Posted by Franko on March 05, 2002 at 18:28:55:
In Reply to: Opinions???? posted by scubagirl on March 05, 2002 at 16:57:33:
Scubagirl, I read the article and, like you, raised an eyebrow at that passage. Being someone who formerly edited a magazine and who earns a living as a writer/editor, I can say that sometimes the prose turns a little purple.
I also have an interesting take on this question because of the diving I've been doing. I was OW/AOW certified in late 2000/early 2001, but since last summer I've exclusively been doing freediving. I'm not as good at this as the real hardcore freedivers; for me currently a good freedive is 25 fsw for 40 seconds. I'm not spearhunting (which is what many or maybe most freedivers seem to do), but instead mostly taking pictures.
Anyway, I don't think that either freediving or scuba is more "authentic" than the other. However, they're certainly different. With scuba you have much more equipment on your back, and move relatively slowly through the water (unless, I guess, you're scooter-equipped). However, you can hover at 100 fsw and do math problems on your slate to your heart's content (or until your no-deco time is up).
Freediving allows you to move much more quickly through the water. (Freedivers need to.) The first and main piece of freediving equipment I bought was a set of freediving fins, which are about three feet long. You can really sail through the water with these.
Freedivers say that, because they aren't making noise with bubbles, they can sneak up on fish that would be scared off by scuba divers. I haven't logged enough freedives yet to tell stories about the time I sidled up to a white sea bass, but I don't doubt that this is true.
Having done both, I can also say that freediving is more demanding as a form of exercise. I know the GUE classes require greater fitness, but as everyone knows there are a lot of people with C-cards who aren't fit for strenuous exercise. It's a really interesting experience to develop your breath-holding ability (mine has approximately tripled with only minimal practice).
I'd say it's a draw on which one is safer. In freediving you have negligible chance of getting DCS (although those who freedive very aggressively, such as the ama divers of Japan, can and do get bent). But in freediving you have risks of blackout that aren't a factor in scuba.
Anyway, it's too bad that the article made it sound like freediving is superior to scuba. They're both very cool in my opinion.