THERE is a saying that money can’t buy happiness, and while some may not believe it, Danielle Bachew, founder and owner of eSpeara, is proof of it.
Bachew is the only female freedive instructor in TT and eSpeara is where she facilitates freediving classes, tours and adventures, and sells seafood caught using spearfishing.
With a network of divers and fishermen, she has access to boat to do freediving classes two weekends per month and tours down the islands or on the north coast on the other two weekends. During the boat tours she takes groups around an area, stop on a secluded beach, give them a snorkel class, spearfish, make a camp fire and prepare the fish she shot for them – grill, ceviche or sushi.
She explained freediving is diving underwater using one breath of air, without the use of breathing equipment.
“You can actually dive deeper than a scuba diver on that one breath of air, just by being able to fully oxygenate your body and control the way that you efficiently use your oxygen and your energy.”
Spearfishing is fishing using handheld elongated, sharp-pointed tools such as a spear or harpoon using freediving, snorkeling, or scuba diving techniques. But spearfishing while using scuba or other artificial breathing apparatus is frowned upon or even illegal at some locations.
In fact, she said, ten-15 years ago, people attended freediving classes specifically to do spearfishing.
She said freediving was a lifestyle that challenged people to control everything in their mind and body, and accept they could not control their surroundings. She said it took mental strength to ignore the urges of the body to take a breath when diving.
“With free diving, there’s so many elements that are against you. It takes mental strength to calm down, accept what’s happening and control what you can control, which is just you.”
Bachew’s love of freediving and spearfishing led her to leave a profitable job as a health, safety and environment advisor in an oil and gas company to pursue her passion full-time.
‘Follow your heart’
Bachew’s love of the ocean started at a young age.
Her mother, who was originally from Toco, thought the sea was the cure for everything. So she and her sister got comfortable with the sea, even rough seas, very early in life.
Born in Laventille, she grew up in Santa Cruz and often visited beaches in the North Coast and Toco with her family. She and her sister were strong ocean swimmers and they would compete with each other to see who could hold their breath the longest or who could dive deepest.
She started scuba diving at the age of 16 and, in 2016, when she was 21, she went on a hike and met a man who was a spearfisher. A few days later he carried her spearfishing and she fell in love.
“That was it. I was in love with the guy and in love with the sport. It was the end of the life I had before and the beginning of the life that I have now.
[caption id="attachment_1149326" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A video capture of Danielle Bachew during a freedive. -[/caption]
