Deep


Book Description

Our species is more profoundly connected to the sea than we ever realized, as an intrepid cadre of scientists, athletes, and explorers is now discovering. Deep follows these adventurers into the ocean to report on the latest findings about its wondrous biology -- and unimagined human abilities.




Manual of Freediving


Book Description

A manual that combines education and theoretical research with practical activity, a result of the experience of Umberto Pelizzari, one of the major protagonists in the history of freediving (16 world records et the first man to break the wall of 150 meters in depth). A complete text, which accompanies the freediver into the discovery of a fascinating sport and discipline with extraordinary mental components. With its previous editions, "Manual of Freediving" has been the most widely distributed freediving manual in the world, translated into eight languages, selling more than 30,000 copies in Italy. In this "Manual of Freediving, underwater on a single breath", each chapter has been completely re-written and enriched with the most important innovations and knowledge that in the recent years have contributed to improving and making the practice of freediving even safer and more enjoyable. The chapter on relaxation and mental training represents one of the greatest insights into the application of mental strength in freediving. Developed in a very simple and practical way, it contains various "guides" for the autogenic training sessions and mental training. From basic to advanced level, topics such as the following, are dealt with simplicity and many practical references: breathing (the correct use of the diaphragm, respiratory sensitivity and effectiveness, abdominal and thoracic breathing, chest mobilization, etc.), equalization (all manoeuvres are described and trained with the latest educational protocols, dry and in water), physical and specific training, monofin, safety in the water, etc. According to the most modern freediving teaching methods, over 400 pages of text and illustrated exercises with useful images will allow students and their instructors to build a straight forward and effective didactic path.




One Breath


Book Description

One Breath is a gripping and powerful exploration of the strange and fascinating sport of freediving, and of the tragic, untimely death of America’s greatest freediver Competitive freediving—a sport built on diving as deep as possible on a single breath—tests the limits of human ability in the most hostile environment on earth. The unique and eclectic breed of individuals who freedive at the highest level regularly dive hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface, reaching such depths that their organs compress, light disappears, and one mistake could kill them. Even among freedivers, few have ever gone as deep as Nicholas Mevoli. A handsome young American with an unmatched talent for the sport, Nick was among freediving’s brightest stars. He was also an extraordinary individual, one who rebelled against the vapid and commoditized society around him by relentlessly questing for something more meaningful and authentic, whatever the risks. So when Nick Mevoli arrived at Vertical Blue in 2013, the world’s premier freediving competition, he was widely expected to challenge records and continue his meteoric rise to stardom. Instead, before the end of that fateful competition Nick Mevoli had died, a victim of the sport that had made him a star, and the very future of free diving was called into question. With unparalleled access and masterfully crafted prose, One Breath tells his unforgettable story, and of the sport which shaped and ultimately destroyed him.




Bluewater Hunting and Freediving


Book Description

Learn the secrets of spearfishing and underwater photography from some of the best freedivers around the world. National champion and world-record holder Terry Maas profiles twelve bluewater species from tuna to marlin, and sailfish to wahoo. Loaded with practical suggestions, this book is a must for anyone interested in freediving or spearfishing.




One Breath


Book Description




Freediving - the Story of Stathis Hatzis


Book Description

Stathis G. Hatzis was the head diver among Symi's and the Dodecanese's hundreds of free divers - sponge divers in the early 20th century. In 1913, he dived to a depth of 88 meters, for 4 minutes, in his attempt to locate and tie the anchor of the Italian battleship Regina Margherita which had been lost on the ocean floor. The book is the biography of Stathis Hatzis and follows Stathi in his three day adventure to find and secure the lost anchor, making a total of 16 record free dives from 50 to 88 meters depth. Stathis Hatzis' unique accomplishment was representative of the incredible abilities of this humble sponge diver, as well as his generation's, the last free divers - sponge divers, diving with the kampanelopetra, who disappeared along with a unique in the world tradition, which had endured uninterrupted until then, since the depths of antiquity. In the pages of this book, the adventures and legendary dives of Stathis Hatzis become the reason to chronicle the entire history of free diving in Greece, from its origins in ancient times to the late 20th century. Rare photos and documents reveal the achievements of an island population consisting of thousands of free divers and their families, who, with Symi and the Dodecanese as an epicentre, achieved greatness in the Aegean for centuries, thanks to the precious sponges gathered from the depths of the Mediterranean and traded in the markets of Europe and America.




Diving Into Darkness


Book Description

Finch chronicles the harrowing true story of two friends who plunge 900 feet into the water in South Africa--and only one returns. What happened that day is the stuff of nightmarish drama, but it's also a compelling human story of friendship and of coming to terms with loss and tragedy. 8-page color photo insert.




Free Diving


Book Description

Free Diving is a poignant tribute to the Indigenous men and women who worked in the pearling industry as 'free divers' in the late nineteenth century in Western Australia. In a practice known as 'blackbirding' (forced unpaid labour), European pearl lugger owners used Indigenous people to dive for pearl shell. With no protective suits, the divers faced threats such as decompression sickness (known as the 'bends'), shark attack, or of being swept away by huge tides. At sea for weeks at a time, there was also the risk of the luggers being shipwrecked in cyclones that formed off the coast. The lyrical narrative is based on the celebrated song 'Free Diving' by singer-songwriter Lorrae Coffin. It sensitively reflects the emotional journey of a young man who leaves family and country to work on a lugger with Japanese and Malay divers by his side. Bronwyn Houston's illustrations are a deep-sea celebration that illuminate both the glory of the ocean and the extreme dangers encountered by the free divers. Free Diving is a fictionalised story of a young man lost at sea. Age range 7 to 10




The Last Dive


Book Description

A tragic account of the father-son dive team who met with disaster while exploring the wreck of a German U-boat off the coast of New York. Chris and Chrissy Rouse, an experienced father-and-son scuba diving team, hoped to achieve widespread recognition for their outstanding but controversial diving skills. Obsessed and ambitious, they sought to solve the secrets of a mysterious, undocumented World War II German U-boat that lay under 230 feet of water, only a half-day’s mission from New York Harbor. In doing so, they paid the ultimate price in their quest for fame. Bernie Chowdhury, himself an expert diver and a close friend of the Rouses’, explores the thrill-seeking world of deep-sea diving, including its legendary figures, most celebrated triumphs, and gruesome tragedies. By examining the diver’s psychology through the complex father-and-son dynamic, Chowdhury illuminates the extreme sport diver’s push toward—and sometimes beyond—the limits of human endurance. Praise for The Last Dive “Superbly written and action-packed, The Last Dive ranks with such adventure classics as The Perfect Storm and Into Thin Air.” —Tampa Tribune “[A] captivating account of sport diving.” —Publishers Weekly “Excellently written and a real “grabber” to read, the book includes much information about the history, equipment, and people who make up the world of extreme or “technical” diving. This book should be read by any diver thinking of getting involved in wreck, cave, deep, or mixed-gas diving.” —Library Journal




Freediving


Book Description

"Freediving - The Physiology" is a complete guide for the three levels of freediver training, the three levels of instructor training, and for the instructor trainer. The book works as a manual for everyone, introducing all readers to the greatest secrets of the human body's responses to freediving, from the new freediver to the doctors who look to expand their knowledge in freediving. A new freediver will find chapters on ear equalization, the diving reflex, the mechanism of apnea, the factors of breath-hold, the danger of shallow water blackout, advice on a special diet before and during the freediving day, and many more interesting subjects for a beginner in freediving. Experienced freedivers will enhance their knowledge of deep freediving, safety rules and rescue techniques, through subjects including the human diving responses, specialized advice on deep freediving lung equalization, advanced ear equalization methods, special factors and methods for increased apnea duration, safety rules on avoiding hyperventilation and a hypoxic state (hypoxia - blackout or LMC - loss of motor control), the rescue methods for the hypoxic diver, advice on thermal problems and hypothermia, a chapter about special diet methods for increased performances in freediving, as well as an abundance of knowledge crucial for expanding their performance underwater and correcting possible mistakes. Deep freedivers, instructors and doctors will all find everything there is to know about freediving physiology in this book! Extreme freediving has its place in every chapter of the book, covering aspects of great wonder and mystery to be researched, such as methods in reducing the brain's oxygen consumption during apnea, lung equalization and the diving reflex at great depths, gas narcosis in deep freediving, freediving decompression sickness, lung packing dangers and others.