Yesterday we had two games. (note we are playing on the New Jersey Team)
Game 1
Castores 3 / New Jersey 0
The Castores (Spanish for the Beavers) are the home team.
Game 2
Leones 6 / New Jersey 2
The Leones (Spanish for Lions) were a fast team.
Outside Simon Bolivar Pool
The first practices at the pool have been eye opening. We have been shown a basic techniques that I think will raise our play to the next level. We are making notes to hopefully pass this on to our club members back home.
The pool facility is beautiful with the Mountains in the background. The water is 28 deg. C and crystal clear. The air temperature and breeze is a real problem for people when they get out of the pool. Some team members are using space blankets to keep warm when the sub out. The change rooms are very small for such a large facility. Yes, being at an altitude of 2640 m does effect the recovery breathing.
Before leaving on this trip we spent time looking into what we should see while in Bogota. With our team mate Rolexi (he grew up in Bogota) guiding us we visited The Candelaria. A famous part of the city with a great history. Highlights of the Candelaria that we say were.
Many small coblestone streets
The birth place of Bogota
The Botero Art Gallery
The Mint Museum
Mexican Cultural Centre
Parliament Buildings
presidential Palace
Several Churches in different architectual styles including the famous Catedral Primada seen in the image below.
Shopping plaza
Traffic is wild and chaotic and downright scary. We opted for Taxis and walking to get around. Only one out of 6 taxis so far had seat belts available in the rear seats. One cab that seemed like he was on a suicide mission and then tried to rip us off. So 11 out of 12 drivers have been good. The pollution from cars is especially strong during rush hour. We can feel the burn in our throats.
Armed with the knowledge from the trip with Rolexi, Gord and I visited the Gold museum (a must see for $2).
Below is a picture of Gord and I at the Mexican Culture Centre with the mountains in the backgroud.
Inside Catedral Primada
We have arrived in Bogota!
Three of us from Ontario have made the trip to Bogota to compete at the Columbian National Underwater Rugby Competition. The tournament is being held at Simon Bolivar Swimming Pool Complex. We have joined a North American composite team made up of 5 Canadians and 7 US players.
This is a short video I found explaining Underwater Rugby
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fen7bv4Sys]
If you are interested in additional information:
Bogota Underwater Rugby Club Home Page:
www.castoresrugbysub.com
Local News Report on Underwater Rugby:
www.colombianews.tv/news/101210-bogota-underwater-rugby
We have arrived in Bogota!
Three of us from Ontario have made the trip to Bogota to compete at the Columbian National Underwater Rugby Competition. The tournament is being held at Simon Bolivar Swimming Pool Complex. We have joined a North American composite team made up of 5 Canadians and 7 US players.
This is a short video I found explaining Underwater Rugby
[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?=5fen7bv4Sys]
If you are interested in additional information:
Bogota Club Home Page:
http://www.castoresrugbysub.com/
Local News:
http://www.colombianews.tv/news/101210-bogota-underwater-rugby
Tobermory part II. The second offical Tobermory trip of the year and the last Tobermory trip for 2010 for the FreediveToronto Group. The weather just didn’t want to co-operate causing serveral people to decide it wasn’t going to be for them. Three of us decided that we didn’t want to waste an oportunity to get out of the city and have a little fun. The waves were too big for a long trek along the coast but it certainly made for some interesting video.
I hope that the weather is better for next year.
If you like the music it is from a band called “Prince Perry and the Gladtones” (PrincePerry.com). Perry is a long time friend of the Freedive Comunity and he agreeded to let me use the music in this video.
Enjoy!
[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1ZhZ7KtnUo]
Sunday was another beautiful day here in Vancouver. The group was scheduled to dive at Ansel Point. The tide was low enough to allow us to have plenty of room to lay out our gear and lay down an recharge in the suns rays. The surface temperature was about 24 deg C so it was a good place to cool off.
12 divers showed up to enjoy the day. Visibility was great. Lots to be seen even from the surface. 20 m from shore there was a wall to dive on that had lots of fish, sponges, starfish and jellyfish. All this was new to me so every time I arrived back at the surface I had lots of questions. It was all topped off when two seals (mom and her pup) followed Okanna back to shore. After spending hours in the water everyone had build up an good appetite to enjoy all the goodies everyone brought to share. Fresh sandwiches and all kinds of fresh fruits.
I hope this weather holds out!
What a blast!
Meteor showers aside I loved the bioluminescence. Too bad I didn’t get any pictures of it. Every movement lite up the water. It was like some kind of magical energy. Or as you swam through the water it was like you became a meteor on reentry sparks flying off every surface.
At about 11:30 pm everyone was out of the water and we caught up with the Montreal divers who were also watching the sky in Morison Quarry, Quebec.
I can see why this annual weekend night dive has attracted so many people.
On the last day of my vacation I was able to join the Parry Sound dive operator: Diver’s Nook. Tony was taking 5 Scuba divers out for a day of two wreck dives and he was more than happy to bring a freediver (me) along.
We all met 8:30 at the Diver’s Nook and the Scuba guys rented their tanks and gear. After a short drive to the Marina we loaded our gear in the 22 foot aluminum dive boat.
The sail to the boat was a beautiful, but cold 30 minutes. We anchored at a small rock sticking up in the middle of the bay and started to suit up to dive on the S. S. Atlantic.
Entering the water there was only 3 meters to the memorial plate mounted at the front end of the ship. Diving to the stern sitting on the bottom at 12 meters and gong a bit further past the end I saw the snow mobile placed closed to the wreck by Tony and some other divers in the 80’s. The wreck is a nice and easy dive with a boiler there can be penetrated at about 6-7 meters of water. After a little over an hour of great diving we sailed on to a nearby docking site for some lunch on the rocks.
The Jane McLeod was only 5 minutes sail from lunch closed to a cottage on a rocky windy shore. The dive was fairly easy at only 7 meters depth and almost no current. The visibility was better, most likely because of it being shallower, so I shot more video and enjoyed watching the curious bass swimming very close to my mask when I was still on the bottom.
On the way back we took the scenic route and I enjoyed talking to my fellow divers.
I would like to thank Diver’s Nook, and my fellow divers for a great day on these wrecks.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6zXDiUZtF0]
Three of us went for a very nice dive on a wreck just outside Toronto Harbour. Information about the wreck can be found here: http://www.scubatoronto.com/divesites.asp?siteID=9
The top of The Southern Trail is in 6 meters of water and the bottom is at 10 meters, so this is a great dive for everyone. The wreck is sitting just like the dive site pictures and it is possible to swim under the overhang shown on the drawing and penetrate the ship.
We had a great night with no waves, no wind and fairly warm water for Lake Ontario.
