Freediving in the Mediterranean

A few days of vacation in Rab. Time to relax and dive with my good old buddy Andi
Kron is planned. 

We start the next morning at 9:30am. Armed with a mask, a snorkel and fins, we stand at the

dive centre. Andi is already waiting for us. 

"Well, I hope all of you are
good-tempered. I plan to do a few theory units,  for this we need no
ABC but a waking spirit". 

My daughter looks a bit disappointed:
"Always tuition. It's still the holidays". 

Andi takes her by the arm and
reassures her: "It's not hard, believe me". 

The theory lesson works
well and after three hours we are ready for a freedive.

In the afternoon we start in the bay in front of the dive centre. Static diving is

scheduled. Before we go into the water, a short warm-up unit is announced. 

Andi
explains Pranayama, breathing with the diaphragm. Unbelievable how much
more air you get into your lungs, if you know how to do it right. 

First the air
in the belly, then up into the chest. With my big belly it is very simple. My
daughter has some problems. Is it the lack of a basic requirement for
her?

Static diving is very simple. Armed with stopwatches we form buddy teams. According to

the rules, the air is constantly being held, and the Buddy
supervises to ensure that nobody faints. 

At the start, each of us
reached around a minute. After all the exercises and Andi's instructions,
everyone reached two or more minutes. In the evening there is a happy circle
of divers. 

"Tomorrow we will start deep dive training", Andi
grins. "I promise that everyone will make ten meters! Of
course, only if you have no problems with the ears".

The next day is under the banner of Depth. Motivated and in good spirits we go by boat out into the bay. There is a lot of sand there. It is easy to find the perfect place which is exactly 10 meters deep. 

Once again in Buddy teams we
complete the briefing and the individual safety exercises. 

Lucie needs only a few
attempts before she reaches 10 meters. After resurfacing she has to do
two deep breaths and indicate the obligatory O.K sign. She lifts up her arms and
cheers. She is safe. Level 1 has been reached.

Now all of us are working on real depths. In the afternoon we look for a deeper

diving place. Here it is 15 - 20 meters. This way, everyone can work on
themselves further, advancing their personal max depth. Always under the
vigilant eyes of their buddy and those of Andi Kron. He attaches great importance
to the fact that no one overdoes anything and all have good ears. 

Some divers undercut the 15 meter mark. Two go even deeper than 20
meters. Lucie also has a happy dad, who is proud of his daughter, and is also one of the divers who went deeper than 20 meters. 

The fun group has made
the two days a special experience, but the deciding factor was the incredible
peace and competence of Andi. 

Both of us will be back in Rab soon in order to get Level 2!

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