Ah. Resolutions to keep the blog up-to-date haven’t really been honoured, have they? Over 6 weeks have passed since the last post. I have managed to squeeze in a competition, holiday and my Mencap Dive Challenge in that time, and haven’t had much spare to jot down the proceedings.
So, in chronological order….the CIPA International first. Another sunny weekend in Nice with good friends, cheap rosé, and a scenic train journey from / to Waterloo. One ghost finally laid to rest ( last year’s static blackout ), 7th place overall ( out of 58 ), and a PB in dynamic apnea. My ranking now UK 1st place for the 3 main disciplines. Just what the doctor ordered.
Next stop, St. Kitts. Well, almost - the pilot turned us back to Gatwick 2 hours into the flight, seeing as a warning light had appeared on his flight console. That lost us 7 hours of the holiday. Another 45 minutes went when he couldn’t land the plane ( hey, don’t blame the pilot - it was nighttime, there was a thunderstorm over the runway, and St. Kitts doesn’t have the luxury of ILS, even though there is a mountain next to the airport ). A week of diving, jerk chicken, Stag beer, and the friendliest people you’ll meet anywhere in The Caribbean, more than made up for the delays.
Finally, my opportunity to do some freediving and raise money for Mencap came into being last weekend. Sixty donations of ten pounds ( or the equivalent ) to dive 60 metres to celebrate 60 years of Mencap. It wasn’t about breaking records, but it needed to be challenging. Challenging it was. My legs have never complained so much about being asked to propell me back to somewhere I can breathe. Even the shouts and cheers from The Angels technical support team couldn’t get them to deliver the power I was asking for. But I did make it back, brought the tag up from 60 metres, and remained conscious throughout. Just to add that little bit extra, 3 of The Angels ( Laura, Simon and Mark ) volunteered to stay in the cold and dark for 60 minutes. OK, 2 of them volunteered; one of them was clipped into place for the duration whether she liked it or not.
If anyone from Saltfree, The Angels, The NDAC, or those that donated money read this - a big thank you to all of you for your time and generosity. This was very much a team effort, not an individual one.
