Don't date a girl who travels...

She’s the one with the messy unkempt hair colored by the sun. Her skin is now far from fair like it once was. Not even sun kissed. It’s burnt with multiple tan lines, wounds and bites here and there. But for every flaw on her skin, she has an interesting story to tell.

Don’t date a girl who travels - she is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures. She will be unimpressed with your new car and your expensive watch. She would rather climb a rock or jump out of an airplane than hear you brag about it.

Don’t date a girl who travels because she will bug you to book a flight every time there’s an airline seat sale. She wont party at Republiq. And she will never pay over $100 for Avicii because she knows that one weekend of clubbing is equivalent to one week somewhere far more exciting.

Chances are, she doesn’t have a job or refuses to work. Or she’s probably daydreaming about quitting. She doesn’t want to keep working her ass off for someone else’s dream. She has her own and is working towards it. She is a freelancer. She makes money from designing, writing, photography or something that requires creativity and imagination. Don’t waste her time complaining about your boring job.

Don’t date a girl who travels - she might have wasted her college degree and switched careers entirely. She is now a dive instructor or a yoga teacher. She’s not sure when the next paycheck is coming. But she doesn’t work like a robot all day, she goes out and takes what life has to offer and challenges you to do the same.

Don’t date a girl who travels for she has chosen a life of uncertainty. She doesn’t have a plan or a permanent address. She goes with the flow and follows her heart. She dances to the beat of her own drum. She doesn’t wear a watch. Her days are ruled by the sun and the moon. When the waves are calling, life stops and she will be oblivious to everything else for a moment. But she has learned that the most important thing in life isn’t surfing.

Don’t date a girl who travels as she tends to speak her mind. She will never try to impress your parents or friends. She knows respect, but isn’t afraid to hold a debate about global issues or social responsibility.

She will never need you - she knows how to pitch a tent and screw her own fins without your help. She cooks well and doesn’t need you to pay for her meals. She is too independent and wont care whether you travel with her or not. She will forget to check in with you when she arrives at her destination. She’s busy living in the present. She talks to strangers. She will meet many interesting, like-minded people from around the world who share her passion and dreams. She will be bored with you.

So never date a girl who travels unless you can keep up with her. And if you unintentionally fall in love with one, don’t you dare keep her. Let her go. (Source: one of the blog spots, and the content is copyright of the owner)

Ask an Expert: Is It OK to Touch a Shark?

Julie Andersen of Shark Angels talks about diving with sharks and whether any connection with them should be made....

 Is It OK to Touch a Shark?

Flashback to Shark Week: Megalodon

The Discovery Channel has come a long way since the
early days, where the highlights were things like migration patterns of the
whooping crane, and the amorous activities of the dung beetle. Discovery is
right in the middle of “Shark week,” which is always a smash. But this year,
the channel kicked things off by hoodwinking its viewers, in a grand tradition
that dates back to at least 1938, when Orson Welles convinced radio listeners
that Mars was attacking Earth. Nearly 5 million people tuned in to the Discovery
Channel to watch “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives,” the story of a giant,
extinct shark that, as the story goes, may still lurk far beneath the waves.
“There’s a blend of fact and fiction, but the overall narrative is absolutely
false, there’s absolutely no doubt at all in the scientific community that
megalodons have been extinct for a long time now,” said David Shiffman, shark
biologist at the University of Miami. “Perpetuating misinformation otherwise
does a disservice to Discovery’s reputation, and to their viewers.” 












 Discovery Channel was following in the
footsteps of its sister network Animal Planet, which in May decided to go
beyond the extinct and serve up footage of creatures that have never existed:
mermaids. Both Animal Planet and Discovery are channels known for
documentaries. Animal Planet aired convincing footage that the half man, half
fish creatures exist in a special called “Mermaids: The New Evidence.” 3.6
million viewers watched it, and more than a few believed it. Though there was a
tiny disclaimer at the end of the program. The truth behind “Megalodon” also
appeared briefly on the screen in bright white font. The disclaimer that
flashed by said, in part, “None of the institutions or agencies that appear in
the film are affiliated with it in any way, nor have they approved of its
contents.” Despite this note, 47% of respondents said they thought megaladons
might exist, according to the Discovery Channel’s online poll, which was as
unscientific as its broadcast. Discovery Channel is one of the world’s top sources
for educational programming which makes this “Shark Week” show all the more
shocking. A spokesman for the Discovery Channel told CNN, “People watch
Discovery to explore the “what ifs” of the world. As in any entertainment, you
aren’t going to always please everyone, but we stand behind all of our content
and are proud of it.” “If this show had aired on the SyFy Channel I probably
would have loved it,” said Shiffman. “But “Shark Week” has millions of viewers
each year, some of them it’s the only marine science they may be exposed to the
whole year.” Discovery isn’t alone. The History Channel, presumably meant for
things that are recorded in the historical record, has been airing “ancient
alien” footage of elongated skulls and UFOs for five seasons. The footage is
questionable at best. The show prompted one writer from Smithsonian Magazine to
preface his review with, “I’m actually glad that my editors don’t allow me to
cuss a blue streak on this blog. If they did, my entire review would be little
more than a string of expletives.” And that’s the Smithsonian! Is this all just
fun a way to package science and history in a palatable way, or is this a
dangerous path where making things up with teeny disclosures will become the
norm? Because the people who are making these decisions at History Channel,
Discovery and Animal Planet are in secret … evil aliens! Disclosure: that’s not
true.

My time in the Maldives

Here is a video I made representing my time in the Maldives: freediving with manta rays and in a tropical storm, seeing dolphins, diving with turtles and batfish and visiting beautiful uninhabited islands...

Maldivian memories

Free Diving in the UK: Interview with Rebecca Coales

Free diving is a growing sport; however its popularity in the UK is still yet to catch up. In recent years free diving has become increasingly more popular with scuba divers who want to explore the sensation of diving without the equipment. Granted, there has always been some rivalry between scuba divers and free divers, with free divers saying that it is a much more natural and liberating experience to dive without scuba gear, however scuba divers usually counter this by saying that they can stay down deeper for much longer and see a lot more.

However, the common factor shared by both free divers and scuba divers is the importance of breathing; albeit breath hold or air consumption when diving. This is something which can be improved by practising and implementing proper breathing techniques which can be learned through yoga. Rebecca Coales said, “Yoga-diving is about cultivating a state of body and mind that allows us to better enjoy the dive, remain safe and respect the marine world we're visiting.”

I interviewed Rebecca; British free dive record holder, freedive instructor and yoga teacher who is based in Bristol. Rebecca said, “I started competitive freediving at the start of 2013 and have found both the physical and mental elements of yoga a huge benefit. Being able to steady your final few breaths before diving can make all the difference. This year I've set two new British records in Dynamic No Fins (underwater breast-stroke swim) of 120m and 134m, that's around 5 lengths of a 25m pool on one breath!” I asked Rebecca the following three questions in order to enhance the awareness of free diving and the opportunities to do it in the UK.

1) As scuba divers know, the most important rule in diving is to breathe continuously and never hold your breath, how can yoga help to improve both air consumption for divers and breath hold for free divers?

Yoga is actually made up of eight main themes including physical postures, breathing, meditation and ethics. All of these can help a diver to become more relaxed, focused and efficient in the water, saves energy and therefore breathe less.

I have some more guidance here if you'd like to read

2) How did you get into free diving and progress to become a National Record Holder?

I started freediving about 4 years ago after trying it out one day in Dahab, Egypt. I've been a scuba diver for over twenty years but liked the idea of being in the sea without all the bulky equipment. Many divers come to freediving for that reason, but ultimately end up loving it for another reason - the lessons we learn about ourselves through the act of freediving itself. Umberto Pelizzari coined the phrase 'scuba divers dive to look around, freedivers dive to look inside'.

I've steadily worked my way through the AIDA training system and weekly freediving sessions with our Bristol club. Most of my training is pool based as I don't get much chance to travel for depth diving and our summers are so short!

It's only in 2013 that I became interested in competitive freediving. I linked up with a coach in Manchester (Steve Millard) who helped me put together a training plan and regularly motivated me. I represented the UK at the pool World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia and on my return made a successful record attempt of 120 in the Dynamic No Fins discipline. I've since extended that to 134m. My training involves not only pool and dry breath-hold exercises but also strength & conditioning and cardio training in the gym and outdoors, and daily yoga.

3) What free diving services are currently available for novice free divers or beginners in the UK?

There are two main freediving agencies in the UK - AIDA and SSI. AIDA is the main education system supported by our national governing body the British Freediving Association. There are instructors all over the UK - in the South West (myself, Saltfree, Emma Farrell and Ian McDonald), in the SE (Liv Phillip, NoTanx, Apnea Revolution, Adam Drzarga) and in the NW (Steve Millard). See here for the full list. A good starting course is either the 1 or 2 star AIDA, or Level 1 SSI

All details available at www.omdiver.co.uk and our club website www.bristolfreedive.org.uk

Top 10 deep dives

For those of you who enjoy deep diving, check out this article

Top 10 deep dives