World Record Diary -- Part VI
Posted By Tanya Streeter on 20 July 2003
Sunday, July 6th, 2003
Seeing as my sinuses were still in bad shape I decided not to do any static training and to stay dry for a bit longer. Gilles also was not feeling too well so he decided to take a rest as well. Instead, the three of us worked with Andre, Kevin and John from the dive team, all of whom had expressed an interest in some static apnea training. Gilles took Andre under his care so they could work in Andre’s first language, French. John and Kevin were under my tuition and did very well. Kevin suffered from a lot of distractions, but did a personal best time. John surprised us all, most of all himself, with a 5:03. Andre surpassed 4 minutes with Gilles and was pleased as well.
After breakfast Gilles, Paul and I headed for the airport where we met with some Tourism Board officials and boarded a small plane for South Caicos. It was a 15 minutes flight to this small, quaint island and the end of the Turks & Caicos chain. There are no major hotels there at all and the pace of life is endearingly slow. Today was the launch of “Fisherman’s Day” (officially tomorrow), the local fishing tournament and I was going there to give a presentation to fishermen and a group of US students studying marine biology. Their month long “field trip” was almost at an end, but judging by their sunstreaked hair and tanned skin I think they had a good time! The presentation went very well and there was a lot of focus on apnea physiology, due to the large proportion of local spearfishermen attending. Spearguns are against the law here, and Hawaiian slings are used instead. I am fascinated by the skill that must be needed to hunt with the slings. The local spearo hero is a guy called Prince who I spent time talking to about the technique he uses. And I have promised myself that we will return to try it for ourselves!
Before his self-inflicted death less than 2 years ago, freediving legend Jacques Mayol had a home of South Caicos, so we took this opportunity to visit the house which he spent time in. It stands on the highest point of the island and was once the home of the island’s District Commissioner. It is a true West Indian style plantation home, with white washed wood siding and green shutters. Although the home is in need of a lot of work as a result of years and years of neglect, but it has island character. There is an almost 360 degree view of the sea and a breeze constantly blows. Jacques had built his own home elsewhere on the island, but it was apparently uninhabitable for some time, so he spent his time in this large house on the hill.
After a quick lunch of fresh local lobster and conch salad we had to run for our plane back to Provodenciales. On the way we passed the disused saltflats, which fuelled local economy of years gone by, and are now home to a local colony of flamingos. South Caicos is a very charming place, surrounded by smaller islands and keys, which provide stunning views and private beaches. I feel drawn to it and am eager to go back.
Tired from our flying visit, we rested for a while back at the hotel and caught up on the Wimbledon results of the men’s final between Philipousis and Federer. Then, while Paul watched Tiger Woods win yet another tournament by 10 strokes, Gilles and I grabbed just our masks for a nice swim from the beach. In a small area around the boat dock we played with colourful fish, a friendly stingray and a baby nurse shark. This is my favourite kind of freediving. No wetsuit or fins, just a mask and 30 feet of water. There can be so much to see! It was a nice way to end our day and to test my sinuses a bit. They squeaked and whistled, but cleared. I am hoping for a little better for tomorrows dive to 100m.
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