The Start
From day 1 to World Class
My name is Channce Baca. And I am the founder of Freedive Carolina. As a kid. I was freediving years and years before I knew it was a sport. I was always one of those kids that wanted to see how laps I could do in any pool on one breath. The longer the pool. The more exciting the challenge.
I have no idea how the inception of this began in me. But I would always challenge my friends to see who could hold our breaths the longest. It just fascinated me that we could suspend our breath and spend time in this other worldly medium of water. Where sound literally behaved different. Where the physics of the world were suddenly flipped on their head. Under water I could suddenly jump like a super hero. Throw objects around underwater like the gravity had been turned off.
And during the breath hold itself, it was absolutely mesmerizing and intoxicating to discover that if I did not react in panic to the discomfort of a long breath hold. But rather relax into the pure perception of the sensations of it. I could hold my breath with a comfort that was truly incredible. It was one of the first opportunities for me to discover the difference between pain and suffering. Pain is something we can perceive. Suffering is something we create in our minds as an unconscious reaction to anything.
I would continue this fascination with breath holding as I got older. Discovering the discipline of static apnea from a TedTalk that magician David Blaine gave. In which he describes how he trained to hold his breath for the, what was at the time, breath hold on pure oxygen world record of 17 minutes and 4 seconds. And I began to train my breath hold on dry land. Still, all this before ever even hearing about the sport of freediving.
Needless to say, once I finally did hear about the sport. A light bulb deep within me went off saying, “I have to try this.” So try I did. I researched where were the best places in the world to learn to freedive in. Little did I know that I would one day create one of those places right in my back yard in the United States.
In my searching I came across the Yucatan Peninsula in Quintana Roo, Mexico. So off I went to discover what this sport of freedving was truly all about. The freediving done in the Yucatan Peninsula is done in what are called cenotes. Cenotes are natural sinkholes formed when limestone bedrock collapses, uncovering deep pools of fresh water. Cenotes can vary in structure and depth. And there are hundreds of them across that region of Mexico. They can be anywhere from around a few meters or feet deep to over 70 meters (229 feet) deep.
After freediving in the mysterious and otherworldly blues of the Cenotes in Tulum, my next opportunity to freedive came to me in the dreamscape of the Mediterranean Sea in Mallorca , Spain.
After these two freediving experiences, I was intoxicated by the sport. I was spellbound by the sea. Freediving in those vastly different bodies of water. Had been some of the most invigorating and beautiful experiences of my life. And the fire had been lit within me to become an expert in the world of freediving. To give to people the very same once in a lifetime experiences in the water that had been given to me. To dive so dive into the water. With such a sense of ease. And to marvel at the immensity of being beneath that much blue. To see the light beams from the sun dancing and flickering through the blues of the deep. Everyone needs to experience that at least once in their lives. And so my mission was born. The path towards mastering the Way of Water. Had began.
I would later return to the cenotes of Mexico to complete my advanced course program. And after that. I left the US and embarked on a world wide journey to study, train, and learn from the very best in the sport of freediving.
I went on to complete my masters program in Utila, Honduras. And upon completion. Headed off to Koh Tao, Thailand to complete the rigorous instructor course program at the Apnea Total Headquarters. Once I completed the program. I established an eight month residency there, instructing and developing hundreds of students, from all around the world.
Since then my passion for the sport and sea has taken me all around this blue planet. Diving in waters ranging from the Caribbean and Mediterranean. To the South China Sea in Thailand. To the East China Sea of Japan. Diving alongside some of the most awe inspiring creatures of the deep, in the Pacific Ocean’s Sea of Cortez. As well has having the opportunity to dive with movies stars and some of the most well know operators in the entire sport of freediving in Tulum, Mexico.
I positioned myself to learn from the absolute highest level athletes and coaches freediving. Becoming myself, now one of the best there is in the sport . All to give the knowledge that I have amassed to you. Here in the beautiful United States of America. In the world class diving conditions of Lake Jocassee. Being from South Carolina. To travel the world over diving. And to be able to return home to bring world class freediving here to the US. Has been a truly magnificent journey and I am honored to be able to do so.
So whether you are a complete beginner, want to compete at the highest level of the sport, or simply want to pick freedving as one of the coolest pastimes there is. I am here to offer you all of the underwater expertise that I have gained in my years of dedication to the sport of freediving. To make whatever underwater dreams that you may have, a reality.
Freediving can open up the entire world of exploration for you. Both in the water and out of it. From diving alongside the enchanting creatures of the sea, to gracefully gliding to depths you never imagined possible. All on a single breath.
We at Freedive Carolina are grateful to be able to offer you the opportunity to experience this beautiful sport, right here in South Carolina. See you in the blue.