News
2019 UK National Depth Champions
British Freediving Association (BFA) delighted to announce David Mellor & Alice Hickson are the 2019 UK Depth National Champions!
Saltfree Divers hosted the BFA National Depth Championships at their Double Dip freediving competition at the National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow, which took place over three days, from Fri 19 to Sun 21 July. Four women and four men took part in the competition in one of the UK’s deepest quarries with Alice Hickson and David Mellor named the BFA National Depth Champions!
David Mellor prepares (photo credit Neil Wood)
In order to win the title of National Depth Champion, Alice and David had to complete dives across all four of the depth disciplines: Constant Weight (CWT), Constant Weight Bi-Fins (CWT-B), Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) and Free Immersion (FIM). Alice swam down to 48m CWT, 47m CWT-B, 42m CNF and 46m FIM and David to 50m CWT, 45m CWT-B, 42m CNF and 44m FIM. Alice, who now holds both the national depth and pool titles for 2019 and David, who was named the 2018 National Freedive Champion at the end of last year are proving what well rounded athletes they are.
Alice Hickson diving down (Photo Credit Neil Wood)
Typical of a British Summer, they saw rain on the first day, cloud on the second, and sun on the third and final day. The water temperature on the surface was a balmy 18 degrees, dropping down to 15 at 20m, 12 at 30m and then 9 at 40m and below.
As well as seasoned athletes, there were a few first timers: Georgijs Popovs from Latvia set a national record with a CWT-B dive to 45m. And James Madeley of the UK made a CWT-B personal best dive of 33m on day one, followed by an easy 28m FIM and 26m CNF dive on day two, taking it all in his stride, cool and calm as a pro under competition conditions. Vanessa Allen and Tom Elliott who both came second overall performed some strong dives – Tom completed a clean 35m CNF personal best dive, with lots more clearly in the tank and Vanessa performed three competition personal bests (46m CWT, 44m CWT-B and 42m FIM).
Alice Hickson Celebrates on Surface (photo credit Neil Wood)
This year’s Safety Team were Nathan Vinski, Manos Skalidis, Valentin Sadan-Kowadlo, James Cozens, Josh Walton and Warren Bateman led by Head of Safety Neil Arkash. Neil and his safety team trained together well in advance of the competition, meeting up to complete drills and learn to work as a team. Cameron Edwards, a trained Paramedic, was on the dive platform each day taking oxygen saturation readings of athletes before and after their dives – helping to determine and highlight any potential (health) issues – thankfully there were none. This data will be shared with the AIDA International Science / Medical Committee and can be used for studies.
David Mellor about to surface (Photo credit Neil Wood)
The competition was officiated by AIDA judges Kate Jardine and Paul Sutton and the competition was kindly sponsored by 2971 (freediving equipment and apparel) and the British Freediving Association.
This is the second year that Paul Sutton, owner of Saltfree Divers, has run the Double Dip competition at the National Diving and Activity Centre in Chepstow. The competition was initiated back in 2004 by former owner Samphire Amps. The competition is so named as athletes perform two competition dives on one of the days, that and Sam liked the candy that shares its name!
For more information about the BFA please visit their website by clicking here.
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
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MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
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MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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