Freediving week in Soma Bay, Egypt. May 2019

The journey began in the middle of the night. I had to get up at 3am to make my way to the airport where I met the rest of the group.

In the afternoon we touched down in Egypt at The Breakers which is a fantastic hotel for divers and kite-surfers. After the check-in at the Orca Dive base I finally hoped into the ocean. The 28 degree warm red sea!

During dinner we got to know each other a bit better. The food was delicious, everyone was a little tired but excited.

On the next morning we welcomed the rest of our group which arrived at night. Shortly after breakfast we met at the dive base for a first briefing.

I couldn’t wait to get wet. I was really excited, happy and full of expectations.

I've been struggling with mental problems in training for months now. I don't manage to cross certain boundaries, to concentrate and to improve. I knew that this week I had to work on exactly these things in order to finally overcome these "blockades" and get ahead.

On that first day we started with some deep dives and it wasn’t long until I reached one of these points where my mind is my hardest enemy, where I am my own enemy.

20 meters. It's just a number! But that number scared me. Over and over again. I could dive down to 20m without any problems, but every time I went up, the fear came. 3 years ago at the Basic Freediver course I panicked from 20m depth. I think this feeling crept into my subconscious at that time.

But with the help of our instructor (Christian Redl) I finally managed to overcome this fear (to not make it to the surface anymore). Now I was able to do these 20m dives and enjoy them. For me that was a very important and emotional step.

In the afternoon we did a static session in the pool. I was totally surprised how easy and relaxed I made 2:30 breath holds. At that moment I knew I would definitely make the 3:30 for the master freediver.

Our first day in the ocean was already over and we enjoyed another great dinner with the whole group.

During a conversation with Susi, a freediver from Austria, we noticed that we have a very similar life story (the last years). That touched and impressed me very much.

It was already Monday morning when we grabbed our gear and went to the jetty again.

We did another deep dive session. After some instructions (don’t wear your dive computer today, close your eyes and smile during the ascent, etc.) I had some good 20m dives, came back to the surface with a smile, once I even swam into the buoy because I didn’t notice that I was already up there.

That was a fantastic day! So many good dives, good feelings and emotions!

Later that afternoon Silvia (who was by the way my fantastic roommate) and Ennio (Scubalino and Head of the group) introduced us to Nick Linder’s Relaqua.

It’s a combination of Relaxation and Water, or relaxation in the water. It was quite interesting to try something new.

On Tuesday the whole bunch went on a boat trip. Our goal was to dive with dolphins. Unfortunately there were a few misunderstandings with the crew on the boat. But in the end, a part of the group was actually freediving with a wild dolphin family, 5 adults and 2 babies. It was an incredible encounter with these curious marine mammals. Sad part of the story: the scubadivers were not able to dive with them dolphins.

At least we brought them some good videos to share those memories.

Wednesday was around the corner and I got a little nervous. (Master Freediver course)

After some breathing exercises we started with deep diving. I felt pretty good during warm up. During my third dive to only 16m I had equalization problems for the first time which irritated me. But then all happened according to plan. Another dive to 23.2m, then 25.5m and finally 29.9m. (27m are required for the master) !! Yes I did it!!! Another very emotional and overwhelming moment for me.

For everyone else it might just be a dive to (almost) 30m. But for me this was a milestone! Another milestone after the 20m problem. Another step forward to become mentally stronger.

After that successful first part we went to the pool and did the required 3:30 for the static discipline.

But then it was time to do the last part – dynamic. 70meters.

I didn’t make it. After some unsuccessful attempts, motivation and confidence have left me.

That night, I had a fight inside of me. I had to rearrange my thoughts. During a walk on the jetty I tried to calm down and concentrate on positive thoughts. But there were too many things in my head that kept me busy, even the following night.

On Thursday the whole group went for a boat trip again. We explored the beautiful panorama reef. We saw turtles, thousands of fishes, morays, napoleon fish, lionfish and beautiful corals. It was an amazing day and so much fun!

Until we came back to our hotel and I had to do another dynamic attempt.

I failed again. And with every try it got worse. Everyone else made it. “I’m a looser!”

Suddenly I remembered a situation from the past, during my apprenticeship. There was a girl who had great influence on the rest of the class. I didn’t fit into her circle of friends. That’s why she called me a looser and failure.

Until this point in the pool I was not aware, that these insults from the past still had influence on me.

I left the pool, tried to enjoy dinner.

The following morning, I focused on myself. I told myself that these people and bad experiences from the past would no longer have any influence on me. I listened to the Song High Hopes and there’s one line “ So I got one more run and it’s gonna be a sight to see” and I told myself: “Out there are people who support you and believe in you!! I'm going my way and I can do it!!” With these words in my head I walked to the pool to prepare myself with breathing exercises. From Christian I received again tips and motivation. Then I went into the pool. Since I don't manage to visualize things like diving, I decided to snorkel the route in the pool first. I memorized the route, looked at the difficult points.

Then I took a deep breath, filled my lungs and started my dive. And I made it!!

Tears streamed down my face. All the pressure was gone. Happiness and relief flowed through me. I reached my goal, overcame my doubts and fears.

In the afternoon we did some safety stuff / rescue exercises in the ocean.

And some rays (mobulas) visited our house reef. Awesome!!!

When the sun set and it got dark outside, Silvia joined me for my last ocean adventure on this one week trip. We grabbed our gear and we went for my very first night dive!

I expected it to be scary. That I'll probably get scared. But it was just great! I think I've never been more relaxed in my whole life than in this hour in the darkness in the ocean. No fear, no uncertainty, just pure joy. And the beautiful starry sky made the experience even more perfect.

Later, when we enjoyed our last dinner with the whole group I couldn’t stop smiling!

It was a week filled with fun, amazing people, great stories, ocean adventures, emotional and mental challenges, growth and so much more. I’ve learned so much for myself, everyday life, freediving and I found new friends.

A huge Thank you to everyone who made this possible!!

If you can dream it - you CAN do it!