Welcome! (and who are we)
It all started in 2021 with an Instagram page…
The Instagram account and is a community-based project started in 2021 when Cornelia and her friend Ann started to meet up regularly for snorkelling & freediving.
Soon, we realised there was no active network or communities of fellow freedivers in Cork or Ireland. Or at least we didn’t know about them.
One important rule when practising apnea or going out to freedive and snorkel is never to go out alone. And we wanted to figure out how to meet more like-minded people to go out with in case one of us wasn’t available.
And so the page “cork_free_diving” got set up on Instagram to share our adventures and explorations at sea and find and meet up with like-minded freedivers.
Soon, Cornelia and Ann started to meet more fellow freedivers and quickly, regular meet-ups happened to do what we all love together: Go freediving in Cork or across Ireland.
We are based in Co. Cork and mainly meet in Cork for open-sea, onshore and offshore dives, but we have also been travelling across Ireland to meet with more freedivers and clubs (Diving Ireland).
Since then, our network and community have massively increased, establishing a group of regular people (and now also friends) to go freediving with in Cork.
Behind Cork Free Diving, Cornelia is passionate about marine wildlife (or any wildlife), the sea, mindset & psychology, breathwork, and, of course, snorkelling and freediving.
We are also big on safety and how to observe any marine- or wildlife that we come across. A strict “no-touch policy” applies.
This is how it all started, and I will share more insights, adventures and upcoming fun stuff soon!
Stay tuned,
About Cornelia and her Freediving journey:
I have always been a “water baby. I remember how I used to dive in pools as a child since I felt more comfortable underwater than swimming. I was also intrigued by what I could find at the bottom of the pool, often recovering lost earrings or other things whilst “exploring”.
Throughout the years, I would have always been snorkelling or freediving on holidays but only in 2020 did I complete my first Freediving course (SSI) in Cork. Now realising that freediving can also be a regular occurrence in Ireland, I started to connect with a fellow course member (and now good friend), going out snorkelling and freediving along the Cork's coast.
I love the sense of exploration and wonder, looking at little details or appreciating the powerful forces of the sea and its marine life. I have always been into photography and action cameras (before on land), so naturally I started bringing my gear and documenting some of our experiences underwater.
Over the years, I also completed CMAS Lvl. 2 (freediving), became a Snorkel Instructor (CMAS), I am a certified Snorkel Tour Guide (Padi), and I did the Molchanovs Wave 2. Although not drawn to competitions, I like to stay on top of my technique and train in dedicated freediving sessions.
In a non-water related world, I am also a Mindset, Life and ADHD coach and a certified Breathwork facilitator (Conscious Connected Breath).
I find those skills help a lot in the freediving and snorkelling world too.
I am also freediving and snorkelling throughout the winter, and in Ireland, you can expect temperatures between 6C- 19C depending on location and time of the year.
Please read more in the upcoming blog post for more info :)
Best, Cornelia
