Freediving Safety Topic of Free Seminar

Ben Zyons. Photo courtesy: Freedive Hawaii.

Ben Zyons, the owner of Freedive Hawaiʻi, will be hosting a free “Shallow-Water Blackout – Freediving & Spearfishing Safety” presentation at Akakū Community Media later this month.

Zyons is the current USA National Freediving Champion, a 3x CMAS National Record Holder and a PADI Master Freedive Instructor. His favorite free diving discipline is No-Fins, or CNF, in which he has a competitive personal best of 62 meters or 203 feet, making him the deepest unassisted freediver in the history of the Hawaiian Islands.

During the presentation, Zyons will educate attendees on the risk associated with breath-hold diving and shallow-water blackout, or fainting from hypoxia.

“Itʻs believed that shallow-water blackout accounts for up to 99 percent of freediving deaths, though preventable. Ben will give an understanding of the bodyʻs physiology while freediving and how to mitigate the risk, as well as present on the implementation of modern safety practices. Local freedivers and spear-fishermen will find this presentation valuable and are encouraged to attend,” a press release from Akakū read.

The event will be held on Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. in the Akakū Upstairs Salon in Kahului.

Those interested in attending may RSVP by calling (808) 871-5554.