So having just returned from a month long expedition with my partner Sofia to Antarctica, I wanted to give a bit of feedback on how my freediving equipment held up in the TOUGHEST environment on earth! I know I had a lot of questions floating around in my mind before the trip and although I knew that we would be using the best gear that money can buy, I'd be lying if I was to say that there wasn't a few nerves about just how well we would be protected from the cold! And for those of you thinking about diving in the polar regions, under ice, with the orcas in Norway, between the continents in Iceland, freediving or spearfishing in the higher latitudes, this is a must read!

Let me start with the wetsuit because without it, I don't think I would have lasted more than 5 minutes in the icy cold polar waters!
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​Wetsuit
-Elios 
-Tailor made 7mm Heiwa open cell neoprene,  smooth skin black, jacket with incorporated hood and high waist  pants
-5mm socks smoothskin outer, superelastic nylon inner
-5mm three finger gloves smoothskin outer, superelastic nylon inner

So the most vital piece of equipment! How did it hold up? Well, without a word of a lie, it worked great! And even better than expected. My previous experience with 'cold water diving' was in the murky realms of the freshwater lakes in New Zealand and Denmark, which are normally around 18-21C on the surface(in the summer) and depending on how far down you make it, they get to about 4-6C at depth. Not really what some of you would class as 'cold water diving and on most occasions I wouldn't be spending a great deal of time down in the coldest layer! My Elios 5mm Yamamoto suit would be good for about a couple of hours in relative comfort. Now, an extra 2mm of neoprene doesn't sound like a lot and I have definitely had occasions when I've been cold coming out of the lake, so this is where the worrying thoughts started to come in, wondering if the 7mm would indeed be enough for sub zero degree temperature water!(Yep thats right, salt water in Antarctica can drop to as low as -2C!)

This anxiety wasn't made any better when we stopped into the local dive shops in Punta Arenas in the south of Chile and we found them selling open cell suits that were up to 21mm thick! In the end I needn't have worried though, the 7mm Heiwa neoprene had me perfectly insulated from head to toe! With only my face exposed, after the first two minutes(until my face went numb) I didn't really feel a thing for at least the next 45 mins! After that the cold started to creep in, first to my fingers and toes and then to my core. If we remained completely immersed for the full duration we were capable of spending about 80 minutes in the water, if we were in and out we could last much longer. We did medical checkups before and after each dive session and the most we saw our core body temperatures drop was about 1.8C. We were cold at that stage for sure but still about 0.5C above becoming hypothermic and nothing that a pair of thermals, a warm drink and a woolly jumper couldn't fix!

Now you might be wondering how well can you move with 7mm of neoprene encasing your body? Well the suit was surprisingly flexible and it wasn't noticeably worse than my 5mm Yamamoto. This was my first Heiwa suit and in theory it should be less flexible than the Yamamoto neoprene but with the upsides of being warmer and more durable. We obviously weren't doing any deep CNF dives or anything where we needed that extra flexibility so I'd have to say that the recommendation from Elios was good and I too would highly recommend this suit to anyone else considering diving in and around chunks of ice or spearfishing in Nordic type waters!

And the socks and gloves? Well normally I prefer to dive without socks. It just feels unnatural to me to not feel the water between my toes. Obviously wasn't an option here and I was happy to have some neoprene between the sea and my feet! They were also comfortable to walk in, which we did during a visit to Deception island. Having the nylon inside meant that my feet didn't slide around inside the socks like they would have with an open cell inner but this also meant that I wore them kinda thin on the seams outside and I had to touch them up with some neoprene glue once I got back onboard.

Having the three finger type gloves meant that I had some dexterity for using the camera whilst having more warmth by keeping most of my fingers grouped together. I have to admit they do look a little weird but hey, as freedivers I think we're all used to having unusual practices and standing out in a crowd!(Apnea walking in public anyone?!) They kept my fingers warm enough but it was definitely my fingers and toes that were getting cold first. I don't really see anyway around this to have the combination of dexterity AND warmth but if you need the dexterity for using a camera and you want to try thicker gloves makes sure that you're really familiar with your setup because for me 5mm of rubber was about the limit.

Oh yea and one additional piece of advice, don't forget to tuck your socks under your wetsuit legs before going into the water, a sock full of icey water and you will definitely know all about it! ​
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The untimely death of the freediving Queen, Natalia Molchanova, like the falling of a redwood giant, has left a gapping hole in the freediving canopy. Her reign at the top lasted nearly 12 years and included 43 World records. In all likelihood, she was, and always will be, the greatest freediver of our time.

But her absence has created an opportunity for a new generation of female freedivers to assert themselves at the top of the game. Like young saplings they can reach for the sun and drag our sport up, from out of the shadow, which has been cast by the loss of our mighty Queen, and into the light and times of a new era.

​In Part One we looked at five worthy contenders who will battle it out over the coming year, racing to fill the void that has been created and for the crown of  'Worlds deepest Woman'. 

In this edition I will profile five more. So once again, in no particular order....

With such a long list of talent(and beauty!) the future looks bright for competitive freediving. These young ladies already deserve commendation for their successes and achievements. It's going to take a special sort of person to fill Natalia's shoes, someone with more than just a high work ethic, perseverance and skill level. They are going to need to possess the SELF BELIEF that they are capable of becoming the greatest. For those that accept and believe that Natalia's mountain of accomplishments is too steep to climb, have already conceded defeat. And, perhaps its going to take more than just athletic prowess. For a true Queen not only rules her subjects, she also gives back.

Our sport needs these woman to become the face of competitive freediving, to help with its growth and image, and to inspire the next generation of freedivers.

So, with all that has been said, I hope that we do see a new Queen emerge, one who can rule with all of the strengths and qualities that Natalia did so before her.

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After the disappearance of Natalia Molchanova in August of 2015, women’s freediving will never look the same again. She was, without a doubt, the Queen of Freediving, with a total of 41 WR's and 23 Gold medals across ALL competitive disciplines, AND the only woman to officially dive below 100m under her own power. It is unlikely that we will ever see another athlete like her, and hard to imagine anyone will replicate her level of success.

Natalia was a fierce competitor. With one of the strongest minds in the sport, she knew how to tune-out external stimuli and get the job done, in even the most trying of circumstances. With her tendency to 'dangle the carrot', leaving her records just within reach for the other top females to strive for and then only seconds, days or weeks later reclaiming that record, it was said that nobody ever truly claimed Natalia's records; they were only ever out on loan.

But now with the Queen gone, a new wave of female competitors is emerging, jostling for poll position and a chance to stake their claim at the top. Without having to look over their shoulder for Natalia, will one of them emerge as the new Queen of women's freediving?

I'm going to profile some of the leading candidates to be front-runners for the title of the ‘World’s deepest woman'.
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​And in no particular order, here are the first five....​

So, who will make the last  five?! And who do you think the leading candidate is?! Stay tuned for more DEEP insights as to who will become the next Queen of the deep! 

Like my page to find out the results and to be sure to find out who our next five are! Feel free to comment below!
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• Once you have these dates you can start building your training plan around it! Remember to include base training(Pool, Strength, Pilates/Stretching/Yoga, Apnea) into your training cycles. Most of the hard work is done here, well in advance of any competition! Preparation is the key to success!

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• Just as importantly, remember to include rest periods into your calendar! This will not only help your recovery physically, but it will help you recover mentally and prevent burning out and loosing motivation!
  
  
• Find a training partner to help you work towards your goals and give you that extra bit of motivation when you need it! Number one rule of freediving is to never freedive alone.. from a safety point of view this is critical.. not only for safety though, personally I have ALWAYS gotten my best results when training alongside a consistent partner. If possible.. plan your seasons
  
  

Once you have your plan in place you are nearly good to go! Just remember to ensure all your dive gear is in good working order. Whilst that worn out old wetsuit might be fine for CO2 tables in the pool, if you are getting cold during your breath ups you are increasing your risks of lung squeeze when you go to use it for depth! If your neck weight isn't quite weighted correctly then your going to be exerting unnecessary energy during the dive! And if those stiff old heavy fins are giving you cramp it may be time for an upgrade! Having good equipment is going to help you get the most out of each session.. and getting the most out of each session is crucial to having a DEEP and SUCCESSFUL year!!!

Have fun and dive safe!  And for more great tricks of the trade sign up to our newsletter!

So 2015 is already upon us and I'm looking forward to the upcoming season. After a year off from competing I'm as hungry as ever to return to form and hit new and even greater depths!

2014 was the first year that I failed to increase my depth since I started freediving in 2011. After a couple of tragic events late 2013 and early 2014 and some health issues I decided to take some time away from my own depth training. However, progress isn't always made and measured in meters and I feel that I am wiser from the lessons learnt throughout the year which will ultimately make me a better diver. It was still an action packed year that included coaching Sahika Ercumen to two new CMAS World Records, new National records, acting as Event producer and Chief of Safety for the Worlds premier freediving event Suunto Vertical Blue. There were Safety presentations in Dubai and Cairns, Training camps in the Bahamas, Egypt, Turkey and Australia, Instructor courses in Denmark, Egypt and the Bahamas and a multitude of AIDA courses around the world. There were lessons and challenges for me at every corner and I'm happy to have been able to rise to the occasions. Bar the Antarctic, I also managed to set foot on every continent on the planet!