Freediving in Cebu

One photographer captures the grace and adventure of freediving off the coast of Cebu

Freediving, the graceful adventure sport of exploring the underwater world unencumbered by scuba gear, has been on the rise. Fascinated by the artistry and physiology of deep diving on a single breath, photographer Daniel Bautista headed to Cebu to give it a try, capturing this personal memory of the experience and the people and underwater world he discovered along the way.

Mental preparations

Freedive instructors Kyra Andrijich and Lady Lisondra offer a quirky visual demonstration of the golden rule of the sport – one up and one down – in which you always have one diver on the surface watching out for their buddy as they make their dive

Lisondra employs a series of mental exercises and breathing techniques to relax and slow her heart rate. Mastering these techniques has led her to become the Philippines' national record holder for women's no-fin freediving (33 metres) and free immersion (47 metres)

Photographer Daniel Bautista poses for a self-portrait while preparing for a dive

A natural wonder

Andrijich, who is originally from Australia, swims towards a shoal of sardines at Paragsama Beach, Moalboal in Cebu. This area of the Philippines is famous for its sardine runs, where millions of fish congregate in huge swirling shoals. Though it's an all-year phenomenon, the greatest numbers are spotted between November and April.

Feeling buoyant

In Mactan, Cebu, a group of divers hold on to a buoy while celebrating a warm-up dive by Australian Amber Bourke, who is one of the deepest no fin divers in the world. In 2017, Bourke successfully completed a no fin dive of 68m.

Learning the ropes

For training purposes. freedivers use a special freediving buoy that comes attached to a weighted rope, allowing divers to better judge depths while underwater.

At one with the ocean

A clownfish peeks out from its anemone home. Cebu is popular for freediving because of the easy access to very deep waters and the abundance of marine life including a large population of whale sharks. One of the benefits of freediving is that the lack of oxygen bubbles from scuba tanks means you can get a much closer look at underwater creatures.

Come to the light

Andrijich emerges from an artificial reef clutching some rubbish she collected during a beach clean-up in Mactan, Cebu. Close to Cebu City, Mactan is a popular dive destination thanks to the variety of environments, from drop-offs to wrecks, that it offers.

Free falling

Freediving instructor Marese Secades practising constant weight no-fin freediving in Barracuda Lake, Coron, Palawan. Constant weight no-fin freediving is considered the most challenging of all the disciplines as it requires the diver to complete the dive without the use of fins or the aid of a rope.

This article was originally published in the December 2018 issue of Silkwinds magazine