First free-diving memory

There is nothing more beautiful to me than rising to the surface and looking up to see the sun through the water above me, refracting into rays piercing through the blue of the ocean, flickering and changing not only by the movement of the clouds way up in the sky but also by the surging of the water.

The first time I free dived I was 9 years old. Of course at that time I had no idea what free-diving was and no real concept of what I was doing. I had simply seen an underwater arch snorkelling in Greece and I felt an inexplicable urge to swim through it. I guess that was the start of something because that moment is so ingrained in my memory that I can even remember which bikini I was wearing.

I remember initially hesitating as I was alone, it seemed like a long way down and there was a risk I might get stuck or find it was longer than I could hold my breath once I'd commit. However I don't think I ever really developed a sense of fear, especially when it came to the ocean. So after about 30 seconds of not so careful consideration I took a big breath and kicked myself down underwater. When I made it through the arch and was exploring the underwater world on a single breath I got the most liberating and awe inspiring feeling I had ever experienced. That was the start of something, I’d well and truly fallen in love with the ocean.