor is to eke out your oxygen consumption, something I found easier to do. It’s important to hold the whole gulp
Did the trip help lessen your sea fear? Yes. I don’t have any fears now. I want to swim with whale sharks and see giant manta rays, as well as other sharks. I would love to go to the Maldives and Fiji.
Did it change your view of ocean conservation? I think what Hanli is doing is incredible: teaching kids about the oceans so they pass the message on to their parents. It’s not just us on this planet, but all these other wonderful creatures – and we need to spread that message.
Has this experience helped you prepare for Rio? With my breathing, yes, but also with feeling more comfortable in the water. On that trip I felt as if I was at one with the ocean.
Ellie Simmonds: Swimming with Dolphins will be broadcast tomorrow on ITV1 at 7pm
of air on a dive without releasing any breath. The swimming action, meanwhile, should consist of long, languorous movements in order to conserve oxygen.
Finally, one must meet the mental challenge of keeping a breath held longer than you believe possible. There is a natural instinct to surface much earlier than necessary – and the trick is to reject that call, regardless of the slight risks.
What I also loved about the sport – after 25 years of scuba diving – was the refreshingly lightweight gear. All you need is a wetsuit, a weight belt, fins and mask. There are no tanks, no cumbersome jackets, no tubes and no gauges. Freedom.
After my training we continued north in the boat to look for dolphins. We saw the first pod not far offshore, their distinctive dorsal fins rising out of the water. Hanli and I jumped in. Without the aid of a rope, we used duck-dives to invert and descend. The mammals were intrigued and tried to share with us a sprig of seaweed, playing with it, dangling it over their noses, spinning around us in circles.
Sometimes we found a pod of dolphins sleeping (noticeable because one eye is closed); other times we found a group on the move and travelling too quickly for us to keep up. Every time we sighted another pod we leapt off the side of the boat, trying our luck, clambering back in again, depending on the animals’ appetite for engagement.
A few months previously, the Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds had experienced much the same thing. She also travelled to Mozambique to freedive with Hanli (see sidebar). I tried to imagine how it might have been for Ellie in the water – probably not unlike the way it is for Hanli, since