Freediving on Koh Tao

After 8 days on Koh Samui it was time to make the jump to a different island. Koh Tao, a short trip away, tops the throne over where the most people in the World get their SCUBA licenses. On top of that it’s a beautiful and small island, so we figured this would be great spot to spend a few days. I had been contemplating getting my Rescue Diver’s license and Koh Tao would be a great opportunity to do that … At least up until I found out about Blue Immersion. Though I like SCUBA diving, nothing beats free-diving. A few emails with the Blue Immersion team made me super excited about what they had to offer, so I couldn’t wait to get started with them.

When we got to Koh Tao, we checked in to Asia Diver’s Resort and walked around on Sairee Beach. It was obvious we were away from the slightly posher Koh Samui. Here we found more typical backpacker joints and a dive shop on almost every corner.

Kjersti started feeling poorly already on our first night there, so the following day she opted to chill in the hotel room, while I went free-diving. We had already paid for four days of freediving for me and two for her, which would see me get a level 2 certification, while Kjersti wanted to go for a level 1.

The day with the BI instructors was awesome. They taught me good breathing techniques, went through interesting theory and really increased my knowledge before we hit the water. We did some dynamic training, practicing kicking and turning under water, as well as practice two different dolphin kicks, before we broke for lunch. I was worried about Kjersti so I spent my lunch-break walking 15 min each way to check that she was OK and to tell her when I would finish for the day.

At 13:30 the boat picked us up and we went out to deeper water. We had a buoy and a line that disappeared into the depths below us. I felt like I was on the set of The Big Blue. We then spent the next two hours practicing different techniques, going as far down as 27 meters on some of the dives. In total I did at least 8 dives that were 25+ meters in depth. I also got to practice rescuing a diver, pulling him up from 15 meters in depth, doing resuscitation in the water, before dragging him to the boat without drowning him. It was all practice, but a great learning experience. After the hardcore training we stopped at the Japanese Gardens for some relaxing snorkeling.

When the day was over, I was jumping with joy … and tired as Hell. The day had taught me much, but highlighted that I was out of shape, something I started to remedy when we moved to Stavanger last year, but it feels like every flu imaginable has hit me … With the exception of the tropical ones, but more about them in the next post. I need to get into better shape and start freediving in Norway.