A 4-hour intensive with April Zilg and Morgan Hoesterey

I took a freediving class years ago, not because I wanted to be a freediver, but because I was training for Red Bull Heavy Water and needed to know what it felt like to be underwater when my brain was screaming to get out. It changed how I think about being on the water at all. Ocean confidence isn't believing nothing will go wrong. It's knowing that if it does, you have the skills and the composure to handle it.

That's the idea behind this session. Morgan Hoesterey of Waterlogged Adventures and I are teaming up to give paddlers a compact, hands-on introduction to breath control and ocean safety, the two things that matter most when a paddle stops going according to plan.

The schedule:

• Hour 1: Ocean Safety Talk with April. Reading conditions before you launch, what to do the moment you're in the water and things aren't going right, and the decision-making that keeps a bad moment from becoming a dangerous one.
• Hour 2: Dryland with Morgan. Basic freediving and breath control techniques: how to extend breath hold time, how to manage stress and a racing heart rate, and the safety fundamentals that keep this practice safe to train on your own.
• Hours 3-4: In the pool with Morgan. Underwater problem solving under a higher heart rate, and wipeout and hold-down management, so a capsize or a hold-down stops being the scenario you dread and becomes one you've already trained for.

Capped at 6 paddlers per session so everyone gets real coaching time in the pool, not just a demo. We're running this as two separate 4-hour sessions to open up more spots:

Friday October 2, 1pm-5pm

Saturday October 3, 2pm-6pm

$275

If you want to paddle the Graveyard and you've ever had that flicker of "what happens if I go in," as you near the inlet… this session is built for you.