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To fully understand and appreciate where I am and where I am heading, I need to go somewhere, another world another place, and return. This has me challenge and question what I think I know. [...]
To fully understand and appreciate where I am and where I am heading, I need to go somewhere, another world another place, and return. This has me challenge and question what I think I know. [...]
Join Renee Blundon and her friends for freediving in the Blue Hole in Dahab, Egypt. It’s winter time in Dahab but conditions are perfect for some awesome dives.
Join me for my bi-fins freediving pool training session in Dahab, Egypt. Harry Chamas is doing my safety / coaching and filming (thank you Harry!), gear is ready, training plan is on paper, [...]
It was this time last year when I was in a remote Bedouin fishing settlement of the Sinai with guru Rowan Gillies, who asked me, “How long is your life?”. I didn’t know what [...]
All men who have turned out worth anything have had a chief hand in their own education. -Sir Walter Scott Today I’m 34 years old, so I’ve decided to spend a bit of time doing something I love [...]
One of the most magical things about freediving is it changes the way you view hardness. When you freedive, in a way you emulate water, allowing the soft water to override the hardness of your [...]
I freedived to 72 meters today which didn’t go as expected but was certainly an opportunity for growth and fulfillment in every direction. I guess I can’t win ’em all. [...]
I repeated the 70 meter freedive today and what success. The thing I like most about repeating dives is that the more I repeat the thoughts and the actions, the stronger, easier and more [...]
I freedived to 70 meters (230 ft) today, a depth I have yet to confront for a long time. Was it the easiest dive? No. Was it manageable? Yes, most definitely. I’ve been avoiding / denying [...]
Two meters deeper, four meters away from a personal best (not that that matters so much but still is very exciting!!) and in many ways surprisingly easier than any of my dives in the past. The [...]
From one extreme to the other. Yesterday – super challenging dive with contractions and strong urge to breathe throughout the dive. Today – same depth, actually a little deeper, solid [...]
I did an awesome dive today, which is funny actually. Truly my first thoughts this morning after doing some empty lung stretching was “God, I can’t hold my breath at all today, how am [...]
Not the easiest dive today but hey that’s ok! Freediving isn’t always easy and it isn’t always supposed to be easy, actually when I think about it, nothing worthwhile comes [...]
Super grateful for a beautiful dive today, my mind, body and spirit were all fully tapped into the flow state so the depth arrived naturally and easily. I enjoyed every second of it feeling full [...]
A video of my dive the day before yesterday. No, it is not a personal best, but a depth that needed repeating several times before going deeper again, so just building up the deep dives again [...]
Relaxing isn’t something that comes naturally for me. My mentality has been programmed from a young age to keep going, to keep focused on forward progress towards achieving my goals… [...]
I read this excerpt “Imagine” by Ralph Marston today and it resonated with me, with every cell in my body. A designer at heart, I’ve always tried to design my life exactly the [...]
I find that some days are more beautiful without clear blue skies and a sun shining brightly, with the wind feeling good as it blows against my skin, I feel a sense of hope and wonder being that [...]
It has been what feels like forever since I last wrote a journal post, and I apologize for that. I let all of you, as well as myself down, when I allow so much time between posts. I spent time [...]
From one of Lewis Howes’ recent Youtube videos comes-this-new-to-me concept: that hyperventilation might actually be good for you… “Feeling is Understanding” says Wim Hof, better known as ‘The [...]
The thing I love the most about freediving is that I make friends everywhere I go, it’s crazy! People from all walks of life, that I would’ve never met were it not for this shared [...]
Ever wonder what freediving life is like in the French Riviera? Two freediving girls, Julia from Switzerland and Renee from the US, show you what the small coastline town of Saint Raphael has to [...]
My new favorite ambient music for work, meditation, relaxation, static apnea or any other time I need to focus and/or tune-out. Four great music tracks available for download which drowns-out [...]
A short video compilation of my brief moments in the spotlight, as well as some of other freedivers and people around during the Russian Freediving Competition. May 30th & 31st 2017 in Dahab, [...]
I’m excited to be training again with the Saint Raphael Apnee Club!! Being that I am spending most of my time catching-up on computer work these days, I really look forward to our Tuesday [...]
It has been over a week since I last freedived. Not being able to do the sport I’ve been addicted to for years and being restricted to rest, rest and, well, more rest, and not doing any exercise [...]
Why Do We Freedive? Anyone who has been freediving for a while has probably been asked the question, why? Usually it comes from concerned parents or loved ones back home, as soon as you progress [...]
Just because the whiteboard was 75% empty does not imply that this dynamic apnea training was not 100% full-on! Thursday night I was a bit under the weather, but I certainly was not going to miss [...]
Today is day seven, I'm to do dynamic apnea tonight with the Saint Raphael Apnee Club. My hamstrings and shoulders are sore morning from yesterday's yoga workout, but I'm getting accustomed to [...]
5 eme jour de mon programme d’entraînement, une séance d'apnée statique est au programme ce soir. Les journées précédentes ont laissé des traces et si le moral n'est pas atteint, la mécanique est [...]
Today is Day 5 of my freediving training program which meant Static Apnea was on the schedule. I half fell, rolled, and slithered out of bed. It was like my brain was up and out but my body [...]
My swimming training program for freediving with interval & sprint swimming. This develops the endurance and velocity needed for freediving.
Training day two and day three with home workouts that train aerobic fitness and weight training. Perfect for freediving physical preparation.
After enjoying fine cheeses and delicious wines in the French Riviera, freediving in near freezing waters of Annecy Lake, seeing the beautiful green hillsides alongside snowcapped mountains in [...]
Being an avid freediver, water lover and creative type, I’ve arranged a collection of underwater photos to recall and share my earliest underwater experiences in Africa. The photos were taken [...]
Video, photos and details of my -57M free-immersion freedive while competing in the 5th Annual RedCcup in Dahab Egypt on August 27, 2016.
It was 6:15 am when my alarm went off on August 25th, 2016, the first day of the 5th annual RedCcup competition. The day before, I had announced a 55 meter constant weight dive, which was [...]
Last training day before the competition, I woke up rested yet sleepy at the same time, I'd fallen asleep while listening to Erick Brown's Sports Hypnosis audiobook which had plunged me into a [...]
Today was the last day training free-immersion before the RedCcup competition, which would begin in three days. The session was to be a test run, to go through the same sequence I would on comp day […]
Was quite cold this training, as the patched hole in the right arm of my suit had opened, allowing a stream of water to flow into my suit. A chill in the entire right side of my body had me [...]
Breathing-up, I noticed tension along the small of my back and the upper part of my legs, I tried to relax and focus on my breathing... "long exhales" I reminded myself. Then, when ready, I took [...]
Feeling stiff and unflexible in my 5mm wetsuit, I walked to the edge of the water with monofin in hand. I maneuvered around groups of dazed, snorkeling tourists, and stepped my way through pebbly [...]
Woke up 7:15, feeling rested and strong, happy to have finally defeated the cold which plagued me for weeks 😀 The day started-out in the usual way… walked straight from my bed to the [...]
Woke up tired today, I slept little and we started diving one hour earlier in order to avoid the crowds and get back sooner to work. During my morning meditation, I noticed my mind was having [...]
I lean back to float Upon the still, bright sea Weightless and suspended Ready to break free Waves cradle my body In this place between two worlds One of breathless skylit air The other clear [...]
Deep in the ocean blue I’m alone with my thoughts, Sinking into an abyss Falling towards the edge of something… A desolate path But I travel it anyway Part of me wants to turn back [...]
Taking a no-limits sled ride to the Arch at 53 meters (174 feet) deep in Dahab’s Blue Hole with freediving variable weight world record holder, William Winram. Big thanks to William for [...]
Free-falling in Dahab’s Blue Hole, drifting effortlessly into the deep, I stare straight ahead, mesmerizingly at the line slipping past, alone with myself and my thoughts, focusing on relaxing, [...]
I‘m frozen, captivated by the giant, fluctuating mercurial creature before me, which appears to be dissolving into itself. The receding layered tenticals and a silken membrain coasts, radiantly [...]
I ascend from the ocean floor, Through shafts of wondrous sunlight. My mind dabbles in a state of pleasure, And in marvelous rebellion. Defying mind, breath and pressure, I’m enveloped, In a [...]
A short video clip of line diving in Dutch Springs lake in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Cold deep thermoclines made for an exciting challenge, at 15 meters (49 feet), it felt like freediving through [...]
Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water. – ALBERT SZENT-GYORGYI (DISCOVERER OF VITAMIN C) I approach a superb and mystical universe, rippling with [...]
There is a silence to the wind as a motionless dhow with a dusty sail is consumed in the misty blue of the Indian Ocean. Dark clouds roll over and this spec upon the swaying sea, held captive by [...]
In this video Renee goes into detail about how to do the final breaths of a freediving breathe-up and guides you through the entire process. This is the second video of the Proper Breathe-up for [...]
In this video Renee goes into detail about how to do the relaxation breathing of a freediving breathe-up and guides you through the entire process. This is the first video of the Proper [...]
Music created specially for freediving and static apnea in order to increase breath hold time with deep muscle relaxation through autogentic training. These tracks are ideal for dry static [...]
See what it’s like to freedive off the coast of remote Pemba Island, in this creative and exciting underwater film. Renee illustrates her incredible exploration, freediving along Njou [...]
My feet, mounted in Cressi fins dangle over the edge of the boat, while I scan the blue for movement, desperate for any sighting of the creature that has lured us to the remote and rugged Mafia [...]
An oriental flying gurnard (Dactylopterus orientalis) filmed off the coast of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. When excited the fish spreads its “wings” which are semi-transparent but tipped with a [...]
A mesmerizing ribbon eel (Rhinomuraena quaesita) filmed while scuba diving at Kankadya in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The eel’s long thin body moves elegantly through the water resembling a ribbon [...]
Footage of ornate spiny lobsters (Panulirus ornatus) during a night dive at Remora in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Several were crawling about the reef, coming right up to the camera on several [...]
Breath Hold Exercises to Improve Your Freediving Why do dry breath-hold training? Breath hold exercises increase the amount of time the body can sustain apnea by improving ventilation, [...]
Nothing is more fantastic than free-diving in the waters of my own beautiful homeland. Floating face down on the surface of Walden Pond, in the world I forcibly left behind, instructor, Nick [...]
Filming dive instructor, Brad Crawford, getting a “deep” cleaning by cleaner shrimp in Njao Gap of Pemba Island. Brad approaches a cleaning station on a wall of reef approximately 20 meters deep, [...]
Face to face, in depths quite deep, we stare squarely into the other’s eyes, It is there where we see everything, where we achieve reality, and share in it’s kind existence. From a world full of [...]
The sea falls down around me, then lifts me to the top of a coral wall. I gaze at the underwater landscape, a scene where novelty never declines, and am caught in a metamorphosis. The world [...]
Landing on Pemba Island feels as though we’ve been catapulted backward in time. Apart from the occasional new model vehicle, it could easily be the 1960’s. Retro architecture juxtaposes the [...]
As the sun rays shine through, blue chromis viridis fish shimmer in the shifting shadows. I look at them, glinting and teaming with life, before remembering where I am. I inquire. The goal; to [...]
An underwater wall, of endless coral cities, silty textures and pastels, cradled by warm currents and vibrant fish galore. The scene of the fathom deep, beckons me, a butterfly fish shoal [...]
Nearby is no one, while I descend, into the blue void below me. The mossy mooring, my only visual reference into the darkening, silty depth. I coast deeper into the shifting play of light, [...]
I arrive at the emerald warrior of the sea, launched from its fortress of sand and stone with threatening fists of lightning, hovering humbly in readiness for a punch. Decorated with segmented, [...]
From ledge to ledge and reef to reef, I move slowly in the watery deep, where depth robs colors on descent and ancient rocks fade in silence. I pause and hover to gaze at a pufferfish, swimming [...]
It takes a swift break from his scurry as I approach, the fancy face and frisked up forearms, brave and motionless for the camera. In the shallows of a glinting grey ocean, the gleaming creature [...]
I‘m captured and held in place… a small, yet dazzling black saddle toby juxtaposed against a backdrop of unpolished coral. The ocean’s offering at the tail end of an adventurous drift dive off [...]
Submerged under a reef of coral with a tantalizing Moorish Idol. Now I get it, I really get why the Moors were glad to call this fish their own. The water flashes with a compressed body of black, [...]
Blacktip sharks, they’re one of ocean’s most fascinating predators. With a streamlined shape, terrifying teeth, and forceful fins – the blacktip shark is designed for predatory excellence. [...]
With or without the cage? Tis the question, as a dozen or so shark fins swirl around the boat, slicing through the gleaming glassy ocean under a sky of vibrant sunrise. Earlier on land, John [...]
I stare up into the vast blue sky littered with puffy clouds and repeat one word over and over to myself. Relax, relax, Renee, relax. Moments earlier, with guidance from friends, Kjartan and Rob, [...]
A super cute baby cuttlefish, known as a “cuttlet”, was spotted during a shore dive in Chole Bay. The hatchling is 6-8 days old and is only as big as an adult cuttle’s eye.
Diving at night is a surreal, lunar-like experience. I’m surrounded in complete darkness at the bottom of the Indian ocean, with only a beam of light to expose what’s hiding and [...]
A short clip of a tiny juvenile razor wrasse, found in the shallows of Chole Bay. Notice how it flutters and perfectly mimics a bit of leaf. This makes it easy for predators to miss and [...]
A fun video of freediving at the Moto shipwreck with the Dar es Salaam underwater hockey team. Upon arriving near the dive site off the coast of Bongoyo Island in Tanzania, the wreck was proving [...]
The unrealized beauty and behavior of a shrimp, filmed during a night dive in Dar es Salaam. Fluorescent orange eyes glow in the distance and shuffle deeper into the sand as I get closer. I [...]
Lionfish are common to see while diving and snorkeling in East Africa but Dwarf Lionfish (Dendrochirus brachypterus) are a somewhat rare and mysterious sight. This one was filmed in a lagoon off [...]
This video compares and contrasts two Crocodilefish (Papilloculiceps longiceps) in Chole Bay; one camouflaged on a coral reef approximately 10 meters deep and the other on a sandy, grassy patch [...]
A short video of some stunning, yet humble seahorses in Chole Bay, Mafia Island. Seahorses are difficult to spot because they’re excellent at hiding and are also quite rare. They’re vulnerable to [...]
Highlights from scuba diving in Dar es Salaam from from January – May 2014. A total of 51 video clips with color changing squid encounters, a snuggling puffer fish, a variety of tropical [...]
As daylight breaks over sleepy Bagamoyo’s coast, tired eyes open to greet a rare and glorious day. A break from weeks baring burdened clouds of mournful grey, we forge through crisp, foam waves, [...]
We descend from the rolling waves, deeper and deeper, until greeted by the ocean floor 30 meters below. Immediately, a large and curious remora approaches. He swims silent circles around us and [...]
A lionfish, unquestionably one of the most photogenic fish in the sea, with an eccentric, gaudy profile, elaborate, vibrant stripes and a cantankerous, unhurried demeanor, glides along the reef [...]
Highlights from free-diving at a wreck off the coast of Bongoyo Island in Dar, es Salaam, Tanzania, April 2014. Press the Play button above and watch in 1080p HD if you can. The underwater [...]
A lovely, incognito flounder fish in the coastal waters of Bongoyo Island in Dar es Salaam, in about eight feet deep water and within 20-30 feet from swimmers. As you can see in the video and [...]
This pilot fish I think was under the impression that I was a shark or some type of larger fish. He congregated around me during a three mile swim in the Indian Ocean, in a hopeful attempt to [...]
A white-spotted octopus (Octopus macropus) hovers in place, camouflaged as coral then transforms from spiky scraggly to smooth and formed, and moments later, to metallic silver. Filmed at Manta [...]
Dark shapes emerge from the underwater shadows and glide like underwater kites, curiously toward me. Each batfish slips rhythmically sideways, this way and that, fluttering ever so gracefully. [...]
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Renee Blundon
Lighthouse, Dahab
South Sinai, Egypt 46617
renee@reneeblundon.com