Thursday 18 October 2012

New arrivals for the next AFC 2013

Hi everyone,

There we go ! One of our talent free divers competitor from last year will come back for the next competition.

First Azam who done very well last year will try to beat his own records




Lucas, a new competitor from France will join us too. He came last January to complete a few courses with us and decided to come again to compete on the next AFC. Bienvenue Lucas !



Andrea who participated and done very well last year will join us again for the next AFC too. 
Welcome back Andrea and see you in February !



BP apnea team !

Thursday 13 September 2012

Ali from Philippines just get in !!


Incredible ! a new competitor just signed in.. Ali just decided to join us for the next competition. Welcome to you Ali and see you soon.

Yeah !! Karin will be back again..


Our friend and competitor from last year will join the next AFC and try this time to get the first position. We are very happy to see you again this year and we are sure that you will bring with you new performances. Good luck and welcome in the upcoming AFC !

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Arkadiy & Natalia from Russia !


Arkadiy and Natalia have experience in local freediving competition and will compete next in our wonderful Andaman Sea. Welcome guys in our next AFC !

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Our legend Jay will be in AFC 2013 !


This year will be good.. Our Australian's friend Jay Davidson will come to show his new freediving skills. Jay came in 2009 to compete in AFC and this years he's decided to give himself a new chance to reach the top of his performance. Let's see it in February !! =-)

Registration Open

High season is nearly upon us and with all the fantastic changes to Blue Planet we are also thinking about this seasons freediving competition. Registration is now open and we already have several people booked in. Remember, that we do have limited places so if you are intending to join us contact us ASAP to reserve your place at blueplanetdivers@gmail.com .

You do not need to be a professional to enter, we have even had competitors enter, who had never really tried freediving before and only heard about it through talking to some of our staff in a bar a few days before!

So why not give it a go? If we weren't working to provide the competition, we would certainly be entering it!

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Free Diving 2012/13 season


So with the upcoming high season starting just round the corner, what does Blue Planet have in store for our free diving guests.

As mentioned in the previous post, Marc Guerrin, is returning to Blue Planet and is looking forward to rejoining us here in Koh Lanta. As our longest serving freediving instructor we too, look forward to his return and hope to develop further our freediving programs at Koh Lanta's only AIDA freediving centre.

With all our renovations to the shop and our plans to stock far more scuba gear for retail this season, we will not be neglecting our freedivers. We are currently in talks, to increase our stock and to offer a far wider range of freediving equipment to our guests and students.

As has been a Blue Planet tradition, we shall  be hosting our annual freediving competition in Febuary, from the 9th until the 12th, and if any of our competitors wish to sign up early, we will from now on be booking spaces. Anyone wishing to participate, may contact Benjamin at blueplanetdivers@gmail.com.  

Friday 29 June 2012

Welcome back Marc

Blue Planet are proud to announce that Marc Guerrin will be returning once again to take up the post as the ONLY free diving instructor on Koh Lanta, at Blue Planet Divers for the upcoming season.

Marc is well known for his calming effect on students, his professional character, and his knowledge and love for the ocean. He has had countless raving reviews from our past customers and we all look forward to welcoming him back to the family that is the Blue Planet Team.


Friday 25 May 2012

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Sea, Pool & Overall Results


First Name Sex Natl SEA POOL TOTAL
Elisabeth H F GER 83 125.5 208.5
Karin F AUT 83 107.3 190.3
Michelle F SIN 38 141.4 179.4
Vivian F MYS 36 124.3 160.3
Elisabeth M F AUT 88 33.0 121.0
Julian M RSA 102 172.5 274.5
Ken M DAN 131 137.1 268.1
Trond M NOR 110 153.1 263.1
Drutten M SWE 83 166.2 249.2
Mohd Azam Abdul M MYS 108 136.1 244.1
Christian M AUT 51 137.2 188.2
Walter M USA 49 135.2 184.2
Enzo M ITA 65 104.1 169.1
Kim Seng M MYS 70 94.9 164.9
Alan M MYS 20 0.0 20.0

Overall Results


First Name FIM CWT CNF STA DYN DNF TOTAL
Elisabeth H 33 30 20 56.0 41.0 28.5 208.5
Karin 38 25 20 53.8 29.0 24.5 190.3
Michelle 0 22 16 55.4 47.5 38.5 179.4
Vivian 9 15 12 55.8 45.0 23.5 160.3
Elisabeth M 35 33 20 0.0 0.0 33.0 121.0
Julian 38 36 28 69.0 61.5 42.0 274.5
Ken 31 50 50 64.6 72.5 0.0 268.1
Trond 40 40 30 62.6 58.0 32.5 263.1
Drutten 35 10 38 61.2 58.0 47.0 249.2
Mohd Azam Abdul 40 41 27 49.6 50.0 36.5 244.1
Christian 0 17 34 62.2 29.0 46.0 188.2
Walter 20 9 20 72.2 30.5 32.5 184.2
Enzo 20 30 15 48.6 27.0 28.5 169.1
Kim Seng 30 10 30 45.4 49.5 0.0 164.9
Alan 20 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.0

Dynamic No Fins


First Name Sex Natl RP Card Penalty Points
Walter M USA 65 W 0.0 32.5
Alan M MYS        
Elisabeth F GER 57 W 0.0 28.5
Karin F AUT 49 W 0.0 24.5
Vivian F MYS 47 W 0.0 23.5
Enzo M ITA 57 W 0.0 28.5
Mohd Azam Abdul M MYS 73 W 0.0 36.5
Elisabeth F AUT 66 W 0.0 33.0
Trond M NOR 65 W 0.0 32.5
Michelle F SIN 77 W 0.0 38.5
Kim Seng M MYS 87 R 0.0 0.0
Julian M RSA 94 Y 5.0 42.0
Christian M AUT 102 Y 5.0 46.0
Ken M DAN 116 R 0.0 0.0
Drutten M SWE 94 W 0.0 47.0

Dynamic with Fins


First Name Sex Natl RP Card Penalty Points
Alan M MYS 58 R 0.0 0.0
Walter M USA 61 W 0.0 30.5
Elisabeth F AUT 77 R 0.0 0.0
Drutten M SWE 116 W 0.0 58.0
Ken M DAN 145 W 0.0 72.5
Elisabeth F GER 82 W 0.0 41.0
Christian M AUT 58 W 0.0 29.0
Karin F AUT 58 W 0.0 29.0
Julian M RSA 123 W 0.0 61.5
Vivian F MYS 90 W 0.0 45.0
Mohd Azam Abdul M MYS 100 W 0.0 50.0
Michelle F SIN 95 W 0.0 47.5
Enzo M ITA 74 Y 10.0 27.0
Kim Seng M MYS 109 Y 5.0 49.5
Trond M NOR 116 W 0.0 58.0

Sunday 12 February 2012

Sunburnt but very happy!

So today started out windy and a bit chilly which was great for the judges and me, but not so good for the competitors, but given 30mins it was boiling hot and we were all slapping on the cream.

The Women's competition was up for everyone, Lisa M, Austria, had clearly won the Sea Competition with Karin and Elisabeth H equal second. but with Lisa's unfortunate disqualification in the static, that left Karin and Elisabeth fighting it out with only 2.2 points in it. But Michelle and Vivian are strong and comfortable in the pool and despite being over 40 points behind, were fighting for the pool title.

Lisa M was first up for the Dynamic with Fins and despite a magnificent 77metres managed a disqualification for late submergence of her airways, Elisabeth H did 82metres all clear. Karin, chasing Elisabeth H's lead, did 58 metres, but Vivian did a storming 90 metres and Michelle Ooi 95 Metres! Now they were both in contention for the pool competition and the overall competition.

In Dynamic without Fins, Elisabeth H was up fighting first but with 15 points she just needed a white card to secure the lead. This she did with a fantastic 57metres. Next up Karin, managed 49metres,Vivian 47 metres and Lisa M an awesome 66 metres. Finally Michelle did a magnificent 77 metres winning the pool competition.

Final Results:

Sea
1st - Lisa M (Austria)
2nd - Elisabeth H (Germany) & Karin G (Austria)

Pool
1st - Michelle Ooi (Singapore)
2nd - Elisabeth H (Germany)
3rd - Vivian C (Malaysia)

Overall
1st - Elisabeth H (Germany)
2nd - Karin G (Austria)
3rd - Michelle O (Singapore)

In the Men's competition, Ken, Danish, was clearly ahead with a great performance in the sea, which he clearly won but was closely followed by Trond Mondal, Norway and Azam Hamid, Malaysia. With Ken's performance in the Static, he was over 20 points in front yesterday with, Trond only 1.6 points in front of Julian.

Alan Su started the Dynamic with fins and did an awesome 58 metres but unfortunately didn't keep his airways clear of the water earning himself a red card. This has been Alan's first competition, so we are hoping that he will come back next year and do Malaysia proud. Walter has had his best ever competition with us and delivered a massive 61 metres and then 65 without Fins. Rossi, Austrian, did a great 58 metres and Enzo 74 metres (this is his first competition). Azam and Kim Seng Teoh (Andrew) both Malay were using the competition to settle a few scores and in Dynamic, Andrew beat, Azam (109metres to 100 metres) but unfortunately was given a yellow for touching the bottom of the pool and in the Dynamic without Fins, despite a fantastic 87 metres from Andrew, he blacked out, causing Azam to take the Malay pool champion title with 73 metres.

So the competition was hot, Mr D delivered 116metres, Ken a massive 145 metres, Julian 123 metres and Trond 116 metres. This meant that Ken was ahead by 37 points and there was less than 2 points between Julian and Trond.

So Ken had a large lead and only had to deliver his announcement of 75 metres to take the title with ease. But Ken wanted 116metres and unfortunately with that he blacked out. Suddenly the competition was between Julian and Trond. Trond did a magnificent 65 metres but Julian an simply incredibly 94 metres. Julian had won the Pool but had he won the overall competition?

Sea
1st - Ken K (Denmark)
2nd - Trond M (Norway)
3rd - Azam (Malaysia)

Pool 
1st - Julian VH (South Africa)
2nd - Mr D (Swedish)
3rd - Trond M (Norway)

Overall
1st - Julian VH (South Africa)
2nd - Ken K (Denmark)
3rd - Trond M (Norway)

I would like to say a huge thank you to all the competitors who supported each other so well and made the competition so exciting to watch. Thanks to the judges, Richard and Sarah, who took all the flack and made the difficult decisions I would not have been able to make. Thanks to all the Blue Planet Staff for all their hardwork, especially Karolina, the medic and videographer and Jim and Adam, Safety Freedivers. Special thanks also to Marc, from Total Apnea, for all his safety freediving, coaching and support he offered the competitors.

Final thanks go to our sponsors, who without, this competition simply would not have happen. Chaiya, General Manager at Royal Lanta gave us full use of their pool, wonderful prizes and provided food and drinks and Scotty from Aquamaster provided some great prizes for the winners to take home.

I am now really looking forward to having a beer and nursing my very bad sunburn!

Mellisa x

Vivian also gets a Malay Record, or two

Vivian Chan is proving to be a real record setter amongst the competitors this year. Today she gained the Women's Static Malay National Record with 4 minutes 39 seconds and has also earned:

15 metres in the Free Immersion
22 metres in the Constant Weight with Fins
12 metres in the Constant Weight no Fins (despite having an argument with the line and Carabiner).

Saturday 11 February 2012

The Royal Lanta Pool


Static Results from today


Surname First Name Sex Natl RP Card Points
Nygren Drutten M SWE 05:06 W 61.2
Johnson Walter M USA 06:01 W 72.2
Gebauer Karin F AUT 04:29 W 53.8
Su Alan M MYS 03:44 R 0.0
Chan Vivian F MYS 04:39 W 55.8
Teoh Kim Seng M MYS 03:47 W 45.4
Mattes Elisabeth F AUT 03:24 R 0.0
Hamid Mohd Azam Abdul M MYS 04:08 W 49.6
Ooi Michelle F SIN 04:37 W 55.4
Brunetto Enzo M ITA 04:03 W 48.6
van Heerden Julian M RSA 05:45 W 69.0
Hummel Elisabeth F GER 04:40 W 56.0
Kiriyama Ken M DAN 05:23 W 64.6
Fötinger Christian M AUT 05:11 W 62.2
Moldal Trond M NOR 05:13 W 62.6

TOPs for Dynamic without Fins


Surname First Name Sex Natl WUT TOP AP
Johnson Walter M USA 12:45 13:30 1
Su Alan M MYS 12:52 13:37 10
Hummel Elisabeth F GER 12:59 13:44 10
Gebauer Karin F AUT 13:06 13:51 20
Chan Vivian F MYS 13:13 13:58 30
Brunetto Enzo M ITA 13:20 14:05 40
Hamid Mohd Azam Abdul M MYS 13:27 14:12 41
Mattes Elisabeth F AUT 13:44 14:29 50
Moldal Trond M NOR 13:51 14:36 50
Ooi Michelle F SIN 13:58 14:43 56
Teoh Kim Seng M MYS 14:05 14:50 60
van Heerden Julian M RSA 14:22 15:07 70
Fötinger Christian M AUT 14:29 15:14 74
Kiriyama Ken M DAN 14:36 15:21 75
Nygren Drutten M SWE 14:43 15:28 80

TOPs for Dynamic with Fins


Surname First Name Sex Natl WUT TOP AP
Su Alan M MYS 09:15 10:00 1
Johnson Walter M USA 09:21 10:06 1
Mattes Elisabeth F AUT 09:27 10:12 1
Nygren Drutten M SWE 09:33 10:18 1
Kiriyama Ken M DAN 09:39 10:24 1
Hummel Elisabeth F GER 09:45 10:30 10
Fötinger Christian M AUT 09:51 10:36 17
Gebauer Karin F AUT 09:57 10:42 20
van Heerden Julian M RSA 10:03 10:48 25
Chan Vivian F MYS 10:09 10:54 50
Hamid Mohd Azam Abdul M MYS 10:25 11:10 51
Ooi Michelle F SIN 10:31 11:16 56
Brunetto Enzo M ITA 10:37 11:22 60
Teoh Kim Seng M MYS 10:43 11:28 65
Moldal Trond M NOR 10:49 11:34 100

Take a deep breath!

So today we were all feeling tired after yesterday but we all had the morning off, so by the time we met at 1pm we were all feeling relaxed and ready for the static event.

Mr D started off the competition with an announcement of 1second! Which I think meant he wanted to go first today as there is no penalties for going over your announcement in the pool competition. A 5 minutes 6 seconds was a great start to the competition.

Walter was next up in, in what I believe is his favourite event, which was proved by a massive 6 minutes 1 second the best result of the day. Karin was the first woman to take the plunge and was very happy with 4 minutes 29 seconds. Alan Su next up, unfortunately did a great 3 minutes 44 seconds but misdelivered his surface protocol and obtained a red card, no worries Alan, this is your first competition, we want to see you next year with nothing but white cards.

Vivian looked quietly confident and did no warm up but managed an awesome 4 minutes 39 seconds and smiled throughout the long 30 second judgement by Richard and Sarah. Andrew, our first Malay man, did a great 3 minutes 47 seconds. Lisa M, Austria, was slightly disappointed with her great 3 minutes 24 seconds but then disaster struck and her joking with her lovely coach and boyfriend Marc resulted on a gentle tap from him, a touch!!! which earned her a very sad red card and a devastated  boyfriend.

Straight after Lisa, Azam was up, and as expected put in a perfect performance of 4minutes 8seconds and earned a new Malaysian National Record. Michelle, surface protocol queen, cruised through her performance and delivered 4 minutes 37 seconds Our first timer, Enzo was exceptionally pleased to get his fourth white card in a row for 4 minutes 3 seconds, an excellent performance.

We all expected that Julian's laid back approach would pay dividends and it nearly did not, after a magnificent 5mins 45 seconds he nearly high fived his coach, Marc, who quickly backed off to prevent another red card! Elisabeth Hummel, was the last female competitor of the day and was wonderfully coached through the surface protocol by all the spectators and was thrilled with her 4minutes 40 seconds.

Finally the last 3, Ken, currently in the lead, easily managed 5mins 23 seconds and Rossi asked for silence which clearly paid off for him, resulting in a 5minutes 11 seconds. Last, but by no means least was our Norwegian Ninja, Trond with a fabulous 5minutes 13 seconds.

Today, the thank you's have to go to the coaches, who worked so hard for the competitors and helped them  deliver great times. Special mention has to go to Rossi, I want a massage too please, Marc, for such confidence boosting coaching and Walter for his hard work at the competition and in the many training sessions before in Kuala Lumpur.

Prelimary Results:

WOMEN

Last Name First Name Country Points
Hummel Elisabeth GER 139.0
Gebauer Karin AUT 136.8
Ooi Michelle SIN 93.4
Chan Vivian MYS 91.8
Mattes Elisabeth AUT 88.0


MEN

Last Name First Name Country Points
Kiriyama Ken DAN 195.6
Moldal Trond NOR 172.6
van Heerden Julian RSA 171.0
Hamid Mohd Azam Abdul MYS 157.6
Nygren Drutten SWE 144.2
Johnson Walter USA 121.2
Teoh Kim Seng MYS 115.4
Brunetto Enzo ITA 113.6
Fötinger Christian AUT 113.2
Su Alan MYS 20.0