Derek Broussard
10-19-2017, 04:34 AM
Cirque pays you to go home once a year. It was my time the first few weeks of October and I had a blast. Pretty much the day after I landed I got my first chance to swim in a silicone tail! Spindrift was nice enough to loan me a tail she rents out. It only took me 35 minutes to get in :lol::lol:
But once in I felt right at home.
The visibility was not great and the surf was a little surgey, So I stayed shallow 5-8 meters (15-25 feet)
https://youtu.be/e2zLsjt2sCw
42364
The tail felt really good. I was surprised at how smooth it felt in the water. Not as much power as my Molchanov freediving monofin, but I think I could do 20 meters depth in it without problem.
A few thing that I did discover was that my "breath up" method needed to change. especially without a snorkel and mask. ( I want a tail so bad now!! ) .
The next few days I played around with a new drone I bought (karma with new gopro6) .Did a few dives that turned into a beach clean up removing fishing line nets
The end of my first week I flew over to Maui and spent a few days having diving adventures with Mermaid Lila:
The first day we went to an old warf that collapsed during a storm. The structure was fun to play around and made for interesting photos!
4236542366
For me the depth was too shallow. I had to exhale way too much to counter the buoyancy. Luckily for me the next morning we ventured out with a dive boat and explore Molokini crater and a secret spot. The depths were around 45 feet which was really perfect for me pushing my hang times underwater.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-25mVJPH/0/e38b246a/M/i-25mVJPH-M.jpg
Returning from Maui, I had a friend I met in Roatan during the Freediving world championships. She is an amazing diver and even dives deeper than me!
We had a blast doing shark dives, wreck dives, and just exploring Oahu.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-fh7HmG2/0/d5e1e480/M/i-fh7HmG2-M.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-C9C9kPn/0/293609fa/M/i-C9C9kPn-M.jpg
and a video of the sharks with the gopro. :)
https://youtu.be/Y3DxNLegqFQ
The shark tour was with a company called OneOcean . they let all the guest snorkel with the sharks without a cage. They were super knowledgeable about the species, how to interact safely and really about conservation of the ocean. I highly recommend them!
The wreck dive was our deepest dive at 25-30 meters deep ( 85-100 feet)
https://youtu.be/41mz7pzo4Rg
Turtles, submarines, eagle rays and a wreck... worth every stroke of the 1 mile kayak paddle out :P
With the dives that deep we also tend to "cheat" some of our dives and use the bouy line to pull down. this really helps conserve o2
After our Oahu adventures we flew to the Big Island of Hawaii to swim with the Manta rays, see the volcano and play in Cpt cook bay with Mermaid Citrine :)
mermaid Citrine in her tail
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-kdfsTdn/0/9da5a40b/M/i-kdfsTdn-M.jpg
Estrella got the chance to swim in Citrines tail too ( I didn't fit :((( . )
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Tv2WJBZ/0/3b3d0ca7/M/i-Tv2WJBZ-M.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-bbmbSCh/0/fcbb70b1/M/i-bbmbSCh-M.jpg
The bay has a healthy reef with a steep drop off. I was curious on how deep it went. Here is a video of me going to 23 meters ( 75 feet) . and realizing that it drops probably another 10+ meters to a sandy bottom.
To those that freedive you will notice my form his really bad. The fins I bought ( and lost a week later). are way too stiff. so I'm bending my knees too much.
https://youtu.be/jzvA_8JEAPU
Some volcano adventures before our manta dive
who doesn't like doing handstands in a volcano :P
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-FLqWzrs/0/be53e702/M/i-FLqWzrs-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-FLqWzrs/A)
The manta dive is one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. The are around 6-10 ft from wing tip to tip and they fly through the water so gracefully.
The dive is done at night and is lit by the Sheraton hotel. The lights draw in plankton and the plankton draw in the Mantas.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-2wHrJCt/0/a3da68e0/M/i-2wHrJCt-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-2wHrJCt/A)
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-BFzzTWv/0/1791a4f9/M/i-BFzzTWv-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-BFzzTWv/A)
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-p6LgdKt/0/500710d9/M/i-p6LgdKt-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-p6LgdKt/A)
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-3QJGPwh/0/3e44bb23/M/i-3QJGPwh-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-3QJGPwh/A)
well.. Now I am in Mexico, we premier Monterrey city tomorrow, its going to be a long tour here with only a few mondays off as we slowly work our way to Mexico city. The elevtion there is going to be a beast to conquer my breath holds
But once in I felt right at home.
The visibility was not great and the surf was a little surgey, So I stayed shallow 5-8 meters (15-25 feet)
https://youtu.be/e2zLsjt2sCw
42364
The tail felt really good. I was surprised at how smooth it felt in the water. Not as much power as my Molchanov freediving monofin, but I think I could do 20 meters depth in it without problem.
A few thing that I did discover was that my "breath up" method needed to change. especially without a snorkel and mask. ( I want a tail so bad now!! ) .
The next few days I played around with a new drone I bought (karma with new gopro6) .Did a few dives that turned into a beach clean up removing fishing line nets
The end of my first week I flew over to Maui and spent a few days having diving adventures with Mermaid Lila:
The first day we went to an old warf that collapsed during a storm. The structure was fun to play around and made for interesting photos!
4236542366
For me the depth was too shallow. I had to exhale way too much to counter the buoyancy. Luckily for me the next morning we ventured out with a dive boat and explore Molokini crater and a secret spot. The depths were around 45 feet which was really perfect for me pushing my hang times underwater.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-25mVJPH/0/e38b246a/M/i-25mVJPH-M.jpg
Returning from Maui, I had a friend I met in Roatan during the Freediving world championships. She is an amazing diver and even dives deeper than me!
We had a blast doing shark dives, wreck dives, and just exploring Oahu.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-fh7HmG2/0/d5e1e480/M/i-fh7HmG2-M.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-C9C9kPn/0/293609fa/M/i-C9C9kPn-M.jpg
and a video of the sharks with the gopro. :)
https://youtu.be/Y3DxNLegqFQ
The shark tour was with a company called OneOcean . they let all the guest snorkel with the sharks without a cage. They were super knowledgeable about the species, how to interact safely and really about conservation of the ocean. I highly recommend them!
The wreck dive was our deepest dive at 25-30 meters deep ( 85-100 feet)
https://youtu.be/41mz7pzo4Rg
Turtles, submarines, eagle rays and a wreck... worth every stroke of the 1 mile kayak paddle out :P
With the dives that deep we also tend to "cheat" some of our dives and use the bouy line to pull down. this really helps conserve o2
After our Oahu adventures we flew to the Big Island of Hawaii to swim with the Manta rays, see the volcano and play in Cpt cook bay with Mermaid Citrine :)
mermaid Citrine in her tail
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-kdfsTdn/0/9da5a40b/M/i-kdfsTdn-M.jpg
Estrella got the chance to swim in Citrines tail too ( I didn't fit :((( . )
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Tv2WJBZ/0/3b3d0ca7/M/i-Tv2WJBZ-M.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-bbmbSCh/0/fcbb70b1/M/i-bbmbSCh-M.jpg
The bay has a healthy reef with a steep drop off. I was curious on how deep it went. Here is a video of me going to 23 meters ( 75 feet) . and realizing that it drops probably another 10+ meters to a sandy bottom.
To those that freedive you will notice my form his really bad. The fins I bought ( and lost a week later). are way too stiff. so I'm bending my knees too much.
https://youtu.be/jzvA_8JEAPU
Some volcano adventures before our manta dive
who doesn't like doing handstands in a volcano :P
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-FLqWzrs/0/be53e702/M/i-FLqWzrs-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-FLqWzrs/A)
The manta dive is one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. The are around 6-10 ft from wing tip to tip and they fly through the water so gracefully.
The dive is done at night and is lit by the Sheraton hotel. The lights draw in plankton and the plankton draw in the Mantas.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-2wHrJCt/0/a3da68e0/M/i-2wHrJCt-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-2wHrJCt/A)
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-BFzzTWv/0/1791a4f9/M/i-BFzzTWv-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-BFzzTWv/A)
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-p6LgdKt/0/500710d9/M/i-p6LgdKt-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-p6LgdKt/A)
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-3QJGPwh/0/3e44bb23/M/i-3QJGPwh-M.jpg (http://www.1breathphotos.com/Other/Hawaii-adventures-oct-2017/n-gQD52b/i-3QJGPwh/A)
well.. Now I am in Mexico, we premier Monterrey city tomorrow, its going to be a long tour here with only a few mondays off as we slowly work our way to Mexico city. The elevtion there is going to be a beast to conquer my breath holds