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ISSUE 9 ARCHIVE - NON-CELEBRITY DIVER, HANNAH THURSTON–MCGOWAN
WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
Hertfordshire.
QUALIFICATION
AIDA**** Assistant Instructor Freediver.
DIVE CLUB
DeeperBlue, Saltfree.
TOTAL DIVES
25 scuba, thousands of freedives!
MAX DEPTH
35m freediving.
MOST EXPENSIVE PIECE OF KIT
£300 carbon fibre freediving fins; Falcon
C4 80’s – the last pair in the world!
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COOLEST THING SEEN U/W
Being circled by five black tip reef sharks
in The Maldives who came in closer and
closer circles the more still I stayed – they
were so curious about me and it was my
first ever snorkelling experience.
NON-CELEB MOMENT
Having my photo taken at the grand
opening of the Ocean Optics Underwater
Photography Stage, in my mermaid tail,
whilst being eyeballed by a very realistic
plastic hammerhead shark. My life can
be so Disney at times!
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WOULD NEVER DIVE
Never say never!
BBS (BEST BACON SARNIE)
From the burger van at the Chepstow
NDAC quarry. The best deco burgers in
the world.
BEST BUDDY
Simon Reid and Kate Adams.
One taught me everything I know in
freediving and the other stops me
from being silly with that knowledge.
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WORST BUDDY
The one who isn’t there at 10m when
you’re on your way back from a deep
dive because they timed leaving the
surface wrong.
LIFE CHANGING BIZARRE DIVE MOMENT
I wanted to learn to freedive in March
2007 so that when I travelled to the
Bahamas a month later, if I saw any
dolphins I would be able to stay down
with them and interact with them on
their terms. I signed up with DeeperBlue
and found myself one drizzly Saturday
morning, looking down into the
30m tube below my feet that is the
Submarine Escape Training Tank (SETT)
in Portsmouth. My first dive that required
being ‘buddied’ (someone comes
down to meet you at 10m on the way
back up) had me falling madly in love
with freediving. The sense of peace,
meditation, anti-adrenaline and
absolute safety when you ride on
buoyancy all the way to the surface,
looking into your buddy’s eyes for
reassurance, blew my mind. A month
later in the Bahamas I didn’t see any
dolphins but it didn’t matter, there I
was with all my new kit, in the silent
underwater world with nothing but
the sound of my heart beat in my ears.
Freediving changed my life; my diet,
my training regime and my strength
of mind.
FAVOURITE UK DIVE LOCATION
I’m guessing it might be diving with
the seals off Lundy Island, if I ever get
there. Two trips cancelled due to bad
weather... grrr...
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FAVOURITE OVERSEAS DIVE LOCATION
Haven’t found it yet – will always keep
looking.
STILL WANNA DIVE...
Forever and ever and ever… and a day.
AIR OR NITROX?
No air at all is my preference. Take the
same amount down that you come
back with.
TANYA STREETER OR MIRANDA
KRESTOVNIKOFF?
Neither – Natalia Molchanova – the new
freediving constant weight, world record
holder with 101m – what an athlete.
MONTY HALLS OR NICK BAKER?
Yep, both. I love meeting people like that.
ANYTHING ELSE?
I model mermaid tails for a USA
tail-maker and diving friends who
are into underwater photograpphy
and are looking for that unique
experience. Freediving has expanded
my world. Next year I hope to freedive
with the 3,500 Beluga Whales that
congregate in the Churchill Estuary
in Manitoba, Canada.
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