27
I’m sitting on Ashley Futral Chapman’s sofa in
her living room overlooking the Intracoastal
Waterway, trying to relax, but I’ve been holding
my breath now for a minute. Although a
minute’s not that long in this introductory breathholding
lesson — a key skill in freediving — it’s
still intimidating.
Her voice pushes the discomfort and panic from
my head, my lungs wanting to burst until …
“Breathe,” she says.
Ashley’s husband, Ren, and I exhale forcefully,
inhale forcefully and repeat. The lesson is part of
the recovery breathing process, the final step in
breathe ups, exercises freedivers use to prepare for
diving 60, 80, 100 feet or deeper without supplemental
oxygen. The Chapmans insist I’ll soon hold
my breath for longer than I thought possible.
“It’ll be easy,” Ren says. “She’ll have you holding
your breath for two minutes in no time.”
Ashley smiles at Ren’s confidence. The
Chapmans are freediving instructors who make it
their business to teach others. Last month Ashley
broke a national record for freediving without fins;
and in 2008, she earned a spot on a U.S. Women’s
Freediving Team.
“Inhale,” she says.
“Shuup,” Ren and I inhale for one second.
“Pause, pause. Exhale,” she says.
“Psssssh,” Ren and I exhale as Ashley keeps time.
“Shuup.”
We inhale again, this time for a little longer,
using our diaphragms to take in an incredibly deep,
but short, breath.
We continue these breathe ups for five more
cycles until it’s time for our peak inhale. If we were
floating in the ocean instead of sitting in their living
Above, clockwise from
top left: Greg Finch,
Kelly White and Alex
Llinas, dive safely in a
three-man buddy team
over a deep bottom
in Onslow Bay. A sand
tiger shark at The Hyde
wreck. Greg Finch with
an African pompano
above The John D. Gill,
sunk during World
War I by a German
U-boat.
Opposite: Alex Llinas
ascends to the surface
in Wrightsville Beach’s
crystal blue backyard.
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