see enclosed link
www.freediver.co.uk

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Note added at 4 mins (2004-10-25 16:07:51 GMT)
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That one doesn\'t seem to work, try this one instead: http://www.performancefreediving.com/

... diving without any diving equipment or with only a mask and a snorkel

This discipline requires an extremely high degree of mental control. The freediver simply holds his breath underwater for as long as possible. He must enter a very relaxed state so as to minimise Oxygen consumption.

Eventually, the store of Oxygen will reduce to critical levels, resulting in hypoxia, and possiblly black-out if the freediver fails to listen to his body or ignores what he hears. The current records stands at over 8 minutes, but the human body can survive for much longer in a state of apnea. Apnea is the scientific term for breath-holding, literally meaning 'without air'.

I thought you might enjoy the German perspective. Snorkeling and skin-diving are surely forms of free-diving, but poor semantic substitutes for the overall concept of diving without aqua lungs.

Disclaimer: My full use of this and other forums has been restricted for reasons unknown, so please forgive my lack of direct support for answers offered by other contributors and critical assessment of non-contributors who are misleading and/or abusive.