Enjoy the gallery of photos below of freedivers from around the globe performing “no-limits” variable weight dives in Sharm El Sheikh from mid-April to mid-March, 2015 during Apnea Academy’s 6th International Instructor Course and Blue Week.
No-limits is a freediving discipline in which the freediver descends and ascends with the method of his or her choice. In this case divers grasp a heavy metal bar or “sled” which is accompanied with weights and a cylinder and fixed to a line. There is one person who drives the sled, the “driver” who is in center with a passenger on each side, each gripping one end of the metal bar. This driver is in charge of pushing down the lever to descend, controlling the speed of the sled’s descent and ensuring that passengers are relaxed and well. Once the sled reaches the desired depth, the driver removes an inflatable lift bag from a metal canister and turns open the valve of the cylinder to allow air to flow through a hose into the inflatable lift bag. Within seconds the sled begins to accelerate. The driver then closes the valve and as the air in the lift bag expands the sled accelerates faster and faster. Meanwhile divers hold on tight for an exhilarating ride to the surface.
The no-limits sled is ideal for practicing equalizing technique and building a freediver’s confidence at depth, as finning is not necessary therefore a diver can focus solely on the mental and equalization aspects. During descent, if passenger(s) have trouble equalizing, or should they wish to discontinue with the dive, they simply let go of the sled and can fin to the surface or wait for a ride on the sled’s ascent.
Staff instructors of the Apnea Academy 6th International Instructor Course perform no-limits dives on the days leading up to the start of the course.
Photos taken on April 26th, 2015, the first day of the 6th Apnea Academy International Instructors Course.
New Apnea Academy instructors join forces with Apnea Academy instructors from all over the world during Blue Week at FreedivingWorld to practice advanced equalization techniques and master no-limits diving.
