Free Diving With Provider!

By: Provider Staffer Becky Gerritsen

Hunters and anglers get asked often why they enjoy what they do. Up until recently food was cheaper at the grocery store or even through direct farmers, but yet something still calls some of us out into the wild. This answer is usually answered easily with getting outdoors, spending time with family/friends, self reliance on a sustainable food source, and getting to experience the wilds and the animals that call the great outdoors home. For a hunter this is true, but for most anglers we get to only see the lakes and rivers and the surrounding landscape, maybe down a few feet if we are lucky. The world under the boat is a vast expanse filled with life that very few have the opportunity to be a part of. 

I started freediving when I met my husband, he had grown up diving on the coast of Oregon spearing fish around rock piles and collecting crustaceans when available. I had snorkeled some, but the fear of the unknown beneath me always freaked me out. Along with a traumatic experience watching Jaws as a young child had put a fear of the water, especially the ocean  in my mind. I agreed to give it a try on our Honeymoon in the Bahamas. With only one reef shark sighting in the distance, I was able to overcome my fear and immerse myself in the world of the fish. Fast forward 7 years and here we are diving in the cold waters of Alaska. 

This April, a good friend asked me if I wanted to take a free dive class up here in Alaska. I had only dove in warm tropical water and the fear of the colder, darker water brought back some of those old fears from before. After some convincing from my husband and our buddy I broke down and bought the 7mill wetsuit and gear needed to dive up here. It was a four day class with classroom/pool sessions and then two dives out in the water in Prince William Sound. Again this was April and we still had feet of snow on the ground. The thought of swimming in the 39 degree ocean sounded horrible, but I pushed on. After completing the class and getting certified I regained a new confidence in the water and an eye opening view of what life of a fish looked like. 

To be completely immersed in a new environment is an amazing feeling. Just like watching the squirrels and birds while waiting for that moose or deer to walk by, you watch bait fish dart around, colorful starfish latch on the sides of rock faces, and get a real look at your target fish and how they maneuver through the water. To be a part of their environment and not just look down from above and wonder what they are doing down there is a unique and rewarding experience.