Hi people, I thought I'd let you know how things are going as we train for the Canadian Nationals competition this May 24 to 26th.
I am in Vancouver BC, staying at my fellow compeitor Brent's beautiful house in North Vancouver for a week.
8 freedivers trained yesterday in the dark, 12 Celsius water for 2 and a half hours, diving on two lines; one 50 metres and the other longer to accommodate Tom Lightfoot's 62 metre CB immersions.
We had Andrew Brownsword, Brent Pascall, DB's own Peter Scott, Perry Gladstone from Ontario, Greg, Tom L., Aurora (from the French women's team), and myself.
Greg had broken his eardrum a few weeks back, and was in for the first time since then, feeling out his limits again.
Peter is glowing, having returned from an interesting winter in the Great White North of the Yukon. Anyone who dives with Pete will see that he belongs in the water.
Andrew brought his 50 metre line and float, which I managed to swipe for the rest of the week
He is dreaming of poking fish with his new gun
Perry has come out early to test the dark and cold waters of the Canadian Left Coast, and is doing very well....that's right, this is not Belize or the Med! So Perry wisely is working his way into the depths, day by day, and figuring out how to don/doff a Picasso open-cell suit. Lots of great new experiences for him.
Tom of course, is a powerhouse: a machine that seems unstoppable... training hard and always coming up strong. We all know who our competition is this weekend, right guys
My good friend Brent, at 6'7", did a 48.5 metre dive yesterday, a PB for him, and he's pleased as hell! I lent him my carbon blades after the last competition, as he was overpowering his plastic Spora's....now he's looking at some C4's in the STIFF range, to get him around, since the Radicals look like noodles also, under his power. Note that Brent did his 48.5 in 1:18 !! Cruisin' man
:king
Peter looks more at home in the water than anyone I know...he was grazing on some seaweed, and will start eating small molluscs underwater soon, I think.
Aurora is equally comfortable in the water, doing 38 metre dives in this intimidating environment. In her heavily accented English, she desrcribed the ease of diving 44 metres in warm, blue water. Nevertheless, she again and again flipped her (barefoot!) monofin up, and descended into the sea, either diving the line, or swimming with the seal that had been following divers down one of the down-lines.
I did 37 metres yesterday, and 40 today, and I'm happy with that, since it's my first time in depth since March.
Eventually we got cold...Peter and I swam on our sides, monofins cutting through the water like dorsal fins on sharks, each holding one side of the float as we began the long swim back to shore....I am truly home, where I belong.
Warmly,
Erik Young
I am in Vancouver BC, staying at my fellow compeitor Brent's beautiful house in North Vancouver for a week.
8 freedivers trained yesterday in the dark, 12 Celsius water for 2 and a half hours, diving on two lines; one 50 metres and the other longer to accommodate Tom Lightfoot's 62 metre CB immersions.
We had Andrew Brownsword, Brent Pascall, DB's own Peter Scott, Perry Gladstone from Ontario, Greg, Tom L., Aurora (from the French women's team), and myself.
Greg had broken his eardrum a few weeks back, and was in for the first time since then, feeling out his limits again.
Peter is glowing, having returned from an interesting winter in the Great White North of the Yukon. Anyone who dives with Pete will see that he belongs in the water.
Andrew brought his 50 metre line and float, which I managed to swipe for the rest of the week
He is dreaming of poking fish with his new gun Perry has come out early to test the dark and cold waters of the Canadian Left Coast, and is doing very well....that's right, this is not Belize or the Med! So Perry wisely is working his way into the depths, day by day, and figuring out how to don/doff a Picasso open-cell suit. Lots of great new experiences for him.
Tom of course, is a powerhouse: a machine that seems unstoppable... training hard and always coming up strong. We all know who our competition is this weekend, right guys
My good friend Brent, at 6'7", did a 48.5 metre dive yesterday, a PB for him, and he's pleased as hell! I lent him my carbon blades after the last competition, as he was overpowering his plastic Spora's....now he's looking at some C4's in the STIFF range, to get him around, since the Radicals look like noodles also, under his power. Note that Brent did his 48.5 in 1:18 !! Cruisin' man
:king
Peter looks more at home in the water than anyone I know...he was grazing on some seaweed, and will start eating small molluscs underwater soon, I think.
Aurora is equally comfortable in the water, doing 38 metre dives in this intimidating environment. In her heavily accented English, she desrcribed the ease of diving 44 metres in warm, blue water. Nevertheless, she again and again flipped her (barefoot!) monofin up, and descended into the sea, either diving the line, or swimming with the seal that had been following divers down one of the down-lines.
I did 37 metres yesterday, and 40 today, and I'm happy with that, since it's my first time in depth since March.
Eventually we got cold...Peter and I swam on our sides, monofins cutting through the water like dorsal fins on sharks, each holding one side of the float as we began the long swim back to shore....I am truly home, where I belong.
Warmly,
Erik Young
