We now are in LA for the last day of the trip.
The flight from Maimi to Atlanta was exciting for some and scary for others.
There was a major jet stream moving over the country and we hit that not too long after take off.
The guy in the seat next to me, Matt, was crapping himself as the plane bucked its way north through it all. The little girl across the isle and up one row thought it was the greatest ride, even better then Disneyland and was laughing and yahooing all the time it was happening.
She was about 4 year old and was awesome. Many of the adults on the plane were letting out crys every time the plane dropped. After experiencing numerous bumpy landings in Wellington Airport, Joy and Myself took it in our stride.
We made LA almost 30 mins early after being delayed 20 mins at Atlanta so the jetstream was good from that perspective, but unfortunately the ground crew were not ready to receive the plane therefore by the time that was sorted we ended up leaving the airport around the same time we should have if the plan had been on time.
We got to the hotel and crashed for the rest of the night.
Its now 7:20am LA time (2:18am NZT Tuesday) Monday morning and we are about to head off to the California Science Museum for a nosy around. Our flight leaves LA at 11:30pm tonight, so we are hoping to make the most of the day.
Will be home soon enough and we both cant wait to see the kids!
Will update soon.
Deans Blue Hole, Deadmans Caye, Bahamas
Kathryn McPhee and Kerian Hibbs have been invited to compete at the Vertical Blue Competition at Dean's blue hole, in the Bahama's alongside some of the worlds best freedivers. Both Athletes will set new NZ records in various depth disciplines during the 10 day competition.Here you will be able to check on their pre-competition activity and track their progress during the competition.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Missed flights and more fun
Well... we got to Nassau easily enough... and parted company with Natalia, Mike, Megumi and Leo.
We checked into the international part 3 hours early for the flight to Maimi.
Did some shopping, waiting and more waiting, then we see people queuing for the flight... so we head up there and crap ... our fight to Maimi was gone without us.
We were the only 4 people for that fight and because we did not hear the call, they left without us.
We managed to catch a flight for all four of us (Kerian, Joy Frank and Christine) to Ft Lauderdale which turns out to only be 25 mins ride to Miami.
Frank and Christine were staying with their cousin in Maimi, so they arranged for us to be picked up and transferred to our Hotel. Very lucky indeed!
Right now I am outside the Ft. Lauderdale Airport waiting for our ride and we should be in the motel soon.
The Saga Continues Next Episode, same bat time, same bat channel.
We checked into the international part 3 hours early for the flight to Maimi.
Did some shopping, waiting and more waiting, then we see people queuing for the flight... so we head up there and crap ... our fight to Maimi was gone without us.
We were the only 4 people for that fight and because we did not hear the call, they left without us.
We managed to catch a flight for all four of us (Kerian, Joy Frank and Christine) to Ft Lauderdale which turns out to only be 25 mins ride to Miami.
Frank and Christine were staying with their cousin in Maimi, so they arranged for us to be picked up and transferred to our Hotel. Very lucky indeed!
Right now I am outside the Ft. Lauderdale Airport waiting for our ride and we should be in the motel soon.
The Saga Continues Next Episode, same bat time, same bat channel.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Day 11 - Its a Wrap!
The final day of the comp and it was a big day for a number of us.
Quite a few of the athletes had already left so there were only 8 of us left to dive.
First up was Ryuzo with another attempt at 105m. This guy just keeps coming back for more.
Today saw him miss the tag by 1m !!! its a long long way to go to not quite make it!
Second was moi. I nominated 76m today as it was a big depth in order to allow me to go as far as I wanted to without getting to the plate and thinking "I could have gone deeper". No regrets.
It was a little difficult to get my head around yesterdays events as they seemed to have changed the perspective for me a little, but not necessarily in a bad way.
The count down today seemed really short and top time came around too fast, but regardless, it was time to dive. Once I was at about 35 - 40m all the bag stuff in my mind melted away and left me in a really good place to continue the dive. My mouth full was working great.
At about -68 - 69m I caught a flash in the top of my goggles which caused me to look down and the moment I did that my mouth full was gone... I had just lost the ability to EQ any further!
I grabbed the rope and saw the plate so close!!!! ARRR!
I swum nice and relaxed to the surface knowing that it was a great dive, but not knowing how great.
After SP I checked the gauges and I had recorded 71m ! I was ecstatic!!
My personal goal for this trip was to make it to 70m min! I have reached a milestone in my freediving carear.
Feb of 08, my deepest comp dive was 37m. I have almost doubled my CW depth in only a few short months.
Enough of my blubbering, William Trubridge was soon to step up to the plate.
Due to the controversy surrounding his 107m dive a couple of days ago (bottom tag issues) he wanted to put it to bed once and for all. He had nominated an astounding 108m.
His dive was flawless and 4 mins later he returned to the surface and completed SP. He held strong even after a minor samba and finished SP at 13.5 seconds. He was released from the performance area after 1 min with another world record to his name. He stated that at the bottom that he had plenty of air left in his cheeks which may mean that we have more to see yet!
Last but not least, Frank was the last diver for the day. He was chasing his brothers unofficial FIM record for Columbia and finally put it to rest. -47m FIM. A good dive and easy SP.
So thats all folks. We will be heading to the restaurant soon for a finial group meal and a whole lot of people here who have not been able to drink want to make up for lost time.
See you all back in NZ!
Thanks for all your support.
Quite a few of the athletes had already left so there were only 8 of us left to dive.
First up was Ryuzo with another attempt at 105m. This guy just keeps coming back for more.
Today saw him miss the tag by 1m !!! its a long long way to go to not quite make it!
Second was moi. I nominated 76m today as it was a big depth in order to allow me to go as far as I wanted to without getting to the plate and thinking "I could have gone deeper". No regrets.
It was a little difficult to get my head around yesterdays events as they seemed to have changed the perspective for me a little, but not necessarily in a bad way.
The count down today seemed really short and top time came around too fast, but regardless, it was time to dive. Once I was at about 35 - 40m all the bag stuff in my mind melted away and left me in a really good place to continue the dive. My mouth full was working great.
At about -68 - 69m I caught a flash in the top of my goggles which caused me to look down and the moment I did that my mouth full was gone... I had just lost the ability to EQ any further!
I grabbed the rope and saw the plate so close!!!! ARRR!
I swum nice and relaxed to the surface knowing that it was a great dive, but not knowing how great.
After SP I checked the gauges and I had recorded 71m ! I was ecstatic!!
My personal goal for this trip was to make it to 70m min! I have reached a milestone in my freediving carear.
Feb of 08, my deepest comp dive was 37m. I have almost doubled my CW depth in only a few short months.
Enough of my blubbering, William Trubridge was soon to step up to the plate.
Due to the controversy surrounding his 107m dive a couple of days ago (bottom tag issues) he wanted to put it to bed once and for all. He had nominated an astounding 108m.
His dive was flawless and 4 mins later he returned to the surface and completed SP. He held strong even after a minor samba and finished SP at 13.5 seconds. He was released from the performance area after 1 min with another world record to his name. He stated that at the bottom that he had plenty of air left in his cheeks which may mean that we have more to see yet!
Last but not least, Frank was the last diver for the day. He was chasing his brothers unofficial FIM record for Columbia and finally put it to rest. -47m FIM. A good dive and easy SP.
So thats all folks. We will be heading to the restaurant soon for a finial group meal and a whole lot of people here who have not been able to drink want to make up for lost time.
See you all back in NZ!
Thanks for all your support.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Day 10 - Second to last day today
It was a real mixed bag today. In order to share the tasks between all the competitors we all needed to take a turn as Safety Diver "A" or Deep Safety. Today it was me.
I missed the first dive due to a technical error which saw me driving back to the unit as quickly as possible in order to retrieve some gear then get back as soon as I possibly could.
Frank was first diver, but had Eq issues therefore did not make his dive.
Second up was Leo (USA) who was trying for 51m Constant Weight No Fins.
I met him at -20m and signaled that he was in visual contact. I continued to shadow him towards the surface but he was in distress. At -5m he lost motor function and at -2m he lost his air.
I bought him to the surface and kept him clear until he came around. My first rescue ever in Constant weight.
Next up was Kathryn who was chasing a National record of 65m. This dive was to be a long way past her deepest CW dive. I was coaching her for the dive and Fran slotted into place as Safety A.
Kathryn got away from the surface well and came up looking good. A nice Surface Protocol then a small shake saw her safely through for white cards and a new record.
I take full credit of course as it was my CW fin she was wearing. ;-)
The diver that was to follow Kathryn scratched, therefore there was a big break until it was William Trubridges turn. Again I was slated in as Coach for Will, therefore Safety A was again assigned to Fran.
William looked rock solid in his build up to what was to become a World Record dive and got away really well. He had nominated 86m extending his record set earlier in the week of 84m.
He looked great as he surfaced and completed his SP claiming the record as his and putting it just that much more difficult to break in the near future. The world record was also the first world record that Joy has been official judge for, so is a great feather in her cap to be able to say that she was one of 2 judges who officiated the world record.
Last dive of the day was to be Dave Mullins, again chasing the World Record. Nominated 113m.
He looked fairly good on the surface and got away really nicely.
The officials counted away the depth and time. At just before 3 mins I left the surface to meet him at a requested -25m. I got to 25 and waited. Slowly out of the gloom I saw the giant man coming up toward me. He was on his way up. I signaled to Safety B that I had visual.
At -22.5m he missed his first controlled kick and I knew things were not good for him.
I placed my hand on his back as he signaled to me that he was in trouble. I spun around to his side and slipped my arm under his, clamped his mouth and begun recovery. A shot of adrenalin helped boost me to the surface. Simon begun to assist around -10m and we completed recovery.
I put him onto his back then got out of the way as the other safety people were attending to him and bringing him around.
After a while, Dave was back with us and I was given the task to swim him to the shore.
Dave was then put on air to assist with recovery.
It was not to be this time around, but he was safe and this was the main thing.
Its been a mixed bag so far in Deans Blue hole. I need to drop it now and focus on my dive tomorrow as I am building on what the big man has taught me and am going to go deeper than I have before.
Send me all your good vibes.
Kerian
I missed the first dive due to a technical error which saw me driving back to the unit as quickly as possible in order to retrieve some gear then get back as soon as I possibly could.
Frank was first diver, but had Eq issues therefore did not make his dive.
Second up was Leo (USA) who was trying for 51m Constant Weight No Fins.
I met him at -20m and signaled that he was in visual contact. I continued to shadow him towards the surface but he was in distress. At -5m he lost motor function and at -2m he lost his air.
I bought him to the surface and kept him clear until he came around. My first rescue ever in Constant weight.
Next up was Kathryn who was chasing a National record of 65m. This dive was to be a long way past her deepest CW dive. I was coaching her for the dive and Fran slotted into place as Safety A.
Kathryn got away from the surface well and came up looking good. A nice Surface Protocol then a small shake saw her safely through for white cards and a new record.
I take full credit of course as it was my CW fin she was wearing. ;-)
The diver that was to follow Kathryn scratched, therefore there was a big break until it was William Trubridges turn. Again I was slated in as Coach for Will, therefore Safety A was again assigned to Fran.
William looked rock solid in his build up to what was to become a World Record dive and got away really well. He had nominated 86m extending his record set earlier in the week of 84m.
He looked great as he surfaced and completed his SP claiming the record as his and putting it just that much more difficult to break in the near future. The world record was also the first world record that Joy has been official judge for, so is a great feather in her cap to be able to say that she was one of 2 judges who officiated the world record.
Last dive of the day was to be Dave Mullins, again chasing the World Record. Nominated 113m.
He looked fairly good on the surface and got away really nicely.
The officials counted away the depth and time. At just before 3 mins I left the surface to meet him at a requested -25m. I got to 25 and waited. Slowly out of the gloom I saw the giant man coming up toward me. He was on his way up. I signaled to Safety B that I had visual.
At -22.5m he missed his first controlled kick and I knew things were not good for him.
I placed my hand on his back as he signaled to me that he was in trouble. I spun around to his side and slipped my arm under his, clamped his mouth and begun recovery. A shot of adrenalin helped boost me to the surface. Simon begun to assist around -10m and we completed recovery.
I put him onto his back then got out of the way as the other safety people were attending to him and bringing him around.
After a while, Dave was back with us and I was given the task to swim him to the shore.
Dave was then put on air to assist with recovery.
It was not to be this time around, but he was safe and this was the main thing.
Its been a mixed bag so far in Deans Blue hole. I need to drop it now and focus on my dive tomorrow as I am building on what the big man has taught me and am going to go deeper than I have before.
Send me all your good vibes.
Kerian
Day 10 - Second to last day today
It was a real mixed bag today. In order to share the tasks between all the competitors we all needed to take a turn as Safety Diver "A" or Deep Safety. Today it was me.
I missed the first dive due to a technical error which saw me driving back to the unit as quickly as possible in order to retrieve some gear then get back as soon as I possibly could.
Frank was first diver, but had Eq issues therefore did not make his dive.
Second up was Leo (USA) who was trying for 51m Constant Weight No Fins.
I met him at -20m and signaled that he was in visual contact. I continued to shadow him towards the surface but he was in distress. At -5m he lost motor function and at -2m he lost his air.
I bought him to the surface and kept him clear until he came around. My first rescue ever in Constant weight.
Next up was Kathryn who was chasing a National record of 65m. This dive was to be a long way past her deepest CW dive. I was coaching her for the dive and Fran slotted into place as Safety A.
Kathryn got away from the surface well and came up looking good. A nice Surface Protocol then a small shake saw her safely through for white cards and a new record.
I take full credit of course as it was my CW fin she was wearing. ;-)
The diver that was to follow Kathryn scratched, therefore there was a big break until it was William Trubridges turn. Again I was slated in as Coach for Will, therefore Safety A was again assigned to Fran.
William looked rock solid in his build up to what was to become a World Record dive and got away really well. He had nominated 86m extending his record set earlier in the week of 84m.
He looked great as he surfaced and completed his SP claiming the record as his and putting it just that much more difficult to break in the near future. The world record was also the first world record that Joy has been official judge for, so is a great feather in her cap to be able to say that she was one of 2 judges who officiated the world record.
Last dive of the day was to be Dave Mullins, again chasing the World Record. Nominated 113m.
He looked fairly good on the surface and got away really nicely.
The officials counted away the depth and time. At just before 3 mins I left the surface to meet him at a requested -25m. I got to 25 and waited. Slowly out of the gloom I saw the giant man coming up toward me. He was on his way up. I signaled to Safety B that I had visual.
At -22.5m he missed his first controlled kick and I knew things were not good for him.
I placed my hand on his back as he signaled to me that he was in trouble. I spun around to his side and slipped my arm under his, clamped his mouth and begun recovery. A shot of adrenalin helped boost me to the surface. Simon begun to assist around -10m and we completed recovery.
I put him onto his back then got out of the way as the other safety people were attending to him and bringing him around.
After a while, Dave was back with us and I was given the task to swim him to the shore.
Dave was then put on air to assist with recovery.
It was not to be this time around, but he was safe and this was the main thing.
Its been a mixed bag so far in Deans Blue hole. I need to drop it now and focus on my dive tomorrow as I am building on what the big man has taught me and am going to go deeper than I have before.
Send me all your good vibes.
Kerian
I missed the first dive due to a technical error which saw me driving back to the unit as quickly as possible in order to retrieve some gear then get back as soon as I possibly could.
Frank was first diver, but had Eq issues therefore did not make his dive.
Second up was Leo (USA) who was trying for 51m Constant Weight No Fins.
I met him at -20m and signaled that he was in visual contact. I continued to shadow him towards the surface but he was in distress. At -5m he lost motor function and at -2m he lost his air.
I bought him to the surface and kept him clear until he came around. My first rescue ever in Constant weight.
Next up was Kathryn who was chasing a National record of 65m. This dive was to be a long way past her deepest CW dive. I was coaching her for the dive and Fran slotted into place as Safety A.
Kathryn got away from the surface well and came up looking good. A nice Surface Protocol then a small shake saw her safely through for white cards and a new record.
I take full credit of course as it was my CW fin she was wearing. ;-)
The diver that was to follow Kathryn scratched, therefore there was a big break until it was William Trubridges turn. Again I was slated in as Coach for Will, therefore Safety A was again assigned to Fran.
William looked rock solid in his build up to what was to become a World Record dive and got away really well. He had nominated 86m extending his record set earlier in the week of 84m.
He looked great as he surfaced and completed his SP claiming the record as his and putting it just that much more difficult to break in the near future. The world record was also the first world record that Joy has been official judge for, so is a great feather in her cap to be able to say that she was one of 2 judges who officiated the world record.
Last dive of the day was to be Dave Mullins, again chasing the World Record. Nominated 113m.
He looked fairly good on the surface and got away really nicely.
The officials counted away the depth and time. At just before 3 mins I left the surface to meet him at a requested -25m. I got to 25 and waited. Slowly out of the gloom I saw the giant man coming up toward me. He was on his way up. I signaled to Safety B that I had visual.
At -22.5m he missed his first controlled kick and I knew things were not good for him.
I placed my hand on his back as he signaled to me that he was in trouble. I spun around to his side and slipped my arm under his, clamped his mouth and begun recovery. A shot of adrenalin helped boost me to the surface. Simon begun to assist around -10m and we completed recovery.
I put him onto his back then got out of the way as the other safety people were attending to him and bringing him around.
After a while, Dave was back with us and I was given the task to swim him to the shore.
Dave was then put on air to assist with recovery.
It was not to be this time around, but he was safe and this was the main thing.
Its been a mixed bag so far in Deans Blue hole. I need to drop it now and focus on my dive tomorrow as I am building on what the big man has taught me and am going to go deeper than I have before.
Send me all your good vibes.
Kerian
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Today I became a Free Diver!
Day 9 of the comp started with a stunning day.Ryuzo was up first with a 105m nomination which was another 4m past his National Record set just a few days ago. Unfortunately today was not to be and due to Eq he did not make it to the plate.
Next was Hawaii's Leo who was chasing his second National Record. Free Immersion to 76m.
A nice recovery on the surface saw him clench his second US Record in this comp.
Following Leo was yours truly. After the last week of being stuck on 62m, the legendary Dave Mullins spent some time assessing my Eq by doing some rather nasty negative dives after the comp had wound up yesterday. He spotted a few things that I was doing wrong and suggested some solutions. Today was the day to put it into practice.
Also an e-mail from Ant Williams telling me to forget the comp and dive for the enjoyment helped put my mind set into a different place.
I was a little nervous at the surface before the dive, but thats always a good thing for me as it helps me focus more.
My breathe up was great, packing even better then I was away.
As I got to the "Sink Phase" (insert American voice here) where the body is no longer buoyant, I bought my hands to my side and just relaxed dropping down and accelerating. My first stage depth alarm went off to tell me to mouth fill which I did and then William Winram jumped into my head "Relax and enjoy it"
I went limp and embraced the drop.
For a change equalizing was a breeze and next thing I know I almost smash into the bottom plate!!! I actually went right past it. I grab the plate to turn myself as I no longer have my hand on the rope. I then look up over the side of the plate, see my tag, grab it and start to swim to the surface. I am swimming too fast because I am excited so I switch to a double kick and glide. Its the most comfortable / familiar way for me to swim. Next thing Natalie is in view, I am only 20m from the surface! I stop kicking in the last 10m and float to the top, grab the line and complete Surface Protocol. White card !
I am so excited .. I am finally a freediver!
Kathryn is next so after a quick suck of the O2 I swim back in time to coach her.
Its a close thing!
Kathryn gets away from the surface the best I have seen yet. The calls come in, 20m, 30m, 40m, 50m, turn!
She gets to the surface looking really relaxed and completes SP. A very nice dive and probably the best she has looked after a no fins dive so far this comp.
A new national record at 50m no fins.
The rest of the day saw Tomoko and Megumi both also get white cards.
A great day for those who dived.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
2 World Records and 4 National Records
A quick update, as time is short here in the Bahamas - but first the huge news is today is that the Kiwis have totally cleaned up at the blue hole today. First up, Kathryn completed a very easy 48m CNF dive - extending out her National record. This is the 4th time she has extended her records while at the blue hole, so it has been a very successful competition for her, despite one black out early on.
Kerian has been diving well, and Today set a National Record in Variable Weight, with a dive to 74m. The dive was very easy for Kerian, he came up clean and is keen to get back on the plate and extend that record out a bit further as well.
William Trubridge set his 2nd world record of the competition today. 2 days ago he sent the CNF record of 84m, today he set the world record in FIM at 107m and is looking to extend both of those records over the final days of the competition.
Lastly and certainly not the least, Big David Mullins will tomorrow attempt the world Record in CWT at the same time as extending his own PB and National record - this will make 4 world records held by Kiwis out of a possible 6 in the Freediving sport.
Pictures from the freediving at the Bahamas - and other social functions held by the organisers, along with some of the most amazing scenery and wildlife is posted on our gallery featured on the right hand side of our blog
Kerian has been diving well, and Today set a National Record in Variable Weight, with a dive to 74m. The dive was very easy for Kerian, he came up clean and is keen to get back on the plate and extend that record out a bit further as well.
William Trubridge set his 2nd world record of the competition today. 2 days ago he sent the CNF record of 84m, today he set the world record in FIM at 107m and is looking to extend both of those records over the final days of the competition.
Lastly and certainly not the least, Big David Mullins will tomorrow attempt the world Record in CWT at the same time as extending his own PB and National record - this will make 4 world records held by Kiwis out of a possible 6 in the Freediving sport.
Pictures from the freediving at the Bahamas - and other social functions held by the organisers, along with some of the most amazing scenery and wildlife is posted on our gallery featured on the right hand side of our blog
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