onight, a pair of young
bottlenose dolphins have
discovered a new kind of
human. As night-time fell,
they’d come out to play in
our boat’s lights, but found
some two-legged friends who
were a bit like scuba divers,
only faster and without the
annoying bubbles.
As they pirouetted around
us in the dark waters of the Red
Sea, squeaking and clicking
excitedly, we wondered what
they were saying. Perhaps it
was dolphin for “entertaining
monkey seals”.
But whatever the specific
sentiment, they were clearly
having as much fun as we
were exploring the depths. The
dolphins remained in the water
long after the last diver had
clambered back onto the yacht
to reflect on an experience that
had left everyone in a state of
sheer exhaustion, yet buzzing.
If ever you were looking to
explain the singular thrill of freediving, then this was
the moment. Unencumbered by noisy, heavy breathing
equipment, we’d just enjoyed a rare opportunity to meet
two of the sea’s liveliest inhabitants on their own terms,
gliding through the water with them as if we belonged.
Sometimes described as extreme snorkelling,
freediving takes divers to scuba depths and beyond on
one breath of air. This practice goes back thousands of
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