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Usually freediving events are held in warm and sunny locations like Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas, but not Asikkala on the Rocks. It’s held every March in Finland and involves plunging through a hole in a sheet of ice and diving down into the biting waters beneath. Pure madness, you think? “Not at all,” says organizer Antero Joki, Finland’s top freediver. “It’s a spiritual feeling. It’s not about how deep you go, it’s about the feeling.” Here’re four reasons to give ice freediving a go. Feeling brave? Jump in in your swimsuit. © Pekka TuuriThe thrill of the cold Despite what you might think, diving in frigid water doesn’t feel terrible once you get past the initial shock. “It’s actually thrilling,” Antero says. “Every time someone overcomes their fear of the cold and goes for it, they come out of the water smiling. Of course you can feel the coldness through your wetsuit, but it’s not bad. You can stay in only for half an hour, but that’s enough to enjoy this incredible underwater experience.” “Every time someone overcomes their fear of the cold and goes for it, they come out of the water smiling.” © Pekka Tuuri The underwater ambience “It’s hard to describe this; you have to experience it for yourself,” Antero says. “There’s total silence. There’s this twilight light and the ice creates a shadow theater. You can see shadows of the people moving on the surface of the ice. And even though it’s cold, it feels cozy.” It teaches relaxation “It’s always a maximum of 4°C below 10 m so it’s always cold and it’s always dark,” Antero says. “But when you learn to relax in a cold and dark water it means when you freedive in warm water it’s so much easier to be relaxed.” © Pekka TuuriThe Finnish saunas Before plunging through the ice, Asikkala on the Rocks participants relax in saunas to prepare themselves and then again afterwards to warm up. “The combination of warmth and cold is good for body and mind,” Antero says. “It’s a very relaxing atmosphere.” MAIN IMAGE: © Pekka Tuuri

Here’s one of those vacation bugs: great beaches often have lousy snorkeling. You wander into the sea hoping for pristine waters and a vibrant underwater life and what you get is cloudy visibility thanks to all the sand – and zero fish. But you don’t have to join a boat trip to that ‘hidden’ cove to enjoy great snorkeling. Here are seven beaches you can take both your book – and your fins. Ayada Maldives The Maldives is home to some of the best diving and snorkeling around the world; an abundant sea life, clear warm waters and some fantastic beaches as well. Where to stay? We’re biased but last year the Suunto Dive team stayed at Ayada Maldives. The house reef is just a few minutes swim from the beach and home to reef sharks, rays and sea turtles. You’ll love these incredible underwater shots. © George Karbus Dean’s Blue Hole, Bahamas Dean’s Blue Hole is the well known venue for some of the world’s deepest freedives. One of the world’s largest salt water blue holes, it plunges down to 200m just meters from the soft sanded beach. But you don’t need to be a champion freediver like Will Trubridge to enjoy the venue. Diving down to the entrance rim of the blue hole is within reach of most people, while there’s great snorkeling to be had around the cove. © samovidic/ zooom.at Goat Island, New Zealand Let’s be honest, New Zealand is not the first place you’d think of for a beach and snorkel vacation. But as the country’s first marine reserve, Goat Island is a surprisingly awesome and family-friendly venue for sun and sea worshipers. Approximately 90 km north-east of Auckland, the reserve is home to snapper, kingfish, kahawai and jack mackerel. Lobster and crayfish are also common while seals and dolphins are also occasionally spotted. Okinawa Island, Japan Move over Great Barrier Reef, Thailand (see # 6) and Bali. If you’re looking for awesome snorkeling within reach of some pristine sandy beaches, head to Japan. We asked freediver Tomoka Fukuda for her recommendations. Unsurprisingly, she went for her home. “The Okinawa ocean is very beautiful,” she says. It’s also home to turtles, manta ray, reef shark and an abundance of other tropical fish. The sushi’s pretty good too. Noa Noa Island, Philippines It sounds like it could be the lair of a Bond villain, but there will only be pleasant surprises for those who visit the private island of Noa Noa. An official marine sanctuary, it is surrounded by a 70 hectare tropical reef. It features easy beach access, areas suitable for beginners as well as caves and walls for those adventurous snorkelers who want to explore further. © noanoaisland.com Phuket, Thailand We tried really hard not to mention Thailand but some places you just can’t ignore. Among them are the many beaches in Phuket. Some offer better snorkeling than others. Find beautiful coves and rock formations at Ao Sane beach in the south-west. Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua, Indonesia If it’s unparalleled snorkeling and biodiversity you’re after, you’ve come to the right place. The Raja Amapat Islands of West Papua are home to 75% of all known coral species and abundant marine life. There are over 1,000 different species of fish in the reserve. Expect to see sea turtles, sharks and manta rays, and because it’s so remote, very few people. The catch? Access is also remote. There are some incredible beaches with snorkeling just a few steps away, but you may need a boat to get to the beach first. © Trekpedition.Com via Flickr MAIN IMAGE: © Predrag Vuckovic

Suunto, the world’s leading dive computer brand, introduces an optional software update bringing usability and performance improvements to the Suunto DX, Suunto D6i, Suunto D6i Novo, Suunto D4i and Suunto D4i Novo. Suunto's D-series dive computers are known for their refined design and solid functionality. The new software update 1.5.9 builds on consumer feedback and makes the devices even more user-friendly whether you're an experienced technical diver, freediver or an adventurous spirit new to the diving world. The new enhancements include: The dive mode selection is moved to sub menu ”General Settings” to make it easier to change and dive with the desired mode. Easier and quicker digital compass calibration brought to D6i (similar to the DX) adds the possibility to calibrate the compass also underwater. Stopwatch usage simplified. Enhanced battery and pressure sensor checking. This optional software update is available to existing Suunto DX, D6i and D4i owners via Authorized Suunto Service Centers. Please note, Suunto authorized battery change points are not able to offer this software update. When you send your dive computer for servicing or a battery change, the software will be updated at the same time without an additional cost. Without a battery change or other service procedure the cost is a handling fee that varies from country to country. D4, D6, D9 and D9tx can not be updated – you can identify the model on the backplate of your dive computer. Please contact your local Suunto Dealer or Suunto Contact Center for more information. For contact details and updated user guides check out support. You can also check out the D-series learning tool or visit the Suunto YouTube channel for how-to-use videos.

Underwater explorer and Suunto ambassador Jill Heinerth has dived in breathtaking locations all over the world so when she says one place has the clearest water and is the most inviting it’s worth sitting up and paying attention. It’s time to update your bucketlist. Located in Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park is the most impressive meeting place of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates – the Silfra fissure. The two plates drift apart about 2 cm every year and snorkelers and divers can swim between them in the fissure and even touch the two continents at the same time – the only place in the world this is possible. Intrepid underwater explorer, photographer and film maker Jill Heinerth dived there in 2014 with scientist Jónína Herdís Ólafsdóttir who is researching the unique bacterial colonies that live in the Silfra and in other fissure cracks around Iceland. The research may offer insights into early life on Earth and possibly about life on other planets. While exploring there, Jill captured some amazing images of Jónína swimming in the fissure. Prepare to be amazed. The Silfra fissure from above. © IntoThePlanet.com – Jill Heinerth 100 m visibility The underwater visibility in the Silfra fissure is over 100 m. This is because it’s cold (2°C – 4°C year round) glacial water that's filtered through lava for 30 to 100 years before seeping from underground wells into Thingvellir Lake. It’s so pure it’s fit to drink. “Diving or snorkeling in Silfra should be on everyone's bucket list,” Jill says. “There’s simply no other water on this planet that is as clear and inviting.” © IntoThePlanet.com – Jill Heinerth Diving into creation The Silfra fissure has four sections that can be explored: the Silfra Big Crack, the Silfra Hall, Silfra Cathedral, and Silfra Lagoon. “Drifting through the gap in the tectonic plates in the middle of this gusty, raw and primordial environment makes you feel like you are diving into creation itself,” Jill says. © IntoThePlanet.com – Jill Heinerth The home of adventure “Iceland is a stunning and unique environment,” Jill says. “The people are warm and the geography is absolutely incredible. For those that love the wildness of outdoor adventure, there is nothing like it.”© IntoThePlanet.com – Jill Heinerth

Phil Short has been a dive industry professional for over 20 years. He has explored some of the world’s deepest dry caves and spent thousands of hours diving water filled passages. Research and archeology are also his passion, including such assignments as the Antikhytera survey project in Crete. But what is down there that draws Phil to explore these submerged realms? Cave diving is the last field where human beings are mandatory for exploration. In Victorian times, when somebody climbed a mountain, that was it. They were the first. Now technology has taken over. You can take a look at a picture of a mountain, a valley, jungle, or a gorge before you go there. It has been all mapped. “When you get to the end of the line in a cave, tie your line to that line and swim around the corner, you're the first human being there. It's true exploration, much like Shackleton, Scott and all of these early explorers did because there was no choice. In cave diving, there's still no choice, and that's why I’m so passionately driven by it. Anyone with a sensible budget can find new territory.” THE CAVE DIVING ROCK NERD Millions of years ago, the seas were filled with very different kinds of life forms than today. Over the millennia, soft seafloor turned into limestone, preserving a snapshot of these creatures from the past. Caves cut right through these ancient layers, displaying a rich collection of fossils and telling a geological story of the Earth’s past. Phil Short has dived caves all over the world, spending thousands of hours diving exploring many kinds of dry and water filled passages. He knows that seemingly small details hide countless stories. Taking a close look, a bulge in the cave ceiling can turn out to be a tooth of an extinct tiger. “Think about swimming through 100 metres of cave passage today, and memorise all of it. And then get into a time machine and go 3,000 years into the future. The cave would be different because you're diving in something that is alive. The acidic rainwater is dissolving rock, and the flow of the water is eroding it. So the cave is growing. It's forming. It's changing as you're swimming through it.” SETTING THE PERSONAL LIMITS IN CAVE DIVING Cave diving requires rigorous training and the right equipment. But there also needs to be the correct mentality and respect for the forces of nature. Constant practise and safety margins are the cave divers tools for keeping the risks at bay. Phil Short has been a dive industry professional for over 20 years. He has trained hundreds of divers and participated in demanding cave rescue operations. With the experience of thousands of dives, he knows where to draw his line. “I don't consider cave diving an adrenaline sport. In fact, it's the opposite. Going to an extremely deep point in the ocean, just to get a number for a depth record, that is not my motivation. I would happily do, and have done a lot of very deep dives, for a reason such as a historic shipwreck that nobody's managed to dive. I have more of a kind of Peter Pan, never grow up, child-like approach to exploration. Being there is just magical. It's my drive.”