Its the last entry before I head off back to New Zealand.
The finals were INTENSE!
I wish I had a camera to capture the moment when Johan completed SP after his 101m dive. Damn, that guy was awesome.
Guillaume did a 109m dive and made it look way too easy.
Carlos Coste struggled but managed an all time PB at 110m, which William matched and allowed them to share 3rd place in the world champs.
Alexey gained the silver going to 111m.
Last but by no means least, Herbert won gold by completing a 114m dive and on the ascent spent a few seconds enjoying the moment sending happy signals to the safety divers on the way up.
From there, he surfaced to cheering and very happy people.
Before I could party tho, I had to do come filming with Blue Eye FX, the film crew for the event. I was just about to get into the water, when I found my snorkel filled with beer. Suck that back, and it happens again… Those crazy Swed’s!
I ran David Button through the training exercises that I needed to run him through and it was job done.. PARTY TIME!
The after function was held at Island Sands, which is north in Salt Pond. Of course, it was a freediver party, therefore got messy. I had way way too much to drink. Was a great time and most everyone ended up in the pool fully clothed.
and the Hawaiian Sling
Got home around 1:30am or 2am or something. I really have no idea. I slept for a few hours, then had to get up and go spearfishing with Charlie.
We were in “Tough Goin” his big boat. Its bloody fast. 2 x 200hp 4 stroke Yamaha’s stuck out the back of a 7m boat. Cruising at 40 knots is no stretch for that boat.
So, we had Chris Marshell, Sara Campbell , Christian Moller, Filip, myself of course and Captain Charlie Beede.
We went buzzing some reefs, shot some fish, grabbed some lobster, saw some sharks and had a great time. Amazing day.
One of the amazing things here is that when its so flat and calm, you can look over the water to the horizon and the sky merges with the water. Its really amazing. We also saw a waterspout out to sea touching down. Nature is crazy.
Had some Grey Sharks buzzing us from time to time. 1.5m to 2m long I estimate and some good size barracuda swimming around too.
At one stage, I shot a nice Grouper in a coral hole and this shark would not leave it alone. I had to go tell it who was boss. When I surfaced, Charlie was cracking up and said to me “Boy, you really showed him who was boss”!
We managed to make it that everyone shot some nice fish, then it was time to go home. Stopped by “Mystery Hole” which is a cave created by a water spout, which is amazing to dive into. Hundreds of fish in there to swim with. Amazing.
We got back just on dark. Fantastic day and the hang over was gone after a few hours. Everyone had a great day.
Today, I am going to be completing some filming with Blue Eye FX and then I am helping Herbert with his first world record attempt (142m variable weight) which should be interesting.
Tomorrow I will be helping out again then catching the plane(s) back home.
So, all in all, its been an amazing experience with some great results not only from myself but from most all other athletes. Its been a great comp.
Thanks Kerian! Great reporting, I’m looking forward to reading about your next competition/adventure report!
well done on the updates Kerian, was a great read. Don’t feel sad leaving the blue hole, i’m sure it’s more ofa “see you later”
take care, Simon