‘Tis the season to take care in pubs and clubs. A lot of us go drinking in public places at this time of year. So do predators. Today’s Metro reports on a Newcastle pub bouncer who was dished out a 5 year jail sentence for spiking a woman’s drink with GHB. He didn’t rape her, presumably because she ended up in intensive care as a result, but hopefully his sentence will serve as a deterrent to other would-be rapists. Also those who delight in playing pranks with the stuff.
All of us ( male or female ) should keep a careful eye on our drinks taken in public places. If anyone is unlucky enough to be targetted, then The Roofie Foundation have a helpline you can call.
No more postings due before Christmas, but do have a good one. A safe one too.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Boating Tales
Christmas is now less than one week away, and my liver is thanking me for a brief interlude to the festivities. On Saturday night, about 20 of us held our 3rd saltFree Christmas party, at The Boat in Chepstow. Apart from the excellent food, drink and atmosphere, it’s the one time of year that both Scuba diver and freediver contingents get an opportunity to socialise together. Before things degenerated too much, we had awards and presents to be handed out. I was the lucky recipient of one of the awards, and before I had a chance to compose myself and decide what to say, the moment to stand up and say something had passed.
I wanted to say that I didn’t deserve an award, when everyone else had made sacrifices so that I invariably was given the first slot in our freedive rotation each month. I wanted to say how much I appreciated Sam and Laura’s drive and commitment that keeps everything going. I wanted to assure Sam that we would all make sure that we keep the saltFree group running, while she takes a well-earned rest to pursue her career interests. Perhaps it was better that I didn’t though - whatever depth awards I manage to pick up, I’ll never get one for public speaking. So for those people who were there on Saturday, and now find themselves here, please accept this in lieu.
I hope everyone who reads this blog has a great Christmas. Same goes for everyone who doesn’t read the blog. And let’s hope 2006 brings more successes, less illness, less confrontations, and more happy experiences. For everyone.
I wanted to say that I didn’t deserve an award, when everyone else had made sacrifices so that I invariably was given the first slot in our freedive rotation each month. I wanted to say how much I appreciated Sam and Laura’s drive and commitment that keeps everything going. I wanted to assure Sam that we would all make sure that we keep the saltFree group running, while she takes a well-earned rest to pursue her career interests. Perhaps it was better that I didn’t though - whatever depth awards I manage to pick up, I’ll never get one for public speaking. So for those people who were there on Saturday, and now find themselves here, please accept this in lieu.
I hope everyone who reads this blog has a great Christmas. Same goes for everyone who doesn’t read the blog. And let’s hope 2006 brings more successes, less illness, less confrontations, and more happy experiences. For everyone.
Monday, November 14, 2005
The Promised Land
Dahab, Egypt. Windy, dusty town on edge of the the Sinai. Full of divers, travellers and one or two lost souls. A place for dreamers too, perhaps.Talking of dreams, a few of mine have been laid bare in the messages of this blog. ( Which incidentally, is now nearing its first birthday ). In fact the whole purpose was to keep a diary of my training / research for two dreams – being able to take underwater photographs with a digital camera, and setting a UK freediving record. It all seemed quite straightforward at the outset – keep notes of everything, and then once it’s all been achieved, the work would be there for future reference.
The problem with achievements is that they have to be achieved. You can’t even get them on eBay, which is a nuisance. Of course, you can buy an underwater housing and stick a digital camera in it, but how do you get the same quality of image that you’ve spent 7 years perfecting with your familiar 35mm setup?
Then there’s the setbacks. Flooded strobes, incompatible lenses, poor technical documentation. The freediving was even worse. Hood squeezes leading to ear rupture leading to ear infection. Blackout in competition. Seeing the record I was aiming for being reset far beyond my capabilities.
All you can do is reassess – go back to the drawing board and start again.
If the blog postings were the question, then Dahab was the answer. A few months ago, I had no idea that the alignment would happen there. The Elf and I were just escaping for a fortnight, for the usual mix of Scuba and relaxation. But somehow I managed to get my camera rig set up and working. Then Lotta Ericson told me about her Triple Depth Freediving Challenge, which was running in Dahab during our stay there. The Elf managed to arrange to do a Trimix course to co-incide with my changed plans to compete. So now we were all set up for something with a lot more potential.
The Elf came through her Trimix course with flying colours, despite a few moments of self-doubt. No mean feat, and not something that everyone succeeds at. My camera rig produced the odd shot or two that I can be proud of. And last but not least, I will have an entry on this page for at least a short while, with a 60m mark next to it.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Proof of Purchase
Seven months have elapsed. A summer has come and gone. Famous people have died and new inventions have appeared. And until now, no sign of any underwater photographs from my 'new' underwater digital camera. Even the superceded model of this camera has now gone out of production. Well, I have now actually produced something, this weekend, with my SaltFree chums, freediving in our favourite quarry. It's a photo of Simon, one of our accomplished 'Angels of the Deep', who keep an eye on us when we are briefly down there.
For two and a half years now, a group of us have been going there month-in month-out, rain or shine. In all that time I have never travelled there without looking forward to the weekend, or left feeling downbeat. We all pitch in and help and encourage each other, meet new targets and achievements, and generally have a good time. This weekend was no exception. Good weather, some new faces, and lots of enthusiasm from everyone. For me it was a last training session too, before heading off to Dahab for the Triple Depth competition.
It was a timely discovery that Free Immersion requires a different approach once you become negatively buoyant. In Constant Weight, you can simply glide down to the plate and use your fins as stabilisers. If you try that with FI ( as I did ), you may well find the weight of your legs pulling you away from the line. It brought me to a full stop twice, and more than an arm's length from the rope, so at 40 metres I aborted the attempt and ascended. The next day I kept my momentum going with long, paused pulls, just to keep in contact with the line. This was far more successful and I made my target depth.
I used to wonder who, apart from my commentators, actually reads my one-dimensional e-scribbling. This little map now gives me a clue.
If this weblog entry hasn't been overly exciting, perhaps the next one will. Or perhaps I'll be able to copy and paste the text from the one I posted after the CIPA competition in May.
For two and a half years now, a group of us have been going there month-in month-out, rain or shine. In all that time I have never travelled there without looking forward to the weekend, or left feeling downbeat. We all pitch in and help and encourage each other, meet new targets and achievements, and generally have a good time. This weekend was no exception. Good weather, some new faces, and lots of enthusiasm from everyone. For me it was a last training session too, before heading off to Dahab for the Triple Depth competition.
It was a timely discovery that Free Immersion requires a different approach once you become negatively buoyant. In Constant Weight, you can simply glide down to the plate and use your fins as stabilisers. If you try that with FI ( as I did ), you may well find the weight of your legs pulling you away from the line. It brought me to a full stop twice, and more than an arm's length from the rope, so at 40 metres I aborted the attempt and ascended. The next day I kept my momentum going with long, paused pulls, just to keep in contact with the line. This was far more successful and I made my target depth.
I used to wonder who, apart from my commentators, actually reads my one-dimensional e-scribbling. This little map now gives me a clue.
If this weblog entry hasn't been overly exciting, perhaps the next one will. Or perhaps I'll be able to copy and paste the text from the one I posted after the CIPA competition in May.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Pulling a few ropes
I told myself that Nice would be the last competition this year....so how do I find myself now registered for Lotta Ericson's Triple Depth competition in Dahab?
Well, the Elf and I had some time ago booked a fortnight's holiday in Dahab, for rest, relaxation, and the odd Scuba dive here and there. Perhaps finally get to grips with my old new camera rig. Ah yes, the camera. After several dunkings in the swimming pool and quarry, I came to the conclusion that the Epoque DS150 strobe was no more likely to remain dry inside than a cabin on The Titanic. Also that the DCL-20 Wide-Angle lens had more vignetting than a fly in a pillar box gets. So back it all went to Cameras Underwater. A small triumph for the beleaguered consumer - they took back both the lens and strobe in good faith. The lens was simply not meant to work with the PT-027 housing, and the strobe was a dud. In their place I then bought a beefier strobe - the ES230, with a more substantial battery cover - and a longer strobe arm. Beware to those who make impulse purchases at dive shows, and fail to research beforehand.
So how did the plans for Dahab go pear-shaped? Well they didn't really, it was all a re-evaluation of the options. If you happen to be in town when someone has kindly organised an AIDA freediving competition, it seems rude to decline the offer. ( Especially when one of the disciplines is Free Immersion - a personal favourite, and not often offered as a competitive discipline. ) I was thinking along the lines of doing one day's training, and one discipline only, so 2 days in total. That would leave the Elf to her own devices for a couple of days, unless she could find something like a TDI Trimix course to attend. Strangely enough, these do exist in Dahab, but it looked like this would be a 3 day course. OK, so that would equal one day's training and 2 disciplines. Oh dear, no, the Trimix course is a 5 day affair. That would mean I'd be forced into 1 day's training, 1 rest, and all 3 disciplines. I think that's what they call a done deal. Plus we still get at least half a dozen rec dives on the bubblers.
The Elf doesn't know that I might also be bringing a small camera crew along for the occasion. Let's just keep that one under our neoprene hoods for now.
Well, the Elf and I had some time ago booked a fortnight's holiday in Dahab, for rest, relaxation, and the odd Scuba dive here and there. Perhaps finally get to grips with my old new camera rig. Ah yes, the camera. After several dunkings in the swimming pool and quarry, I came to the conclusion that the Epoque DS150 strobe was no more likely to remain dry inside than a cabin on The Titanic. Also that the DCL-20 Wide-Angle lens had more vignetting than a fly in a pillar box gets. So back it all went to Cameras Underwater. A small triumph for the beleaguered consumer - they took back both the lens and strobe in good faith. The lens was simply not meant to work with the PT-027 housing, and the strobe was a dud. In their place I then bought a beefier strobe - the ES230, with a more substantial battery cover - and a longer strobe arm. Beware to those who make impulse purchases at dive shows, and fail to research beforehand.
So how did the plans for Dahab go pear-shaped? Well they didn't really, it was all a re-evaluation of the options. If you happen to be in town when someone has kindly organised an AIDA freediving competition, it seems rude to decline the offer. ( Especially when one of the disciplines is Free Immersion - a personal favourite, and not often offered as a competitive discipline. ) I was thinking along the lines of doing one day's training, and one discipline only, so 2 days in total. That would leave the Elf to her own devices for a couple of days, unless she could find something like a TDI Trimix course to attend. Strangely enough, these do exist in Dahab, but it looked like this would be a 3 day course. OK, so that would equal one day's training and 2 disciplines. Oh dear, no, the Trimix course is a 5 day affair. That would mean I'd be forced into 1 day's training, 1 rest, and all 3 disciplines. I think that's what they call a done deal. Plus we still get at least half a dozen rec dives on the bubblers.
The Elf doesn't know that I might also be bringing a small camera crew along for the occasion. Let's just keep that one under our neoprene hoods for now.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Nice Reloaded
The 2005 Individual Constant Weight World Championships in Villefranche have now passed into history, so it seems sensible to jot down a few memories from the whole event.
Accommodation was warm and cosy ( a polite interpretation of hot and cramped ), but had real family atmosphere. The kids ( Hannah and Sam S ) camped out in the kitchenette, while Auntie Anne-Marie and Uncle Matt were a stone’s throw away in another chalet.
Day one broke with an early training session planned, with me awaking in a crumpled heap at the side of the bed. My pack stretching had gone a bit too far, and left me unconsious for a brief period. After that I decided to do ‘reduced training’ due to travel fatigue. An afternoon trip to the shoppes yielded our prize catch - 5 litres of Rosé for just under 7 Euros. It didn’t stay capped for long, once we had chilled it out.
The hub of the event was a bright yellow and orange circus tent in the middle of the seafront car park. This was where we sweated out the Event Committee meetings, absorbed each evening’s entertainments, and savoured the sustenance offered to us by our hosts. Such was the epicurean delight of our lunchtime buffet, we decided to not have too much of a good thing and partook our evening meal in a nearby restaurant.
Another day, another training dive on Thursday, while Matt and Laura went-a-Scuba-ing out in the bay. I felt a bit short-changed after negotiating a 60 metre line, and surfacing to read 54.2 on my dive computer. Not even a PB. A lot of congestion on the training lines too.
Friday soon arrived, and so did Zoe and Nigel from BBC South West to do their documentary about Hannah. Nigel was kitted out for rough terrain with his hobnail boots, but did a sterling job with the shooting. The afternoon’s schedule was for all athletes to cross the bay in a flotilla of RIBs, to then walk to the centre of town ( up a very steep hill ), and then join a procession back to camp. It was true carnival atmosphere with banners and flags held high, and Pierre Frolla’s mobile disco float at the head of procession. The weather was hot, and so were Pierre’s skimpily clad helpers. By the time we were back to the circus tent we all felt as dehydrated as Nigel looked.
Saturday was day one of the competition, Ladies first. Sam and I coached Hannah and Anne-Marie respectively. For both of them, the results were respectable, but not quite what they had hoped for. Good though, that thay had both set national records the week before to keep their spirits buoyed. The deepest diva was Natalia Molchanova at 86 metres, and a new WR. Following her was Lotta Ericson at 65, and one metre below in 3rd was the Italian, Malara Mattia.
For the Men on Sunday, it was business as usual. 65 metres for Mr Still, minus his wetsuit, and 60 for Mr. Harris covering his modesty. As for the big boys, Carlos equalled the depth that Jacques Mayol reached in No-Limits back in the 70s, and set a new WR at 105 metres.
Laura and Matt were privelleged enough to capture the dive on film from their Scuba vantage points. Unfortunately for Guillaume Nery and Herbert Nitsch, both blacked out at the surface. Stepanek turned early and was DQ’ed for rope pulls. 2nd and 3rd places went to Timo Jattu and Timo Kinnunen with 90 and 85 metres respectively. A day of dramas.
The last night party was a hot, humid affair, with food and electricity a little shy. Not so the Karaoke girl from Monaco.
Other notable events....the counterballast system being used in anger....distances on the rope varying by metres at a time....Tanya Streeter pulling out after illness took its toll....and Sam Still keeping our glucose levels up with a Toblerone the size of a wooden log.
Accommodation was warm and cosy ( a polite interpretation of hot and cramped ), but had real family atmosphere. The kids ( Hannah and Sam S ) camped out in the kitchenette, while Auntie Anne-Marie and Uncle Matt were a stone’s throw away in another chalet.
Day one broke with an early training session planned, with me awaking in a crumpled heap at the side of the bed. My pack stretching had gone a bit too far, and left me unconsious for a brief period. After that I decided to do ‘reduced training’ due to travel fatigue. An afternoon trip to the shoppes yielded our prize catch - 5 litres of Rosé for just under 7 Euros. It didn’t stay capped for long, once we had chilled it out.
The hub of the event was a bright yellow and orange circus tent in the middle of the seafront car park. This was where we sweated out the Event Committee meetings, absorbed each evening’s entertainments, and savoured the sustenance offered to us by our hosts. Such was the epicurean delight of our lunchtime buffet, we decided to not have too much of a good thing and partook our evening meal in a nearby restaurant.
Another day, another training dive on Thursday, while Matt and Laura went-a-Scuba-ing out in the bay. I felt a bit short-changed after negotiating a 60 metre line, and surfacing to read 54.2 on my dive computer. Not even a PB. A lot of congestion on the training lines too.
Friday soon arrived, and so did Zoe and Nigel from BBC South West to do their documentary about Hannah. Nigel was kitted out for rough terrain with his hobnail boots, but did a sterling job with the shooting. The afternoon’s schedule was for all athletes to cross the bay in a flotilla of RIBs, to then walk to the centre of town ( up a very steep hill ), and then join a procession back to camp. It was true carnival atmosphere with banners and flags held high, and Pierre Frolla’s mobile disco float at the head of procession. The weather was hot, and so were Pierre’s skimpily clad helpers. By the time we were back to the circus tent we all felt as dehydrated as Nigel looked.
Saturday was day one of the competition, Ladies first. Sam and I coached Hannah and Anne-Marie respectively. For both of them, the results were respectable, but not quite what they had hoped for. Good though, that thay had both set national records the week before to keep their spirits buoyed. The deepest diva was Natalia Molchanova at 86 metres, and a new WR. Following her was Lotta Ericson at 65, and one metre below in 3rd was the Italian, Malara Mattia.
For the Men on Sunday, it was business as usual. 65 metres for Mr Still, minus his wetsuit, and 60 for Mr. Harris covering his modesty. As for the big boys, Carlos equalled the depth that Jacques Mayol reached in No-Limits back in the 70s, and set a new WR at 105 metres.
Laura and Matt were privelleged enough to capture the dive on film from their Scuba vantage points. Unfortunately for Guillaume Nery and Herbert Nitsch, both blacked out at the surface. Stepanek turned early and was DQ’ed for rope pulls. 2nd and 3rd places went to Timo Jattu and Timo Kinnunen with 90 and 85 metres respectively. A day of dramas.
The last night party was a hot, humid affair, with food and electricity a little shy. Not so the Karaoke girl from Monaco.
Other notable events....the counterballast system being used in anger....distances on the rope varying by metres at a time....Tanya Streeter pulling out after illness took its toll....and Sam Still keeping our glucose levels up with a Toblerone the size of a wooden log.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Still The Best
Big congratulations to Sam Still for his new UK static apnea record of 8 minutes 19 seconds. Truly phenomenal. This has brought about a new air of respectability for British freediving, and I'm sure we will be seeing more great achievements from Sam.
At the same event in Renens, Switzerland last week, we also had new records set for the UK Women's Dynamic Apnea and Static Apnea, by Hannah Stacey and Anne-Marie Kitchen-Wheeler, respectively. Hannah set a new distance of 119 metres, and Anne-Marie a new time of 5 minutes 18 seconds.
It will be a great honour to meet up tommorrow and dive with our new record holders, at the Individual Constant Weight World Championships in Nice.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Let there be water
Hood modification no good. It's been about a month now since my last assault on my ears, using 50 metre's worth of quarry water. I managed to burst one ear drum, and force debris over the surface of the other. Doesn't make for crisp hearing. Still, my injuries paled into insignificance compared to the Elf's. At the same NDC training session, she managed to internally rupture her left calf muscle in five places. We've both made good recoveries, so this weekend there's only one thing for it - go back and do it all again.
Statics are looking good again - a dry PB last Sunday with 7:17, and a wet one last night of 6:24. The fact that the UK record stands at 6:14 makes things a bit frustrating for me, but I think over the next few days we'll be seeing a quantum leap in that value.
That's one of the 2 things I can't comment on right now, the other being the creation of hydro forma. More to come on both...
Statics are looking good again - a dry PB last Sunday with 7:17, and a wet one last night of 6:24. The fact that the UK record stands at 6:14 makes things a bit frustrating for me, but I think over the next few days we'll be seeing a quantum leap in that value.
That's one of the 2 things I can't comment on right now, the other being the creation of hydro forma. More to come on both...
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Of back to the Beyond
I have now decided to shelve my website for the time being. The combination of a blog and flickr account seems much more flexible. In any case, I only ever used my website for photo sharing, so I will shortly migrate what I had there onto flickr. Must remember this page of underwater photos taken in the Red Sea last year, as it’s not an easy address to remember and I have no other links to it. Other links to my underwater photos I can access from an index page.
Thanks to everyone who posted after my return from Nice. I hadn’t really realised more than 2 or 3 people were reading ‘Beyond’. If anyone reading now wonders why it has taken over a month for another posting to appear, it isn’t because I’ve been licking my wounds after the failed record bid. It’s just that I’ve tried to remain true to the blog existence, which is as an apnea training and underwater photography log, and I haven’t been doing much of either!
That will all change from this weekend, where I have a 56 metre dive to accomplish at the NDAC. That should put me 2 metres short of the NDAC record, I believe. It will be interesting to see if my hood alteration will eliminate the ear squeeze I had last time. Also what effect the intensive couch potato training has had.
I did feel inclined to post a fortnight back, when London was plunged into chaos after the tube bombings. I didn’t, because there would have been too much to say, and nothing that anyone else hasn’t already said. It isn’t what this journal is about. I do think it is important to remember the people whose lives were either wrecked or destroyed, which is why I write now. Nothing to add more than that, as the other important thing is for us all to get back to normal living again, even when normal means holding your breath until you go blue.
Thanks to everyone who posted after my return from Nice. I hadn’t really realised more than 2 or 3 people were reading ‘Beyond’. If anyone reading now wonders why it has taken over a month for another posting to appear, it isn’t because I’ve been licking my wounds after the failed record bid. It’s just that I’ve tried to remain true to the blog existence, which is as an apnea training and underwater photography log, and I haven’t been doing much of either!
That will all change from this weekend, where I have a 56 metre dive to accomplish at the NDAC. That should put me 2 metres short of the NDAC record, I believe. It will be interesting to see if my hood alteration will eliminate the ear squeeze I had last time. Also what effect the intensive couch potato training has had.
I did feel inclined to post a fortnight back, when London was plunged into chaos after the tube bombings. I didn’t, because there would have been too much to say, and nothing that anyone else hasn’t already said. It isn’t what this journal is about. I do think it is important to remember the people whose lives were either wrecked or destroyed, which is why I write now. Nothing to add more than that, as the other important thing is for us all to get back to normal living again, even when normal means holding your breath until you go blue.
Red Palm House Tower
One of Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures, taken on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Kew Gardens.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Every one of these has one of those
In order to finish on a positive note, let's talk about the cloud. The CIPA Open Championships for 2005 have now passed into history, as have my failed bid to set a UK record in Static breatholding. The 6+ months of training have been documented here, and have been 50% of the raison d'etre for the blog existence. It only leaves to analyse what I believe were the main contributing factors to the blackout I experienced at around 6 minutes. First and foremost, two previous and consecutive days of deep ( for me ) constant weight diving can only have had a detrimental effect. Same goes for the head cold that started the day before. There are 101 other factors that could also have contributed, from hood drawn too tightly around my neck, to stress of performing in a competitive environment. Because of these, and not wanting to gain an unenviable reputation for doing this sort of thing, I have decided to step down from my bid. If the margins are so close, then I wouldn't feel deserving of the record. It's not uplifting, and neither was the engine in our car blowing up on the motorway the next day. But life goes on, I'll get over it, and it leads me nicely onto the silver lining...
Four days in Nice with the best of company, weather, calm seas and generally feeling good about everything, are what I will remember most about my time there. Getting a 56 metre PB less than a week after my ear trauma was a bonus. So was reaching 55 metres the next day in the competition. Qualifying for the Individual Constant Weight Championships in September wasn't a bad thing either.
You can't always get what you want...but you get what you need.
Four days in Nice with the best of company, weather, calm seas and generally feeling good about everything, are what I will remember most about my time there. Getting a 56 metre PB less than a week after my ear trauma was a bonus. So was reaching 55 metres the next day in the competition. Qualifying for the Individual Constant Weight Championships in September wasn't a bad thing either.
You can't always get what you want...but you get what you need.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Throb in Hood
When you're 42 metres below the surface on one breath of air, and you feel a sensation like a hot knitting needle going into your ear, what do you do? No prizes for the answer to that one. When you pull your wetsuit hood back at the surface, and blood is seen coming out of your ear, what would you diagnose that as? Most of the folks I was with at the NDC last weekend thought I had ruptured my eardrum, and so did I. In fact, I may well have done, but there's a good chance that didn't actually happen. My GP can't get a clear view of the drum to see if it is intact, but I know that it isn't leaking air to the outside world if I pressurize my eustachian tubes.
The most likely explanation is external ear barotrauma, brought about by hood squeeze. At a certain depth the hood may have sealed against the ear, preventing air / water from entering / exiting. The existing air space contracts and creates a vacuum, followed by the rupture of the small blood vessels lining the external ear canal.
I've now changed my thoughts of an early and immediate retirement, back to the competition in hand. Constant Weight will have to be shallower than I would have liked, thanks to the injury. I won't be using liquivision goggles ( turns out that the new AIDA rules won't be in force for the CIPA Open ). As for statics, a steady series of dry 6m30s - 7m holds, and one pool 6m20s hold, have made me confident that the training programme has made a benefit. The next posting will indicate whether this was enough to break the current UK record or not.
As for the suit, I've now burnt holes into the hood at the ear points, using a soldering iron. Similar to a hot knitting needle, really.
The most likely explanation is external ear barotrauma, brought about by hood squeeze. At a certain depth the hood may have sealed against the ear, preventing air / water from entering / exiting. The existing air space contracts and creates a vacuum, followed by the rupture of the small blood vessels lining the external ear canal.
I've now changed my thoughts of an early and immediate retirement, back to the competition in hand. Constant Weight will have to be shallower than I would have liked, thanks to the injury. I won't be using liquivision goggles ( turns out that the new AIDA rules won't be in force for the CIPA Open ). As for statics, a steady series of dry 6m30s - 7m holds, and one pool 6m20s hold, have made me confident that the training programme has made a benefit. The next posting will indicate whether this was enough to break the current UK record or not.
As for the suit, I've now burnt holes into the hood at the ear points, using a soldering iron. Similar to a hot knitting needle, really.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Lost Between Two Shores
10 days R&R in the Turks and Caicos Islands have now passed, and 9 days remain before the CIPA Open Championships. The T&C were everything I could have hoped for - good diving, good company, and enough spare time to fit some training in. Not to mention a trip down memory lane, to an environment very similar to the one I grew up in.
The training was simply a mixture of wet & dry Hypercapnia tables ( table 'A' ). Not as abrasive as it sounds - the breathold time set to fixed 4 minute periods, with decreasing breathe-up intervals that range from 3 mins to 1m15s. Whether wet or dry was simply dictated by the pool temperature, and ended up being about 50/50 of each type. On the last day, I tried a dry progressive static. I couldn't get past 5 minutes. Dehydration? Over-training?? Perhaps a bit of both, with some pre-travelling stress thrown in for good measure. Anyway, I've put that behind me now, and since returning have managed 6m30s and 7m dry statics without too much problem.
I think that now it's time to come off the hypercapnia / hypoxia training, and concentrate on daily progressive statics. Also some CW training at the NDC. I need to make sure I am comfortable using Liquivision goggles in competition ( AIDA rules now allow these ).
Looking forward to Nice...but also beyond that, when I can make a start with digital underwater
photography.
The training was simply a mixture of wet & dry Hypercapnia tables ( table 'A' ). Not as abrasive as it sounds - the breathold time set to fixed 4 minute periods, with decreasing breathe-up intervals that range from 3 mins to 1m15s. Whether wet or dry was simply dictated by the pool temperature, and ended up being about 50/50 of each type. On the last day, I tried a dry progressive static. I couldn't get past 5 minutes. Dehydration? Over-training?? Perhaps a bit of both, with some pre-travelling stress thrown in for good measure. Anyway, I've put that behind me now, and since returning have managed 6m30s and 7m dry statics without too much problem.
I think that now it's time to come off the hypercapnia / hypoxia training, and concentrate on daily progressive statics. Also some CW training at the NDC. I need to make sure I am comfortable using Liquivision goggles in competition ( AIDA rules now allow these ).
Looking forward to Nice...but also beyond that, when I can make a start with digital underwater
photography.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Phase One Nearly Done
Just one month left before the CIPA Open in Nice kicks off. Last weekend, I spent a very pleasant 2 days training with my saltFree mates at the NDC. The two main objectives for the weekend were to do a 50 metre dive, and a 20m+ dive with the new housing ( without camera inside ). The dive went like a dream, apart from a sticky right ear about 2m from the plate. It was just good to get there, as it’s been 8 months now since hitting anything deeper than about 45m. Housing internals stayed nice and dry with all knobs and buttons fiddled with at 25 metres. The NDC was the wettest I have ever seen it on the Saturday, and the busiest I have ever seen on the Sunday. The saltFree’ers were a bit more thinned out than usual, but no less good company. Sometimes the peace and quiet of diving with two or three others, easily makes up for the shallower depths we often dive in those situations.
I’ve also nearly completed the intermittent hypoxia training phase, of my two-phase static training programme ( see previous posting ). This is very experimental, and something I may well not repeat again. The unconventional ‘IHT’ has been demanding, and co-incided with a certain amount of not feeling 100%. I’ve had stomach pains and mild nausea, along with general tiredness and feeling ‘washed out’. There’s every possibility that this isn’t actually doing me any benefit, and could actually be doing the opposite. At least I have been through the hypercapnia training before and had no ill-effects, so I feel confident going into this phase.
Last but not least, I have decided to announce my static record attempt to the BFA. Records Officer Steve Fuller encouraged me to take this step, in order to raise the profile of UK freediving. As BFA Press Officer, I can hardly argue with that.
I’ve also nearly completed the intermittent hypoxia training phase, of my two-phase static training programme ( see previous posting ). This is very experimental, and something I may well not repeat again. The unconventional ‘IHT’ has been demanding, and co-incided with a certain amount of not feeling 100%. I’ve had stomach pains and mild nausea, along with general tiredness and feeling ‘washed out’. There’s every possibility that this isn’t actually doing me any benefit, and could actually be doing the opposite. At least I have been through the hypercapnia training before and had no ill-effects, so I feel confident going into this phase.
Last but not least, I have decided to announce my static record attempt to the BFA. Records Officer Steve Fuller encouraged me to take this step, in order to raise the profile of UK freediving. As BFA Press Officer, I can hardly argue with that.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
From Byway to Highway
An eventful week not quite over, and with more to come at the weekend.
Firstly, training started in earnest last Sunday. Much huffing and puffing in an attempt to make myself hypoxic for about an hour. Even I'm questioning the sensibility of doing this to my body on a daily basis over 3 weeks. Whatever I'm doing with free radicals, I seem to have at least proved that doing this stresses the immune system. By late Sunday evening I had the mother of sore throats, followed the next day by a full-on head cold.
The training itself ( after all, this is what I created this blog for ), consists of 60 second bursts of hypeventilation, followed by a full-exhale static ( which ranges in duration from 30 seconds up to 135, and levelling at about 120 ). So over one hour, this roughly equates to 20 minutes of oxygenation, and 40 of de-oxygenation. I would rate this as being more aggressive than the IHT training I underwent last year, although I'm not wired up to an oximeter and pc in order to compare. Certainly the side effects feel quite similar to IHT - rushing noise in the ears and micro-sleeps being two examples.
As well as biting the hypoxia bullet last Sunday, I also jumped on the Broadband bandwagon. It's not the 8MB highway currently being paved through the ether, but a somewhat thinner 512KBps service. Fine for me and the Elf, though, and it means we can both simultaneously exist in cyberspace under the same roof. The router arrived yesterday, and to my ( pleasant ) surprise, it turned out to be a BT wireless model. All I need to find now is a pcmcia wireless network card that matches, and we should be up and running by the weekend.
Obviously a week of much-wanted deliveries, the Olympus PT027 ( underwater housing ) arrived today. Not yet unpacked, something else for me to fiddle about with at the weekend.
Firstly, training started in earnest last Sunday. Much huffing and puffing in an attempt to make myself hypoxic for about an hour. Even I'm questioning the sensibility of doing this to my body on a daily basis over 3 weeks. Whatever I'm doing with free radicals, I seem to have at least proved that doing this stresses the immune system. By late Sunday evening I had the mother of sore throats, followed the next day by a full-on head cold.
The training itself ( after all, this is what I created this blog for ), consists of 60 second bursts of hypeventilation, followed by a full-exhale static ( which ranges in duration from 30 seconds up to 135, and levelling at about 120 ). So over one hour, this roughly equates to 20 minutes of oxygenation, and 40 of de-oxygenation. I would rate this as being more aggressive than the IHT training I underwent last year, although I'm not wired up to an oximeter and pc in order to compare. Certainly the side effects feel quite similar to IHT - rushing noise in the ears and micro-sleeps being two examples.
As well as biting the hypoxia bullet last Sunday, I also jumped on the Broadband bandwagon. It's not the 8MB highway currently being paved through the ether, but a somewhat thinner 512KBps service. Fine for me and the Elf, though, and it means we can both simultaneously exist in cyberspace under the same roof. The router arrived yesterday, and to my ( pleasant ) surprise, it turned out to be a BT wireless model. All I need to find now is a pcmcia wireless network card that matches, and we should be up and running by the weekend.
Obviously a week of much-wanted deliveries, the Olympus PT027 ( underwater housing ) arrived today. Not yet unpacked, something else for me to fiddle about with at the weekend.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Not Only Dolphins Click
The PC Gremlins are about, and one of them is sitting inside my PC tower unit, poking a stick into my disk drive at random inconvenient times. The less-imaginative would say that my disk drive is experiencing an intermittent mechanical problem that could lead to permanent failure. So, I've backed everything up, ordered a replacement disk, and am limiting the time I spend on the PC ( the gremlin doesn't poke until the thing's warmed up ).
Instead of rebuilding my disk drive, what I'd rather be doing, is relating our December Whale Shark siting to The Whale Shark Project, along with photo. Something to do when I can hear my hard disk whirring instead of clicking.
Writing of sharks, I remember with horror about two years ago, when our staff canteen decided to put it on the lunch menu. They haven't made that mistake again since, but still every Friday, they insist on making another dent in the Cod population. It isn't easy knowing which fish are caught using sustainable methods, but fishonline can help with the decision making process.
( I really shouldn't be writing about Gremlins. It only encourages Elves. )
Instead of rebuilding my disk drive, what I'd rather be doing, is relating our December Whale Shark siting to The Whale Shark Project, along with photo. Something to do when I can hear my hard disk whirring instead of clicking.
Writing of sharks, I remember with horror about two years ago, when our staff canteen decided to put it on the lunch menu. They haven't made that mistake again since, but still every Friday, they insist on making another dent in the Cod population. It isn't easy knowing which fish are caught using sustainable methods, but fishonline can help with the decision making process.
( I really shouldn't be writing about Gremlins. It only encourages Elves. )
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Yogi Bare
My completed entry form for the CIPA Open in Nice, at the end of May, is now en route. Just under 10 weeks to prepare. If I can mix my training as well as I mixed my drinks on Saturday night, I should be on to a winner. I don’t normally get paralytic going out with my friends for a Chinese meal. I somehow misunderstood that Caiprinas, Stella Artois and white wine are not condusive to sobriety when combined. Or being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next day.
The key to this year’s training plan is to drop the occasional yoga session, and replace time spent there with specific stretches and exercises from Pelizzari’s Freediving Manual. For the final six weeks, an intensive high CO2 / low O2 tolerance conditioning ( for which I’ll need to find an hour each day ).
This will be a challenge, especially as I made some purchases at LIDS that will require some of my attention in the weeks to come. I have ordered a PT027 housing. This is designed for the Olympus C7070, but I am assured that the C5060WZ ( my camera ) fits just as well, and that problems in predecessor housing PT020 have been eliminated. This hasn’t arrived yet, but I did walk out of LIDS with an Epoque ES150 digital strobe and the filter I was after. Once I find out how to connect everything together, I’ll need to work out how to use it. Splashdown divers have a good ‘dummies guide’. More clues at digital diver.
The bad news is that I don’t think I’ll be clued or kitted up enough before the next excursion to The Turks and Caicos Islands, at the beginning of May. Still, at least I can enjoy the simplicity of my Sea & Sea MX10 for perhaps the last time?
The key to this year’s training plan is to drop the occasional yoga session, and replace time spent there with specific stretches and exercises from Pelizzari’s Freediving Manual. For the final six weeks, an intensive high CO2 / low O2 tolerance conditioning ( for which I’ll need to find an hour each day ).
This will be a challenge, especially as I made some purchases at LIDS that will require some of my attention in the weeks to come. I have ordered a PT027 housing. This is designed for the Olympus C7070, but I am assured that the C5060WZ ( my camera ) fits just as well, and that problems in predecessor housing PT020 have been eliminated. This hasn’t arrived yet, but I did walk out of LIDS with an Epoque ES150 digital strobe and the filter I was after. Once I find out how to connect everything together, I’ll need to work out how to use it. Splashdown divers have a good ‘dummies guide’. More clues at digital diver.
The bad news is that I don’t think I’ll be clued or kitted up enough before the next excursion to The Turks and Caicos Islands, at the beginning of May. Still, at least I can enjoy the simplicity of my Sea & Sea MX10 for perhaps the last time?
Thursday, March 03, 2005
LIDS For Cameras?
High time for an update. The near-Arctic conditions we have been experiencing these past couple of weeks, have chilled my enthusiasm for weblogging, and yet newsworthy events have occurred. To start with, the BFA committee has expanded its ranks to include a new groups officer, membership officer, and press officer. As newly-appointed press officer, I have completed my first task of producing an FAQ style flyer for the BFA. This is due to go on distribution at the London International Dive show this weekend.
On the subject of LIDS ( which we are planning to descend on this Saturday ), how could the organisers manage to schedule two sensational freediving lectures at the same time? At 13:45 in Platinum Suite 1, we have Mike Rutzen lecturing on his freediving experiences with Great White Sharks. At the same time in PS2, the world's deepest freediver Loic Leferme talks about his recent no-limits record acquisition. Freedivinghas taught me several techniques for controlling mind and body, but being in two places at the same time isn't one of them.
Dan Burton will also be talking in PS1 at 11:15 about Underwater Digital Photography. I'm not sure if I will have purchased my underwater housing and colour filter by then, but my aim is to carry both of these out of the exhibition by the end of the day. If all goes to plan it will be on to the Baltic at Southwark for a vodka or two, a bite to eat at The Anchor and Hope, and then a 3D screening of James Cameron's 'Aliens of the Deep' at the BFI IMAX.
Of course, apart from the lectures and purchases at LIDS, there's always a lot of socialising going on. Last weekend I spent all day Sunday teaching in the Royal Navy Submarine Escape Training Tower at HMS Dolphin ( a 30 metre high / deep hot water tub ). The organisers and instructors in 'the tank' that day are all planning on turning up, so we will be having an early reunion. Perhaps we can persuade one or two to retreat to the Baltic post show?
On the subject of LIDS ( which we are planning to descend on this Saturday ), how could the organisers manage to schedule two sensational freediving lectures at the same time? At 13:45 in Platinum Suite 1, we have Mike Rutzen lecturing on his freediving experiences with Great White Sharks. At the same time in PS2, the world's deepest freediver Loic Leferme talks about his recent no-limits record acquisition. Freedivinghas taught me several techniques for controlling mind and body, but being in two places at the same time isn't one of them.
Dan Burton will also be talking in PS1 at 11:15 about Underwater Digital Photography. I'm not sure if I will have purchased my underwater housing and colour filter by then, but my aim is to carry both of these out of the exhibition by the end of the day. If all goes to plan it will be on to the Baltic at Southwark for a vodka or two, a bite to eat at The Anchor and Hope, and then a 3D screening of James Cameron's 'Aliens of the Deep' at the BFI IMAX.
Of course, apart from the lectures and purchases at LIDS, there's always a lot of socialising going on. Last weekend I spent all day Sunday teaching in the Royal Navy Submarine Escape Training Tower at HMS Dolphin ( a 30 metre high / deep hot water tub ). The organisers and instructors in 'the tank' that day are all planning on turning up, so we will be having an early reunion. Perhaps we can persuade one or two to retreat to the Baltic post show?
Friday, February 11, 2005
Ripples
Never one to shy away from some self-publicity, I was pleased to read Richard Pullan's first article on IHT training at Deeper Blue.net. Apart from the comment about me wanting to improve my performance without doing rigorous exercise, I thought it read well. If nothing else it has sent ripples out to the Freedive community who are challenging the need to do this type of training. Sebastien Murat has come up with an interesting alternative, which sounds viable. It involves hyperventilating prior to full-exhale statics (dry). I started practising full-exhale statics as part of my warm-up routine about a year ago, and I do think this bought me some extra time.
Pool training last night produced a clean 5:45 static, but I doubt it would have been wobble-free much after that. Being in charge of the group ( eight last night ) introduces its own set of stresses, which don't go hand in hand with long static times.
Still, enough time for improvements before the CIPA Open, in Nice, last weekend in May. I need to find out if this will be valid for AIDA ranking and not a capped event.
Pool training last night produced a clean 5:45 static, but I doubt it would have been wobble-free much after that. Being in charge of the group ( eight last night ) introduces its own set of stresses, which don't go hand in hand with long static times.
Still, enough time for improvements before the CIPA Open, in Nice, last weekend in May. I need to find out if this will be valid for AIDA ranking and not a capped event.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Method of Madness
Three years behind everyone else, I am now the proud owner of a digital camera. It was the last model on display in the department store, so they hacked off a generous 17%. Along with the store vouchers I had, this made it an offer I couldn't refuse. The weekend's tests have already produced a glamour shot of The Elf worthy of framing. I can't wait to get it under the waves ( the camera, that is ).
Today is detox day. Some bright spark in our staff canteen thought it would be fun to offer a one day detox course. Some other bright spark who owns this blog thought it would be worth trying out. So far I have ingested a cup of Dandelion tea, a cup of Nettle tea, 2 tablespoons of linseed oil, half a lemon squeezed into a cup of hot water ( which incidentally started dissolving the polystyrene ), and a huge bowl of grated carrot and bean sprouts. Nearly forgot the banana, which would be a shame, as its the only thing I've enjoyed so far. In just over an hour I have the pleasure of a 'Beetroot Blast' to look forward to. Presumably this will chemically bond with the Linseed oil, and generate some sort of reaction that Osama Bin Laden would be proud of.
I sometimes wonder why I make my life an ongoing scientific experiment.
Today is detox day. Some bright spark in our staff canteen thought it would be fun to offer a one day detox course. Some other bright spark who owns this blog thought it would be worth trying out. So far I have ingested a cup of Dandelion tea, a cup of Nettle tea, 2 tablespoons of linseed oil, half a lemon squeezed into a cup of hot water ( which incidentally started dissolving the polystyrene ), and a huge bowl of grated carrot and bean sprouts. Nearly forgot the banana, which would be a shame, as its the only thing I've enjoyed so far. In just over an hour I have the pleasure of a 'Beetroot Blast' to look forward to. Presumably this will chemically bond with the Linseed oil, and generate some sort of reaction that Osama Bin Laden would be proud of.
I sometimes wonder why I make my life an ongoing scientific experiment.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
The Waiting Game
The people I work for have rotated my workload dial in a clockwise direction. How rude. Consequently I've had less time to think / writeabout freediving. A little stress is supposed to be good for you, but I'm not so sure when it comes down to excelling at good apnea. This is something I am definitely not doing at the moment. My previous pool / dry static times have been 5m30s and 6m15s respectively. Still, at times like these, it doesn't do to dwell on negatives. You have to carry on with training and be patient.
In any case, the competition scene for the next few months has altered somewhat. I probably won't be venturing to Liege in March - the costof two of us going out there just for me to attempt to break a record, is probably less than the cost of having 2 AIDA UK judges overseeing the attempt in this country. On top of that, my fallback option of a re-attempt at the UK Championships has also been thwarted - these have been postponed until next year. I'm not complaining - more time for conditioning, and less opportunity for other record breakers to step in.
In the meantime, I'm getting closer to deciding my digital camera configuration. I'm hoping to base this around the Olympus C5060WZ. It's not top-of-the-range, but neither is my bank balance. Anyway, I want something reasonably portable that I can freedive with. If any of my images end up being half-decent, perhaps Oceans Image will publish for me.
In any case, the competition scene for the next few months has altered somewhat. I probably won't be venturing to Liege in March - the costof two of us going out there just for me to attempt to break a record, is probably less than the cost of having 2 AIDA UK judges overseeing the attempt in this country. On top of that, my fallback option of a re-attempt at the UK Championships has also been thwarted - these have been postponed until next year. I'm not complaining - more time for conditioning, and less opportunity for other record breakers to step in.
In the meantime, I'm getting closer to deciding my digital camera configuration. I'm hoping to base this around the Olympus C5060WZ. It's not top-of-the-range, but neither is my bank balance. Anyway, I want something reasonably portable that I can freedive with. If any of my images end up being half-decent, perhaps Oceans Image will publish for me.
Monday, January 10, 2005
The Uninvited Guest II
We may have had a stowaway when we returned from Mombasa. In fact, I hope that we did, provided it was travelling solo. If it came from somewhere else, we could be in trouble, as it may have family that come looking for it. We could be in trouble anyway if it was a female and layed eggs. Of all the creatures that you don't expect to see at the foot of the stairs late on a Sunday evening, why does it haveto be the one thing I have a significant phobia about?? Luckily, The Elf hadn't turned into a quivering mass of jelly, and dealt with the creature using a large heavy book, measuring jug and an electric kettle. That's what it took.
I didn't sleep last night. I was looking for them on the walls and ceilings out of the corner of my eye ( night vision works better that way, rather than looking straight ahead ). Twenty-nine years ago, I was at a tropical boarding school that was infested with them, and when I left I thought I'd finally escaped. Now they've tracked me down again.
Whatever part large ginger cockroaches play in the Earth's ecology, I'd vote for their extinction regardless. I'm not a celebrity, but you may have to get me out of here anyway.
I didn't sleep last night. I was looking for them on the walls and ceilings out of the corner of my eye ( night vision works better that way, rather than looking straight ahead ). Twenty-nine years ago, I was at a tropical boarding school that was infested with them, and when I left I thought I'd finally escaped. Now they've tracked me down again.
Whatever part large ginger cockroaches play in the Earth's ecology, I'd vote for their extinction regardless. I'm not a celebrity, but you may have to get me out of here anyway.
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