KAILUA-KONA — Take a deep breath. Now hold it for several minutes. Now do it with an ocean on your back tenderizing your entire body with roughly 162 pounds of pressure per square inch — the equivalent of 11 Earth atmospheres.
Do that and you’ll get a little taste of what it’s like to be Kurt Chambers, 35, who spends a considerable amount of his time waiting to exhale as one of the world’s best freedivers.
Just over a week ago, Chambers set two U.S. national records at the Caribbean Cup in West Bay, Roatan, Honduras. In the constant weight discipline, where divers are aided by the use of fins, Chambers dove to a depth of 101 meters or 331 feet. He was submerged for just under three minutes.
He also dove to 94 meters in the free immersion discipline, which doesn’t afford the aid of fins but does allow divers to pull themselves down via a guide rope.
Despite his record-setting week, Chambers finished in second place in only his third international competition, which tallies the scores from three different dive disciplines.
“I have done three international competitions in the last year and gotten on the podium every time, so I’m enjoying some surprising success,” he said.
Freediving is popular throughout Hawaii, but more so as an avenue for spearfishing, which is how Chambers got into the activity in the first place.
He came to Hawaii from Texas in 2003 to pursue graduate school, Chambers spent much of his youth lifeguarding at a beach in Galveston, Texas. There, he grew comfortable with the ocean through training, paddleboarding and surfing.
After arriving in Hawaii, he took up spearfishing and continued to compete in triathlons. Five years later, he started entering freediving competitions in Hawaii, which typically holds one event every summer. His interest grew gradually, and now the international competitor makes his living as a freediving instructor on Hawaii Island.
“Freediving is widely practiced in Hawaii, but the sport is comparatively unknown,” Chambers said, adding that his goal is to expand interest in competitive freediving while dispelling myths. “In the classes I teach, we address general curiosities and spend a great deal of time explaining safety management.”
Freediving appears to be wrought with danger, and while dangerous elements exist, Chambers said it’s not as precarious an activity as it may seem.
“You’d think the lack of oxygen would be the biggest obstacle, but in my case, it was more so about equalization — popping your ears to keep them from rupturing,” he said. “You notice how compressed your body is. All the air inside your lungs and throughout your body is forced to compress. You may feel some chest discomfort, but I’ve reached a level of comfort with that.”
Decompression sickness, or DCS, which is a common concern for scuba divers doesn’t tend to affect freedivers because it occurs due to compressed nitrogen in the bloodstream — a phenomenon Chambers likened to opening a can of soda upon ascent.
But scuba divers breathe hundreds of time per dive, while freedivers take in one breath, thus drawing far less nitrogen into the blood and rendering the risk of DCS negligible. He said if he dove 100 meters three times in an hour, however, the risk would be far greater.
Blacking out due to hypoxia is a common occurrence for freedivers, particularly in training, and Chambers said he’s blacked out more times than he’d care to admit. But that’s primarily because of his ability and desire to push his limits.
Chambers said as long as the buddy system is employed, the survival rate of blackouts is 100 percent. If you get a diver to the surface within 10 seconds, they should regain consciousness momentarily; CPR is rarely required.
“Blacking out under water, the brain can tell the difference even while unconscious,” Chambers said. “The brain knows it’s not safe to breathe. The (unconscious brain) will automatically take a breath as soon as it recognizes air on the face.”
Chambers has perfected his underwater breathing by competing in what is called static apnea, where he floats on the surface of a pool holding his breath. A person can hold his or her breath longer when not moving, and Chamber’s personal best is 7 minutes, 18 seconds.
Whether it’s in a pool or the ocean, teaching classes or setting national records, Chambers has turned to an obscure sport — one of which he wasn’t even aware of before coming to Hawaii — into his livelihood and life’s pursuit. And now, through his business — Hawaii Freediving — he’s trying to spread the love to as many people as possible.
“I get in the water every day,” Chambers said, “whether I’m teaching or not.”