Watersports blog

Sailing is definitely one of the most dangerous water sports out there but for 14-year old Laura Dekker, it is just a piece of cake. In face, she’s been planning to conduct a global solo sail stunt but this has been postponed until the school year ends and that the court must give the green signal for this dangerous attempt.

According to reports, Dekker is awaiting the court’s decision whether she can proceed with her attempt. The court, and even critics, deemed this attempt too risky for such a young girl. In fact, the Utrecht court has already issued a block on her attempt last August. A global debate sparked whether Dekker should proceed with the attempt and that her parents were being lambasted for supporting this adventure.

Dekker plans to sail around the globe with her 8-meter boat named “Guppy.”

A British couple sailing around the globe has been reported kidnapped by Somali pirates as they passed Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. This development was confirmed by authorities.

According to reports, husband-wife Paul and Rachel Chandler sent a distress signal from their yacht on Friday and since then nothing has been heard from them. The officials believe that they’ve been targeted by pirates. Another development was shared on Tuesday saying that the yacht has been seen towing a pirate’s skiff. However, the authorities have not confirmed whether this news is true or not.

The couple is believed to be headed to Tanzania but when they went past by Seychelles, their yacht was immediately blocked and invaded by Somali pirates.

The authorities are awaiting the ransom demands that these Somali pirates will be making in a few days time. They are hopeful that the British couple is still in good health.

A search crew in Northern Californian coast has been set up to look for a missing abalone diver after they discovered an abandoned diving gear and swimwear and recently used abalone on a beach.

The state’s fire crews were reportedly searching the bluffs located near Sear Ranch beach for clue for the body’s whereabouts.

The crew was deployed after a rope was found dangling in the area. The said area is known for free diving activities because it has been allowed there. Free diving, where the diver doesn’t use oxygen tanks, uses other methods such as the flotation device and abalone. The aforementioned diving gear was found in the beachside.

As of press time, no missing person’s report had been filed. The U.S. Coast Guard stated that there’s no sign of a diver in distress in the area. However, the search continues.

The Alabama rowing team continues its momentum as the team to beat as the sport enters its fourth season in NCAA. To prepare for the upcoming season, the Tide varsity attended the Chattanooga Head Race on October 10. The efforts paid off as the team won three medals during the competition.

In the Collegiate 8+ race, the Tide team took silver and placed fourth and fifth respectively in other major events. Most of their finishes are within the 17-minute barrier which makes it an impressive performance for a young team.

Team coach Larry Davis expressed his confidence on the team and he’s positive that the players will perform better this season, thanks to the intensive rowing training plus the experiences that his players achieved during the competitions.

The Tide team clinched the Women’s Championship Pairs, getting one gold and silver for their efforts.

Bill Oliver, a scuba diving equipment designer, could solve the ongoing murder case involving an American man accused of killing his wife after going scuba diving ten years ago.

David Swain and wife Shelley Tyre went scuba diving on March 12, 1999 where the incident happened. Tyre died from apparent malfunction of the scuba diving equipment she wore.

Oliver, who has more than 35 years of experience on this field, told the court that he found unusual results from the snorkel and mask used by Tyre. He said that the equipment were in fact functioning properly and concluded that these items did not cause her death.

The mask reportedly broke that caused Tyre’s death. Oliver said that the force used to break the mask was more than fifty pounds which was beyond normal diving practices.

His testimony further strengthened the case by the prosecution against Swain.

Rafting has become a big hit in Montenegro and this can be evidenced by the spike of earnings in this adventure alone.
According to reports, revenues from rafting in the first five months of this year in the country reached 740,000 euros. This data was provided by Montenegro’s Department of Public Revenues.

Novo Radovic, the country’s chief tax inspector, said that rafting is now becoming a solid income-generator for Montenegro which is a good development.

As of this year, there are now a total of 25 legal establishments allowed to operating rafting trips in the country. Six of the operators are not yet permanent residents of the country.

Along with the increase in visitors to Montenegro the retail establishments particularly those selling products relating to rafting have see an increase in sales. Swimwear, waterproof clothing and rafting equipment have brought new trade.

Montenegro’s Tara River is one of the most popular rafting destinations. The area boasts of the Tara River Gorge, Europe’s deepest canyon and second longest in the globe.  This area is part of the Dumitor National Park and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A diving referee working for China’s National Games made headlines when she decided to quit and not participate in this prestigious sporting competition, saying that the results are “fixed.”

This development surprised everyone considering that China is a global powerhouse when it comes to diving. The referee was quoted as saying that the process was just a cover because the results are already known. However, based on official documentation – she decided to leave due to illness, which she now contradicts.

The referee, only named as “Ma Ming” by the media, said that she’s already fed up with the controversies involving the sport. She revealed that gold medal winners have been decided internally in advance.

These statements are still considered allegations because the referee has yet to provide concrete evidences on her claims. However, she was correct so far in naming the winners of four events in the competition which could account for something.

The parasailing accident that took place late last week at Ocean Isle Beach garnered headlines because it killed two women. The lawyers for the parasailing company have filed a motion to limit the latter’s liability in the tragedy. The motion was submitted in a federal court.

According to reports, company Ocean Isle Beach Watersports stated that its liability should be the value of the boat which the two women were on the day they died. This is based on the alleged last documents signed by Lorrie Shoup and Cynthia Woodcock signed prior to the parasailing incident. The two women died after they were carried over rough seas and died due to blunt trauma.

Meanwhile, the attorney for the women’s families believe that the $100,000 proposed deal is not enough to cover the deaths of the two women because there’s emotional stress involved for the bereaved families.

A recently concluded research showed that patients with asthma, controlled diabetes and other diseases can proceed with their scuba diving plans since this activity is deemed safe and not dangerous to health at all.

According to the researchers that participated at the Dive Medicine Symposium at the Rutgers University, there’s no evidence that can suggest that patients with diabetes or asthma are at serious risk should they decide to go on scuba diving adventure or going underwater for that matter.

University of Pennsylvania fellow in undersea and hyperbaric medicine Dr. Michael Madsen said that they weren’t able to discover serious effects caused by scuba diving to patients. This can also apply to asthmatic patients who were first believed to be at risk of decompression sickness but there were no concrete evidences to support this.

This is certainly great news for patients who are longing for this kind of adventure.

Kayaking is simply an exciting outdoor activity. However, most enthusiasts don’t have time to learn this during their free time because there is not much kayaking sessions offered in their area. The best solution was offered by Coastguard Education as it offers a series of online tutorials for kayaking enthusiasts and novices out there.

The global reach of the internet has made it possible for thrill-seekers to learn this activity without leaving their homes. The online modules were drafted well which make them easy to understand and implement.

The site address of the online kayaking tutorial is www.cbes.org.nz.

The good thing about the online module, according to the creators, is that mistakes can be made without physical risks. The correct procedures and pre-activity preparations are outlined in the aforementioned page. The online site also has interactive features that make learning fun for both experts and beginners alike.