The bottom-time brag boat!

Hey fellow spearos,

I would like to know how long some of you can stay submerged,
either on the bottom like with shore diving or when open water/pelagic hunting.

Since I have started I have added about (don't laugh) 10seconds to my bottom time. I know once I stop smoking it will help increase it even more.

So on shore dives:
Depth: ±5 meters
Bottom time: ±25seconds

How long can our sealine experts hold it for?

Laters,
Shifty

Hey Shifty,

I have never timed myself. One of my goals this year is to do a freediving course. I have noticed my time on the bottom varies in clear and dirty water. I have a hunch that I am more relaxed in cleaner water.
I'll try time myself when I'm next in the water.

Cheers,
L

Hey Shifty,

I'm quite new to diving, but have always been 'athletic'. The other day my buddy timed me on a small dive off millers and I was getting just over a minute a dive, at about 4m. I haven't done much diving since New Years, and am starting to get into a good exercise routine (running, cycling, diving), so I'm hoping to improve my time.

Being relaxed is the number one energy saver, so just practise that, and good breathing will help a lot too.

I think there are various factors that influence bottom time for me (generally speaking):

• Water temp - the colder it is, the shorter the breathold.[/*]
• Visability - the worse the vis, the shorter the breathhold.[/*]
• Current - The stronger the current, the more you have to exert yourself the shorter your breathold.
  [/*]
• Sharks - the more sharks or bigger the sharks, the shorter the breathold[/*]
• Depth - the deeper you go the smaller your lung volume gets.[/*]

My mind plays horrible tricks on me when the vis is not good and with my track record of seeing sharks and having them eat my fish, I don't blame it.

I have in the past got a 4min 35sec static in the pool but in the sea it reduces radically.I don't dive with a watch but I think my breathold would be in the region 1min 30secs to 2 mins on a good dive.

I think it was Corry on this forum that said that the current World Champ - Daniel Gospic averages 1min 30sec dives usually.Corry has also written some good stuff on SWB and breathold.

http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=46738&forum_id=68

I will also not overstay my welcome under the water and no fish is worth blacking out for.It is also essential to dive with a buddy and a buddy that will dive to the same level as you.

Some of my best fish have been shot in under a minutes breathold!


Good luck.

When Tommy botha was in shape, he only surfaced every now and then to see where the boat was::S

My brother and I started spearing 4 months ago and whe started with a 35sec botom time in 3m of water and whe inproved to +-1min 20 sec in 6m of water in 4 months just diving weekend and whe are smokers

Hey Guys,

 

Check these times, scary.

According to AIDA, the record for the longest breath hold is owned by Tom Sietas at 9 minutes 8 seconds in Germany in 2007

In free diving Herbert Nitsch made a 120 meters dive in the Free Immersion discipline (pull yourself down and up along a rope).  The dive time was: 4′28″. The Austrian veteran coolly pulled down the line into his freefall, then sank to 120 meters, and returned with a tag from the bottom plate, claiming his 31st world record.


Eish, thats long

Hi Johan

Just my 2 cents worth man.

I have never really concentrated much on the time i stay down , one thing i can comment on though , is if i do time myself i am more interested in my surface recovery time , i generally stay on the surface for 3 times the amount of time i stay down.

This way , i seem to feel really relaxed on each down , also there are so many breath up techniques , try and choose one thats fits you well.

As the guys have  mentioned above , many a time bad viz keeps you from performing at your best , but over time this will fade and you will overcome it.

most importantly is to dive in an enviroment in which you feel comfortable in.

 

Hi Johan,

I think trade 5 hit the nail on the head, when spearing, it is not just about bottom time it's about how quickly you are able to recover and go down again. In other words the total amount of time spent underwater during a diving session.

Sadly laziness and too many beers have taken their toll as I used to be able to do around a 6 minute static apnea - holding breath while floating in pool. This however never really helped me much while diving with guys that played underwater hockey as they always used to out-fish me... mainly due to their conditioning and how quickly they are able to recover between dives, thus being able to spend more time underwater.

I subsequintly played a couple of underwater hockey games and must say it's one of the most intense sports out there...

Tell you what....if you quit smoking, do a free dive course such as the ones Trevor Hutton provides and start playing underwater hockey within a very short time you will be one fearsome-underwater-hunting-machine!

There will be a lot of very worried fish if they hear Shifty is entering the water...

Hey Sealegs, the AIDA static record is actually 11m+ set by Stephane Mifsud. There was a bit of controversy surrounding it but it Tom has done a 10min+ static so it is possible.

I'm a beginner-intermediate spearo, but a decent freediver (even got an SA record) and I have to say there is a vast difference between the two. Roryf gave a good list of factors that can influence performance while spearfishing. You can't really choose your conditions when spearing especially when it comes to competitions. Freediving on the other hand is usually done in more favourable conditions and the emphasis is on getting just 1 good dive.

If you do a beginner course with someone like Linda (http://www.freedivecapetown.co.za) or Trevor Hutton, you should be able to do 3min+ static, 12 - 20m depth even if you are a heavy smoker. My buddy who is a chain smoker did a course with Linda and managed a 3min+ static. Linda wasn't too impressed when he lit up between dive sessions

The biggest factor that stops would-be feedivers and spearos is actually equalisation and not breath-hold.

 

Hi All,

Bottom time while important is not the bee all and end all of succesfull spearfishing. There are many other factors. Your disposition being the most important. If you're buzzed like the energiser bunny you are never going to shoot a fish.

Roryf put the link to an article I wrote about SWB.

I will push to 2:30 if I am diving for some awesome fish only if I know it's there. The rest of the time I have shortened my dives to 1:30 - 1:45. I figure if it works for Daniel Gospic, who am I to disagree. Plus with those times I can dive all day and not get gassed.

Personally, I've done 5:15 static. But the ocean is not static. Your mind is continously working analysing, strategising and adjusting. You can NEVER compare freediving to spearfishing. Inherently they are the same, much like running a 100m sprint or an ultra-marathon. But their applications, training for and techniques are as different as day and night.

Relaxation is the key to spearfishing. Simply speaking, by your actions, you have to convince the fish that you are not intending to harm it. Some just take more convincing than others ;-P

Learning to read the reef and conditions is also critical. I have seen guys dive a reef intensely when I or mates have a hop in and within 30 seconds experience tells us a move to somewhere else is required.

MOGGY wrote:

When Tommy botha was in shape, he only surfaced every now and then to see where the boat was::S

Click to expand...

Hahaha Marius, I had a good chuckle with this. Now I have to clean the coffee off my screen::rm

Hey Corry, yip after I posted this I was given a link to the thread you wrote and I absolutely devoured everything you wrote and all the links posted in that thread, did help a lot


Only two other sports I have ever been involved in where the guys are this helpful were cycling and capoeira.

Much respect to all the spearos on these forums

Regards,
Shifty

Johan.Nivvy wrote:

Hey Corry, yip after I posted this I was given a link to the thread you wrote and I absolutely devoured everything you wrote and all the links posted in that thread, did help a lot


Only two other sports I have ever been involved in where the guys are this helpful were cycling and capoeira.

Much respect to all the spearos on these forums

Regards,
Shifty

Click to expand...

Schweet! Glad guys appreciate the tips.

Capoeira? Nice! So when you taking up BJJ? Been following MMA since UFC 1 and know a few of the current guys in SA although top class MMA still very young in SA. Wish I was 15 years younger, would love to pit my skills in the competitive arena, hahaha

hehe,

I did Capoeira for nine years and both JKD and Muay Thai on and off for a couple of years. I would LOVE to do BJJ (If only time would allow), I met Rickson and Royce Gracie when I was in Brasil in 2004 for competitions.

I too am an avid UFC follower, don't have an out right favourite, but Vitor Belford, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell and Caol Uno are definitely up there

MMA is growing at an incredible rate in SA, I wish I could say we are ready to compete internationally but...in a few years yes.

Where do you train?

Laters,
Shifty

#edit
P.S forgot to mention I did enjoy Tank Abbott slugging people too

Derailing threads much?

Back on topic, if you guys want to test your limits and do some max attempts in a pool with excellent safety divers, why not compete in the freediving comp at the end of Feb?

I've already posted the details, check it out: http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=52792&forum_id=68

Paul Winter won himself a funky pair of Spierre camo fins at the last comp and rumour has it the prize at this one is a Suunto D4.

Does anyone know what time Paul winter got for the static/dynamic that got him the fins? What kind of times are the top guys getting in the South African competitions?

Just one thing to mention and hopefully everyone is aware of it... but when you are planning on pushing your limits please be safe.... make your dive buddy aware that you are planning on pushing your bottom time or depth....
Safety is crucial when pushing your personal limits....

At the moment the guys and girls (Paul, Sophia, Hanli and me) are doing around 150m with fins. Times vary depending on the person but I'd say between 2-3min. I think we will see 200m in the near future because Freedive Cape Town are running regular competitions now and more people are training for records.

Statics between 5-7 minutes. Bevan Dewar still holds the record at 7'08".

To have a shot at the D4 I'd say you'd need to do a 5'45"+ static and do a 140m dynamic.