World Record Diary -- Part III
Posted By Tanya Streeter on 9 July 2003
Saturday, June 28th, 2003
I really suffered in the night and didn’t sleep well (any female freedivers out there experience anything like this after a deep dive at a bad time??!!) but we decided to stay in the routine and do some static training this morning. Gilles wanted to film, so it didn’t really matter what time I managed, as long as I did something! So I did a little over 5 minutes for the spectators that gathered and then we grabbed a quick breakfast before heading out on one of the Beaches dive boats with guests for a single-tank dive. Gilles and Paul just wanted to do some practice shooting of me monofinning around a reef in about 40ft, so while the other divers headed off over the wall, we enjoyed some beautiful coral and marine life. The weather today was worse than yesterday, with very strong wind and pretty big waves. It was hard work at the surface, but beautiful under water.
As soon as we got back to shore I had to take a quick shower before joining the female contingent of the safety team for a photoshoot. In addition to Carol and Ariane who work at Beaches and are full-time mixed gas divers on the team, there are Claire (who joined us on Wednesday’s dive) and Nina who will dive with us later on. Like her husband Tom, and Claire, she joins us on her day off. It seems the British media may show an interest in such a strong female presence on the team – especially as they are all technically trained mixed gas divers. They rock!! So, we decided to shoot some pictures on the boat with their gear and our bikinis. After a quick application of mascara and lippy, we were ready to go. The light was a challenge and Phil did his best with limited equipment. Then a slightly better equipped photographer from Tropical Imaging here on Provodenciales was able to light us all a bit better and take some great shots. We think you will like them when you see them!
After lunch I met up with John (our dive team leader who also happens to be the lead vocalist in a local band….) because he has said he will help me reach a secret goal I have. I am a closet singer – shower singer actually – and I have a secret desire to overcome my fear of singing in public. So, what better than to hole up in a quiet room with a man I trust at the end of my dive rope and his guitar? Well, I took a bit of warming up but we are making some headway. If I have built up any confidence by our last night here in Turks & Caicos (and I have had a few drinks!) we might just perform for the rest of the team. But I have a long way to go yet! Don’t worry, John said I didn’t sound too horrible…!
I was treated to a massage at 4pm, which was very welcome to say the least! This evening we went to a surprise birthday party for Kevin (our time-keeper) at his home. I think he was genuinely surprised but I have no clue how it could have been kept a secret from him – this island is so small! It was a nice evening and good to meet some new people. Kevin’s father is the head chef at Beaches, so the food was great!
As we drove back to Beaches we could see the wind was still blowing out of the East pretty strong, which would be bad news for diving tomorrow as it would mean the rope will be too close to the wall to dive. So we will have to wait and see what tomorrow’s weather holds for us. Fingers crossed the stormy system around this area of the Caribbean will have moved on in the night……
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