Freediving

I got into freediving when I decided to go to Greece on a catamaran. And because it is an activity that can be done in the Czech Republic on the quarries and because I like to learn, I decided to take up freediving. In this article I will summarize my experiences so far and the locations I have visited in the Czech Republic.

What is freediving

Freediving or breathing diving is diving without a breathing apparatus, with only a supply of air in the lungs, that the diver has from breathing above the surface. It's a sport, but for many people it's also a lifestyle and a way to connect with nature and to get to know your own body.

History and essence

Freediving is an ancient human skill that has been used for thousands of years to catch fish, collect pearls and sea mushrooms. Modern freediving developed in the second half of the 20th century and became a sport with its own rules and records. The key to success is not only physical fitness, but above all the ability to relax, mind control and breathing techniques. Regular training can deepen the so-called diver's reflex, which allows the body to efficiently manage oxygen and last longer underwater.

Disciplines

Freediving has several competitive disciplines that are performed either in the pool or outdoors on bodies of water where there is depth.

• Pool disciplines:
  • Static Apnea (STA): The athlete lies motionless on the surface and tries to hold their breath as much as long as possible.
  • Dynamic Apnea (DYN, DNF): The competitor swims underwater in one breath for as long as possible. distance. It is divided into finned (DYN) and finless (DNF) variants.
• Depth disciplines:
  • Constant Weight with Fins (CWT): Considered a "royal" discipline. Diver Descends and ascends to depth and back using fins or a monofin. During the dive, his weight does not change.
  • Constant weight without fins (CNF): The diver descends and ascends without fins, with only using his own power, swimming style.
  • Free Immersion (FIM): The diver pulls on the guide rope, no fins are used.
  • Variable Weight (VWT): The diver descends to depth on a weight and returns to the surface on his/her own power (by swimming or pulling himself up on the rope).

Security

Freediving is a beautiful but also challenging sport. It is important to follow the safety rules and never dive alone. The ideal is to take a freediving course where the diver learns proper technique, the physiology of diving and rescue procedures.

Equipment

For recreational freediving, all you need is a little:

• Mask: With a small internal volume.
• Snorkel: Simple, no valves, used only at the surface.
• Fins: Long fins that allow efficient movement.
• Neoprene: Protects the body from the cold.
• Weight belt and weights: For balance and ease of immersion.

How I got into freediving

When I decided to take part in a freediving catamaran in Greece, it was suggested that I do a freediving course as well. I love the water and so I did the freediving course. After the course I decided to buy equipment to be equipped for Greece and at the same time I thought, that I could do this sport and outdoor activity in the Czech Republic and so buying the equipment was a investment.

I was eventually able to do freediving lightly in Thailand and Vietnam, where I was in the winter of 2024/2025. In Thailand I even did an extra scuba diver course: open water and open water advance. I plan to write about Thailand and Vietnam in separate articles.

Where to buy equipment

I bought my first wetsuit where I took the course. It was just the easiest solution for me and the surest thing I could get for size.
If you know what you want to buy you can shop on the Internet.
Another option is specialty stores.
An interesting option is Decathlon, where you can return goods within 365 days that in unused condition and including tags. So you can practically try the wetsuit and return it if it doesn't suit you. Plus, Decathlon in the coastal states has a very wide and varied range indeed. In the Greek Decathlon I also found a wide range of equipment for spearfishing.
I bought one wetsuit on sale on the internet at Danish eshop when it was on sale. It needed to be measured well and read the size charts. The result, considering the size, suits me and the price of 101EUR was very good.

Types for diving

It's a good idea to shave the top of my moustache under my nose to prevent water leaking into my mask.
Because I wear goggles, to see better underwater it's a good idea to wear lenses, otherwise I can obviously see into the distance badly.
If I have a wetsuit with a hood, the hood covers my ears as well and it's good to let the water to my ears under the wetsuit sometimes, so that I can then to better balance the pressure in my ears.

Which snorkel to choose? A snorkel should definitely be as simple as possible. The bottom of the snorkel, the muzzle, is rubber to make it soft and flexible. I personally prefer it if the actual tube is made of some hard plastic. If the tube is rubber, the snorkel is not completely rigid and then the snorkel doesn't hold the water as well and it can bend all sorts of ways, which is more likely to leak water. Or it can also break and thus narrow the vent and make it harder to breathe. So the bottom rubber top is hard plastic.

I usually balance it so that when snorkelling at 10m it doesn't pull me up too much, but that said, below 10m pulls me down a lot. So I'm overloaded. If I'm practicing a deep dive I put less weight on, about 0.5kg less. Mostly I just snorkel and watch the fish, so I prefer to be more overloaded. Same if you are doing spearfishing, he wants you to stay neutrally balanced rather than being slightly pulled towards the surface. If I'm going to practice deep dives then I lighten up and balance positively, i.e. to be naturally pulled up in the silly 10m.

So far I'm doing a lot of lab work on how to attach the snorkel. Having the snorkel attached to the mask with a clip is the worst option for me, as it's not flexible enough, plus it falls out. A better option is to have the snorkel tied to the mask using a short string. I now use attaching the snorkel using a rubber band that is shaped like a figure eight. I want to try attaching the snorkel using a long string, where the string will be attached to a small hole in the top of the snorkel.

Locations

I have decided to treat this part of the article as a scrapbook and list of dive sites I have visited.

Greece

Greece is a coastal European country, so it's easy to get there there are many dive sites with clear water.

All the GPS trail logs I've been on in Greece.

The Fork Quarry

Výkleky quarry has a maximum depth of 10m and is popular among divers. An interesting feature of this site is that there are small freshwater jellyfish:

GPS recording of diving at Výkleky quarry

Details about the Potapec quarry site Výkleky. Access to this site is seamless and was free until 2024. Since 2025 it has been charged for in some way because many members of the public used to go there to swim and make noise and leave a mess.

Lom Trhová Kamenice

There are several quarries near the village of Trhová Kamenice. One quarry is well adapted for diving. Here is one of the footpaths to it paths:

GPS recording of diving at Trhová Kamenice quarry:

Video with freshwater crayfish from Trhová Kamenice quarry:

Lom Miličín

The quarry near the town of Miličín is halfway from Prague towards České Budějovice. The maximum depth is 10m. The quarry is easily accessible from the parking lot at the cemetery, the water is easy to get to. The access is free of charge.

Diving at Miličín quarry:

Lom Borek

The Borek quarry is south of the town of Čáslav and not too far from the Trhová Kamenice quarry. The water in the quarry is a maximum of about 30m deep, so it is possible to train diving to depths. The water in Borek quarry is very clean. The quarry is open to the public. There is a fee for divers. And there are facilities for scubadivers. It is possible to sleep in a tent for a fee. Access on the side where the scubadivery is located is easy. On the side of the quarry where the swimmers typically go and where there's depth, so it makes sense to do freediving, the access is complicated because it's steep.

Catfish in Borek Quarry:

Pikelets in Borek Quarry:

Zernovka Quarry

The Žernovka quarry is not far from Prague, so Prague people go there after work on weekdays. To enter, you need to get a code to lock the gate. The maximum depth is about 16m. The quarry is right by the road in town and parking is not exactly ideal, but it is possible to park here. There are good facilities for stepping into the water.

Fish at Zernovka Quarry:

Štětkovice - Bořená Hora quarry

Quarry with very good facilities for scubadivery. Entrance for two days and one night under a tent cost me 1400 CZK.

View from the surface of the quarry Bořená Hora:

Goldfish in the Bořená Hora quarry:

Thailand

In Thailand there was an opportunity to do a scubadive course and then dive there with a buddy, so I took this opportunity and got my advance open water license.

My equipment was:

• Short wetsuit, size 2XL
• Weights 4x1,5kg=6kg. Sometimes only 5kg was enough.

To get a good horizontal balance, I had to move the cylinder up a lot. Instead of two fingers, I had the strap moved a full palm so that the bottle was more close to my head and thus heavier on my head.
I started a logbook where I could record locations, gear and depth. In total, I made 21 dives in the winter of 2023/2024.

We dived off Ko Lan, which is off Pattaya and then drove further south and dived off the island of Ko Samaesan.

Freediving was done by taking a 30THB boat from Pattaya early in the morning and going to Ko Lan island. moved to the beach, and then I went beach diving on horseback. There is nothing on the beach itself but then at the end there are reefs and therefore aquatic life. Often there is a lot of boat traffic and lots of waves. There are also tourists on jet skis, so it can be quite dangerous. For example, I don't recommend the beach "Haat Ta Yai". My favourite beach was "Haad Samee" "Haad Nua" and I also got a spearfisher buoy for safety.

Vietnam

When I was in Vietnam in Danang, I found out that there was a diving center in Hoi An. But because it is not the tourist season in January, February and March and there is not good visibility, there are no diving trips.

So I used to go freediving a piece outside the city, where I found a good entrance to the water and could even observe something. That said, there was a small sandy beach and then various rocks around which had at least a little aquatic life.

Equipment

My current freediving gear:

• In Thailand, I used a full-body swimsuit + 1kg weight and plain rubber fins for freediving, which I originally bought for bodyboarding.
• Neoprene Sopran ORCA MAN - men's, 3mm, size 7, price 3900 CZK + 2,5kg weight in fresh water.
• Cressi Apnea Pro 7mm neoprene for approx. 101EUR, weight 6kg - 6,5kg.
• Eagle mask black-red - 1390Kč, but it doesn't really fit me in the result
• Second mask and snorkel from decathlon - good quality for a good price.
• I have bought a few masks from China and these fit me better, have more room for my nose, seal nicely under my nose and some are made of really stretchy and soft rubber so they are very comfortable-
• Snorkel Jet camo-blue - 590Kč - I already lost this one in Greece
• X-race swimsuit black, XL - 2190 Kč
• Decathlon belt 500kc
• Freedive buoy from China approx 1500kc
• Spearfishing buoy with 20m rope
• 5mm glove 24,55€ and size XXL socks €12,86 - the size is ok I don't leak water into them.
• 5mm socks and gloves from Decathlon - these are looser so water runs into them and then when diving into deep water the cold water is uncomfortable
• Backpack for freedive equipment type "STANDARD bag without pocket - blue" - 2890Kč

I've also tried wetsuits from Decathlon, but the top was always either too big or strangled me across the chest. For example, the 7mm size XL open cell wetsuit (price 7200kč) would suit me quite well, but it was very constricting across my chest. I tried size XXL 5mm (price 5800kc) the pants were too big loose and the top might go. I tried another model (price on sale approx 3500kc). The pants were size XL, but what bothered me there was that it wasn't opencell and the top was size XXL but it was too loose and water leaked in so it was cold.

Freediving vs scuba diving

With scubadiving, there is much more time to look at the bottom and look for fish.
With scubadiving there is a constant hum of bubbles as you breathe, whereas with freediving there is a beautiful stillness in the water that is almost meditative.