tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59545422170756570262024-03-19T11:46:20.981+02:00Hanli FreediverI AM WATER...
a life lived in love with the oceanHanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-17809285912370464002010-06-07T09:27:00.004+02:002010-06-07T09:35:10.314+02:00NEW WEBSITE, GOODBYE BLOGSPOTDear friends and followers of hanlifreediver on blogspot. Time has come to leave this trusty spot, and move on to a new SITE. www.hanliprinsloo.com has been designed by Niel Joubert of 7Red, and created by Jens Herf of the Ice Cream Network. Thank you to both of them for making it possible!<br /><br />PLEASE read and follow me here!<br /><a href="http://www.hanliprinsloo.com/">http://www.hanliprinsloo.com</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityEFn8x2zRrnUEW7KisrlsT0p6lzjeK3sz-VBTrNJT8TJ7kXI-6ZXUnPxlNGuShhypJsaZWL9L7vV-wFB7X3ZFdxi6d2Wokm5LWblzDT1_-Yqrq9rPR1ZG-HMHOO6wpq-1cJmWqimZUA/s1600/freediver.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityEFn8x2zRrnUEW7KisrlsT0p6lzjeK3sz-VBTrNJT8TJ7kXI-6ZXUnPxlNGuShhypJsaZWL9L7vV-wFB7X3ZFdxi6d2Wokm5LWblzDT1_-Yqrq9rPR1ZG-HMHOO6wpq-1cJmWqimZUA/s320/freediver.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479931804804929730" border="0" /></a>There will be stories, and photos and videos and all things adventurous and aquatic!<br />See you there!<br /><br />HanliHanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-12535891532753896432010-05-26T20:02:00.008+02:002010-05-26T20:44:16.575+02:00It's not a Spectator Sport!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYoo64fXditgket3z1Fb9OVypxq2VnNk-ce0mGiXZUeRin5JhCyI5INMareqUoTYioenCf4N46skqQ0nBUS0QWJJTao4Ud_Q5Bybe8fkB04dU-eA4ymoxLEnqVKx91vvqcyW27ZlCjnE/s1600/float.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYoo64fXditgket3z1Fb9OVypxq2VnNk-ce0mGiXZUeRin5JhCyI5INMareqUoTYioenCf4N46skqQ0nBUS0QWJJTao4Ud_Q5Bybe8fkB04dU-eA4ymoxLEnqVKx91vvqcyW27ZlCjnE/s320/float.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475651395787032162" border="0" /></a><br />They watch me floating face down in the water of that far-away pool. So many moons and loves and dives ago. I'm completely relaxed. Not a single muscle is tensed.<br />I'm playing dead. My then quite new wetsuit looks shiny compared to it's present day state of patches and scratches.<br />Today the guys are huddled around my computer in the dim-lit wood cabin that serves as office and HQ for the Blue Wilderness dive operation on the KZN South Coast. We've done yoga, we've stretched our lungs, we've done deep breathing , they've experienced breathing contractions for the first time.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPKNCdCFJmXDdMPhthjNXV1l3TJBC1sFl_Z-ECk-Df-Q5_XU1_YZJK_CxBlEq6bOFFAfTZclnGuXnI8d5l2DPUzanC7PI6GZjuMVpxVgxpdW47KqZsxH6OT4LClGn70DidE0XfQPbJjM/s1600/P5260062.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPKNCdCFJmXDdMPhthjNXV1l3TJBC1sFl_Z-ECk-Df-Q5_XU1_YZJK_CxBlEq6bOFFAfTZclnGuXnI8d5l2DPUzanC7PI6GZjuMVpxVgxpdW47KqZsxH6OT4LClGn70DidE0XfQPbJjM/s320/P5260062.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475647303564977938" border="0" /></a>I've talked them through the theory of freediving, the history, the physiology, the philosophy. Now I am showing them this bad quality clip filmed on the judge's camera at a competition almost two years ago.'It's not a Spectator Sport!' I hear myself say, the guys laugh, as I knew they would. No, watching someone lie face down in a pool is not ice-skating. I laugh with them but the laughter gets stuck in my throat and I'm left with an uncomfortable jarring thought at the back of my head. But no time to ponder... getting changed into suits, grab masks and off to the pool.The guys float on their backs and when it's their turn I talk them through their three final breaths, the last deep deepest breath, and then he rolls over.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFZPfBAW5wglUsh7zAIlwXITYWIVqbmFqGwuJ3pDE4r3Q5ZDvVNZmJalLxxY8ppiB7P4ekL5w-HZyem2IWV-EJe89bpdU-zCFH_6fz27F7oSzosznAzaPEQAlcnwlpobNJV42ffC8GMM/s1600/P5260067.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFZPfBAW5wglUsh7zAIlwXITYWIVqbmFqGwuJ3pDE4r3Q5ZDvVNZmJalLxxY8ppiB7P4ekL5w-HZyem2IWV-EJe89bpdU-zCFH_6fz27F7oSzosznAzaPEQAlcnwlpobNJV42ffC8GMM/s320/P5260067.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475647786494846370" border="0" /></a><br />Face down. Playing dead.<br />'Relax your neck, relax your shoulders' I repeat, gentling squeezing his shoulders, encouraging him to relax. His head drops a little deeper, his body lets go. My voice echoes in my head... 'It's not a spectator sport...'<br /><br />I am so wrong.<br /><br />Freediving is the greatest spectator sport of all time. Greater than ice-skating, basketball, pole-vaulting (I love pole-vaulting!), gymnastics or even parkour.<br />The only difference is, there is only one spectator. You. The diver. And you are not only watching. You are seeing yourself from the inside. And you are not only seeing. You are feeling, experiencing, assimilating, learning, shifting, adjusting, growing. This is the ultimate experience. It just happens to happen within one person. For no-one else to see.<br />The breath-hold I had shown the guys as an example, I remember as if it was yesterday. My warm-up, my nerves, the song I had in my ipod just before. The first stage of holding my breath, the relaxation, I remember the thoughts, coming and going, memories, feelings, hopes, uncertainties... this quiet revolution going on inside.<br />Contractions starting, destroying the meditation, the focus, the die-hard kicking in. Sebastian's voice urging me on, supporting me, carrying me. My elation at feeling my body meet my mind in these perfect minutes of mind-body communication. Oxygen swirling through my blood, caressing my brain, deserting my toes. I know this. I know what my beautiful body is capable of. Beautiful for what she is capable of, for the dive response she harbours. Glorious, magnificent half-seal that I am. All this becoming as I lie there, face down. Dead to the world. Alive as never before. This is the greatest spectator sport of all time. And I am the only ticket-holder.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgb3oy9ZRWDCQRW_SNmEtlGP_EzZlSDRDwfMVsnaoN0BgTse1v3ppNX0Qzg2Lloy7GwTK2EKW3OT4XIU1XkaXSmhUFiGK4grpz6z1UNdtU6DDqMWITItXOV1R1JeI7P7l2j8O-hnd9SA/s1600/P5260072.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgb3oy9ZRWDCQRW_SNmEtlGP_EzZlSDRDwfMVsnaoN0BgTse1v3ppNX0Qzg2Lloy7GwTK2EKW3OT4XIU1XkaXSmhUFiGK4grpz6z1UNdtU6DDqMWITItXOV1R1JeI7P7l2j8O-hnd9SA/s320/P5260072.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475648338822983490" border="0" /></a><br />Rene, Rob, Anthony, David, Mike and Rowan, welcome to your stadium!Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-69035830736389742832010-05-19T09:43:00.004+02:002010-05-19T10:01:02.694+02:00Good Morning'It's so pink!' she exclaims, her European accent adding to the quiantness of the moment. She's wrapped in a bright Mexican blanket and standing on the pavement, staring up at the sky. The sun is about to rise on the other side of False Bay, as it does every morning, but the last few days there has been great celebration and a fanfare of colours announcing this rising. As if the Sun is saying, 'Yes well, I do this every day, but that doesn't mean you can take it for granted!' So I stand reminded. Staring up at the sky, peeling my naartjie. I hug my Mexican blanketed neighbour a good morning and start jogging off down the road. Pink turning to orange to red above me. Nothing granted, all appreciated.<br />I veer off the road onto the boardwalk, hop skip and jump over the rocky bits and come down onto Danger Beach. The colours of the sky are reflected in the wet sand. They fade, and the sea pushes up another wave to lick the beach, creating the perfect canvas for the sunrise painting. Again and again and again. Wave after wave, sunrise after<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPwqC880uiShzn84SilQnltjCDvk-vS81IpO_4QP4u4Z4ihD5b6brRyBpnw6syyTTXvqnXH-SHjX_CEixSSA2gLRyPLR7ifKWY-cZqGH26b2HUSnRSdVCGQs_BFsf1c4gnNCnyv7lowc/s1600/whalecoffee.jpg"><br /></a> sunrise Nature offers us there gifts of colour and beauty. Mine are the only footprints on the beach. The sun peeks out from behind the mountains chasing away the subtler colours, leaving a bright glowing yellow across the sky.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0pOystzypYjkJoCMuNKdD-blhNvFMqHSJLLrZEKMqEZmLyCZ7I9KcTTQHq6fREcWyZTfxnRiZv47NDRvia75T0_qmbtvL_tfj72yhb75GiHObwSViKn3zTCwy0Gmy1B_ihA89dAAVE0/s1600/dalebrook.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0pOystzypYjkJoCMuNKdD-blhNvFMqHSJLLrZEKMqEZmLyCZ7I9KcTTQHq6fREcWyZTfxnRiZv47NDRvia75T0_qmbtvL_tfj72yhb75GiHObwSViKn3zTCwy0Gmy1B_ihA89dAAVE0/s320/dalebrook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472887868824722930" border="0" /></a>I run on. I've never liked running. I can only run if I do so next to the sea or in the mountain. Because then I can pretend it's something else. Exploring. Or checking the waves. But I am learning to run. Adam sent me a book 'Born to Run', about how we are the Running People, about the amazing ultra-runners of the planet, and the mindset of running. It makes sense. I repeat to myself 'easy, easy, easy... light light light light...' the author says that first comes easy, then light, then smooth, then fast. I don't think I'll ever be fast. I am aiming for light.<br />I turn on Muizenberg beach and run back. I feel quite smooth... the sun is up now and warming my back. No more colours in the sky, now it's the sea's turn to go chameleon. The flat dark of early morning is replaced by shining ripples, bright flashes of light off small waves. She is so glorious, the ocean. Back at Dalebrook pool I pull my clothes off fast before the chilly air changes my mind and I dive in. Again, it's just me. Winter in Cape Town promises solitude in the most beautiful places. I swim a few laps, look at the rocks and urchins underneath me. Dry off quick and hurry under the railway, over the road, up Rosmead and get a big hug from Mickey. 'Same as always, love?' she asks. Fruit salad, yoghurt, honey, fresh orange juice and a whale latte. The best coffee in the south.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPwqC880uiShzn84SilQnltjCDvk-vS81IpO_4QP4u4Z4ihD5b6brRyBpnw6syyTTXvqnXH-SHjX_CEixSSA2gLRyPLR7ifKWY-cZqGH26b2HUSnRSdVCGQs_BFsf1c4gnNCnyv7lowc/s1600/whalecoffee.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPwqC880uiShzn84SilQnltjCDvk-vS81IpO_4QP4u4Z4ihD5b6brRyBpnw6syyTTXvqnXH-SHjX_CEixSSA2gLRyPLR7ifKWY-cZqGH26b2HUSnRSdVCGQs_BFsf1c4gnNCnyv7lowc/s320/whalecoffee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472887766369422674" border="0" /></a><br />Where in the world can you live such a morning? I am grateful.Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-12356362840183597562010-05-15T20:17:00.004+02:002010-05-15T20:46:23.555+02:00Lumpy left, cement swimmers and red leaves'Can water really be wobbly?' the surfer asks me as I clamber onto my Stand-Up-Paddle board for the umpteenth time. His chest and head is all that's visible above the water, as he's sitting deep on his very short surfboard. I loom over him, paddle in hand; 'Yes', I answer, 'water can be wobbly and this water is'. Peter, Glen and I have made the trek to the other side of False Bay to surf a pretty left point that looked sweet from the car park, and yes, we did get some good waves, the guys more than me, but the water wobbled. There was a refraction, backwash, undertow, rocks and stuff. It was fun. I got some waves, I fell a lot. But I did get more waves than the guy on the surfboard.<br /><br />But this was just the start of my saturday. The far side of False Bay is just a hop skip and a high jump over the Sir Lowry's Pass to Grabouw, apple country, where my beautiful sculptor sister lives. Still sandy and salty I drive over the pass, through the apple orchards to Marieke's house. Somehow this mountainous valley gets the seasons more than many places in SA, and I feast my eyes on the symphony of russet red and mustard yellow leaves.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFCXT3lTlORSgbU4RVxb9eE0H0qhN1mK4d9U7CNgdSA5O9LU_OuEKb989p67WasZDXZ7dhXD-jdCZ-iVTxY_2_yaLs3GU_xEmVP7SNrkPd_NxCc84KblZOK5nMf5lzkz7S_K7YH-QnNk/s1600/leaves.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFCXT3lTlORSgbU4RVxb9eE0H0qhN1mK4d9U7CNgdSA5O9LU_OuEKb989p67WasZDXZ7dhXD-jdCZ-iVTxY_2_yaLs3GU_xEmVP7SNrkPd_NxCc84KblZOK5nMf5lzkz7S_K7YH-QnNk/s320/leaves.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471568692366122226" border="0" /></a><br />Marieke lives in an old stone house. I park under the huge oak tree in front of the house and she opens the door. She is sick. And busy. Equally. She has very recently been given the go-ahead to put 18 sculptures up on the Sea Point promenade. Unveiling them the day before kick-off, and the public exhibition will go on for a whole year. She never expected City of Cape Town to say yes for them to go up before kick-off, but this being their request, she is very very busy. The sculptures tell the tale of a magical meeting between a swimmer-girl and a dragonfly, and is read as a story, one sculpture at a time, as you walk along the promenade.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTnNxAxiFHHeHHyvGuof99zJDble1Yx1r6j0ouqHpcHhOjt39R7FHer-vu8f8N4v6fVDLEgl-rAbnKHJFWSQR7LLqa4okyrXo7gSkxARp84xjvDXWr4pTCREmg1d46xccDoktDPYicQo/s1600/swimmers.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTnNxAxiFHHeHHyvGuof99zJDble1Yx1r6j0ouqHpcHhOjt39R7FHer-vu8f8N4v6fVDLEgl-rAbnKHJFWSQR7LLqa4okyrXo7gSkxARp84xjvDXWr4pTCREmg1d46xccDoktDPYicQo/s320/swimmers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471568684198741554" border="0" /></a><br />I am so proud as I watch the clay take shape under her expert hands. She is an artist, wife, mother, daughter... and the best sister you could ever wish for.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2fN1RcFKRmQdJhEiiQ1ONjFBRUtYajpCHhtj-Ne8O-XEBFZtiImuuDyCHnH9vFe2uw195kIZKeka8f44Wcx_FEvzkQRd83FTZu9LVYjFIW3LK2QE26CotjHcPAWu4acPWrekdSVlAU4/s1600/marieke.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2fN1RcFKRmQdJhEiiQ1ONjFBRUtYajpCHhtj-Ne8O-XEBFZtiImuuDyCHnH9vFe2uw195kIZKeka8f44Wcx_FEvzkQRd83FTZu9LVYjFIW3LK2QE26CotjHcPAWu4acPWrekdSVlAU4/s320/marieke.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471568680584971426" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > I love you Marieke.</span><br /></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-36181367434688035232010-05-14T16:50:00.006+02:002010-05-14T17:17:43.835+02:00'My cake is weird''How was your day', Bridget asks? 'How was the workshop? 'Amazing!' I reply, 'I feel so much clearer, so much more at peace... you see', I beam at her, ... 'my cake is weird!' B looks up from the Origami paper crane she is folding (nr 145 of 1000 paper cranes for her wedding... and she thinks I am strange!?) and eloquently asks 'Huh?'<br /><br />We are drinking tea in her lovely lounge in an already dark and very rainy Cape Town after a long day spent with Justin and Juliet of <a href="http://www.greenhousecreates.com/">Greenhouse</a>.<span style="font-style: italic;"> (Greenhouse offers a safe environment for the cultivation of conscious ideas into reality.)</span>And all of today I have had the privilege of being in that safe environment and cultivating my conscious ideas over super-smoothies, dates and brazil nuts. We started with values, what I believe, why I do what I do... then vision, then goals, then offering and all the way down to HOW.<br />So back to the cake. One of the most radical things was looking at my life as a cake, all I do being slices of this cake. Percentages of time I spend on the myriad of things that are my life. And man, my cake is weird. Spending too much time doing things I don't want to be doing, that also do not bring benefit on any level, spiritual, emotional, financial or physical. So out with the old cake, in with the new.<br />My new Cake is beautiful. She is a cake of beauty and truth. I feel peaceful when I think of her. The slices of my new cake make sense, financially and practically. And the most important slice, the slice called Adventure, has gro w n m u C H L A<span style="font-size:130%;"> R G E R.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtucXY176rqAKddhrSWJPNxs47sRiGMmLChyL_JnHEefbQ_W_ewCntPlC-vZmvI20nXsCzRNtGtT14cLzluhc3lw6U3sfgAF_1wzifAv2XXAGjlhsZ3-ktqeeZxqpSs1DW0nhLwikxng/s1600/my_cake.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 297px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtucXY176rqAKddhrSWJPNxs47sRiGMmLChyL_JnHEefbQ_W_ewCntPlC-vZmvI20nXsCzRNtGtT14cLzluhc3lw6U3sfgAF_1wzifAv2XXAGjlhsZ3-ktqeeZxqpSs1DW0nhLwikxng/s320/my_cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471144586659136274" border="0" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">My new cake, isn't she grand?</span></span></span><br /><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;">This shift will soon manifest in the practical, but for now, it is a happiness I hold in my heart. A new perfect cake, with a large slice of Adventure. Flavoured with values... imagination, resilience, joy, passion, freedom, risk, courage, authenticity...<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Welcome to the Party!</span><br /></span>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-70691008302850983352010-05-12T07:21:00.007+02:002010-05-12T14:08:31.547+02:00Actors and OceansMonday was Durban again, teaching the Cast from Blue Crush 2 the basics of Freediving so they feel happy in the water to start their super intense 3-week surfing lessons that will turn them into ripping surfers by Shoot Day 1. No tall order.<br /><br />We started the day at the Protea Hotel in Umhlanga, where the cast met each other and the team of pro's who will teach them the ways of the waves. The task of choosing the surf-coaching team was placed in the capable hands of BOMBSurf John McCarthy. Sandy for Yoga, Clayton for Coaching, Allen for SurfBasics, Wilma for Fitness and Me, for Ocean Comfort/ Freediving.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-W9hhgzbt2xD_f7p9F35o_4bRa4lcffZ4V0cH5rO5i5xO1g6y6GMtm1BaeR4MXIAhVIDHL0dh1xKa4-5BCrWLPurFP6Xs8uLYh12cvo9GtWyg2yJIWHdfDZX5QjSvMKvnYACT9SZiIg/s1600/IMG_4643.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-W9hhgzbt2xD_f7p9F35o_4bRa4lcffZ4V0cH5rO5i5xO1g6y6GMtm1BaeR4MXIAhVIDHL0dh1xKa4-5BCrWLPurFP6Xs8uLYh12cvo9GtWyg2yJIWHdfDZX5QjSvMKvnYACT9SZiIg/s320/IMG_4643.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470352715248472114" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Sasha and Elisabeth meeting their boards, love at first sight!</span></span><br /><br /></div>I'm the first port of call in their journey to becoming surfers, first feel good under the water, then learn to ride it, cause inevitably, you will fall off, and panicking is Not an Option. Especially not with A, B and C cams aimed at you!<br /><br />Sasha is an LA based bubbly blond originally from Windsor, sweet-looking exterior housing a wicked sense of humour and a never-give-up spirit. Elisabeth is an intelligent and entertaining ebony skinned, willowy tall model/actress originally from Michigan, now also LA based. And Chris, Cape Town born funny and fun, good-looking and earnest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuKjaAV6DY4wO0U69nV3jl37kti1GtfO3HK_KPs6iemDHVg5SEAc2fqku2T9xLlIzi_CZH2aco_Tj6SIc3kC5NbqAW-Y2itCjB16Fg7wrgfnl4GFy8EZhVJ1A3k05bKh39oxRrs91LMU/s1600/IMG_4634.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuKjaAV6DY4wO0U69nV3jl37kti1GtfO3HK_KPs6iemDHVg5SEAc2fqku2T9xLlIzi_CZH2aco_Tj6SIc3kC5NbqAW-Y2itCjB16Fg7wrgfnl4GFy8EZhVJ1A3k05bKh39oxRrs91LMU/s320/IMG_4634.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470352471824498018" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Low glory- yet very important- pose, ankle circles! Happy ankles= good board-balance!</span></span><br /><br /></div>We started the day with yoga and breathhold on land, where they got to learn about contractions, their magical spleens and inner seals... then off to the blue blue sea. And maybe sensing the importance of the day, the ocean obliged and gave us flat and calm, warm and clean for their first submersion. Breathhold in the shallows, the girls both cracking 2 minutes easy and Chris doing a strong 3.20. Oh yes, they will be fine with whatever the sea throws at them.<br /><br />Then we swim out a little deeper, practice some equalisation and then play around on the sand at the bottom. Swimming down together, passing a snorkel around before coming up, getting more and more comfortable under the water. Sasha laughingly remembering hours spent in the pool as a kid, playing mermaid, holding her breath lying at the bottom. Elisabeth dropping my 'lucky snorkel' and doing a quick and confident dash to the bottom playing retriever dolphin. The ocean loves us and we love her back.<br /><br />Surrounded by the right people, with loads of good energy around and strong wills I think they have a good shot at looking like surfers once the shooting starts end of the month.<br />And I am certain, that for now and forevermore, 3 more surfers are born!<br />Happy Birthday guys!!Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-42163149153350558952010-05-09T17:03:00.003+02:002010-05-09T17:13:36.289+02:00Sunday: Planes and Boats, here and there...I wake up with a sore head and a still-snotty nose. The rain is crashing down outside, the gutters have fallen off my very old Kalk Bay house and the water, free of such restrictions, cause a joyful racket outside. It's very wet. But farm-girl that I am, I have been taught never, ever to curse the rain.<br />I pack wetsuit, fins, mask and flip-flops, it's hot in Durban so I won't need much, and I'm only going for 48 hrs anyway, simple... The best of plans made in the best of ways, always fail, I learn again and again and today again. See, for a change, I'm not running late, and with time left to spare I stop at the pharmacy to get nose-spray, on the doping list at freediving comps, but absolutely essential for my job tomorrow. Teaching the cast of Blue Crush 2 to be comfortable in the water. I won't be of much use if I can't dive with them, I reason, as I pay the exorbitant price for the unhealthy spray I plan to inflict on my nose.Please hurry, I tell the girl at the pharmacy counter, I'm on my way to the airport, making my problem her problem as she hurries to sort my change out. I dash out into the rain, into my beloved Toyota twin-cab bakkie, turn the key... and nothing. No no no no noooooo... most reliable of cars, this can't be happening!<br />She's dead. My light blue reliable steed sputters and gives up. Please Adam, help! Sure, he's around the corner and we dash to the airport. On time. Check in. Bag too big. Oversize drop-off. Do you have a computer in there? Safety check. Hurry to gate A7. Long cue. Wait wait wait, the flight is delayed from Joburg, so so is ours. Board. Cram into my seat. Middle seat, close my eyes, and breathe. What a rush! Take-off and my sinuses wail in pain. Flying with mucus, never a good thing.<br />And I realise. I don't really like this. This traveling, the rush, the deadline, the mad dash to the check-in counter.They say the world has gotten smaller, with flights being so accessible and the world just around the corner. All this efficiency, making the trip from A to B quick and possible. We complain of long trans-atlantic flights, a full 14 hrs plus!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsS3VqvMHfV2Na0sUgDa2R5Pvgxl9XbPbzPR81lXq1i4eCKaYtVRT-S0do_PMwoDvPLWg1WFjh5HQOthVwybjtDdXaKLaCbpgnKNOrbut9Nm6sqYkk8jdI5PyJOlAHY4Lk4H4OrNTmTfs/s1600/pics_sail.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsS3VqvMHfV2Na0sUgDa2R5Pvgxl9XbPbzPR81lXq1i4eCKaYtVRT-S0do_PMwoDvPLWg1WFjh5HQOthVwybjtDdXaKLaCbpgnKNOrbut9Nm6sqYkk8jdI5PyJOlAHY4Lk4H4OrNTmTfs/s320/pics_sail.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469286920907131330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">And suddenly I remember.</span><br /><br /></div>The wind against my face, the lazy flapping of the sails. The days stretching into weeks. The quick-jump flight from the Azores home to Sweden we turned into a 17 day passage on a 38 foot ketch with a man we didn't know. No auto-pilot, no windvein, no real long distance sailing experience. The start of the end of a long relationship, time on board a yacht makes or breaks love.<br />And I miss it. I will swop this cramped seat for my 8-12 watch. 8 hrs a day each, keeping watch, steering north. Watching the sun set alone on deck, the moon rise, the stars come out and then the eerie 'pfooooohhh' in the distance as a whale breathes. Stop counting the days, Hanli, the way-points and the wind-speeds. You are here, only here, only now. You cannot control the wind and the storm that is bearing down on us.<br /><br />Maybe I need to remind myself of that voice here in my cramped seat on this hated plane. Stop rushing. Stop being in the next moment, the arrival, the pick-up, the plans and tomorrow. Live the journey. Even if the journey has been reduced to a bumpy cramped two hour flight.Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-47233534208576159812010-05-08T14:25:00.004+02:002010-05-08T14:37:34.527+02:00Saturday: Kalk Bay: On FREEDOM and SnotI am sick.<br /><br />Days of surfing and socialising in Durban has left me ill. Not the kind of 'call the cavalry, feel sorry for me, use my hospital plan for once' kind of sick. NO, the excruciating kind, where 'i really should stay in bed, i should rest, get remedies from my homeopath, fruit smoothies and vit C' kind of sick. And I am so bad at it. I hate it. I want to go run. Surf. Dive.<br />AND BANG, just there, I lose my Freedom! Because freedom is not the fact that I don't do a 9- 17 job. Or the fact that I own 5 fins, 4 boards and 7 wetsuits, AND USE THEM ALL.<br />No.<br />Freedom is being happy where you are. Accepting where you are. The story of the monk who spoke to the prisoners about his life in a cell, no TV, no mattress, no sugar... and they were like, 'Shame, you could stay over here in high security if you'd like some comfort.' And the monk's point, and my point is... the monk chooses his cell. So he is Free. So I, like the wise monk, choose to be happy in my illness. Not focus on all the things my achy body cannot do. But accept the rest, the tea, the soup, the naartjies and the books.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-SSjAXgyYOSyljQNDotoY04gtzskPsUxT6tz46OsqWWL0zEOd59x5gDmtSMx7pbN0CUvUTX8E-djexonZ294lyz6TifhFLVhlxgOdBMVXo7Ynr5EPde3fPA8uPkskKsLDbdt9shJTSA/s1600/free_sick.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-SSjAXgyYOSyljQNDotoY04gtzskPsUxT6tz46OsqWWL0zEOd59x5gDmtSMx7pbN0CUvUTX8E-djexonZ294lyz6TifhFLVhlxgOdBMVXo7Ynr5EPde3fPA8uPkskKsLDbdt9shJTSA/s320/free_sick.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468876360810474082" border="0" /></a><br />I am Free, to be Sick!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-64903093820885941662010-05-05T17:30:00.002+02:002010-05-05T17:41:48.543+02:00There is only DO!Have spent the last few days in Durban with the NAISH Stand Up Paddle guys, promoting the sport, riding waves and meeting new and old friends. Durban is a warm city with many beaches and hundreds of waves.<br /><br />I have been spending a few hours every day surfing waves that I never thought I could surf. Now why did I think that? What's with that... 'I never thought I could...' There is no thinking, right, there is only do, or not do, right? And up until the last few days, I have not surfed these kind of waves and now I have, and I hope I will keep doing things 'I never thought I could', and you know what, even better- I will stop thinking them silly 'never could' thoughts.<br />I am so excited. So in love with the blue water, clear below, waves above, whatever she gives me, I am grateful for. Loving the ocean and thinking less...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnvkvThuNZ_rUfnrZuhu_dNDLKBjSfcT__eyngHiFPxoBRYzxzXWBznw4iPct7lUMwm1aswQBq_INkOe7QV5e65QCYqql3Cqzb0Wjv1SR3KPnV90_FsPPJd6BTAiGg3LllyIZjyGCEl7k/s1600/image002.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnvkvThuNZ_rUfnrZuhu_dNDLKBjSfcT__eyngHiFPxoBRYzxzXWBznw4iPct7lUMwm1aswQBq_INkOe7QV5e65QCYqql3Cqzb0Wjv1SR3KPnV90_FsPPJd6BTAiGg3LllyIZjyGCEl7k/s320/image002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467811330373445586" border="0" /></a>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-10500983181496794952010-05-01T12:31:00.005+02:002010-05-01T17:55:29.746+02:00Stand Up Paddling with SealsA Sunday out of Hout Bay, freediving and then SUPping with Cape Fur Seals.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxENIu0RhP2SV97ZzfIxhLAe1b6NYlf4JUrDKHO2ioaa0AA4JiO0SBbOPbiNcD3GZhCDGiY6CNI0PFcd8iEyQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Thank you to Steve from <a href="http://animalocean.co.za/">Animal Ocean</a> for boating, filming and smiling!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Music: 'I like Giants' by the lovely Kimya Dawson</span><br /></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-65632366428431028752010-04-12T10:29:00.008+02:002010-04-12T12:00:33.176+02:00Leaving DurbanSo after almost two weeks swaying among the sugarcane, living out of bags and diving in blue water, it's time to go home. This has been quite a journey. In all meanings of the word.<br />The interest for my freediving courses up here has been tremendous, from surfers, to spearos, to water gazers who want to become water users. Advanced days have brought past pupils back for deeper dives, and on shark dive days I've dragged some reluctant, some fearful surfers into sharky waters, to see their eyes and hearts open to these majestically misunderstood fish.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUbI7aY3-6cfGM3TkK7pMllKQjALr82VdjB7XKrb_5a2WbCsCeh7Ba4OCk6WG4q_lGVz3mYWChnje2WIYiOsXPuhTM0uT89Mu6Es24v0SAqgFaE9ROV9oM3TcHU47_nFsURp70fBbIu4/s1600/Hanli_3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUbI7aY3-6cfGM3TkK7pMllKQjALr82VdjB7XKrb_5a2WbCsCeh7Ba4OCk6WG4q_lGVz3mYWChnje2WIYiOsXPuhTM0uT89Mu6Es24v0SAqgFaE9ROV9oM3TcHU47_nFsURp70fBbIu4/s320/Hanli_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459188226639931154" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Photo: Allen Walker<br /><br /></span></span></div>And as you all know, for me, it's all about water. Blue water. Black water. Cold... warm... flat... stormy... on a board, with fins, without fins... or just swimming.<br /><br />But not this time.This time, it was about people. Myself included.<br />It's been a tough two weeks. I've felt myself challenged in ways I haven't been for a long time. I've felt small, lost, sad and vulnerable. The confusion of being so incredibly happy, fulfilled, surrounded by so much beauty, and just wanting to crawl into a deep crevice and hide there. Luckily the crevices at my disposal have been guarded by people who love... love me, love others, love sharks. People who love. So yes, this trip has been about people.<br />A couple of highlights:Last week Wed the 7th, I went to a HUGE banquet at the Durban ICC, where 4000 people came together to show their moral and monetary support for LIV- Lungisisa Indlela Village.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_8zLcibh9T5ryG4f9vOQBYeA6CBLhdVsaXC9bTfGLFGQ4Pt3NaS9OdlE73HqE0l8bE35FYF8iFd4GOSSRrE05melwofPZnMDo7bvIGMQuPPMxGj1T-LoSZHITpqH6XqhYDBwUC3P8SY/s1600/LIV-Banquet-PR2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 80px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_8zLcibh9T5ryG4f9vOQBYeA6CBLhdVsaXC9bTfGLFGQ4Pt3NaS9OdlE73HqE0l8bE35FYF8iFd4GOSSRrE05melwofPZnMDo7bvIGMQuPPMxGj1T-LoSZHITpqH6XqhYDBwUC3P8SY/s320/LIV-Banquet-PR2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459186205370850770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >The Banquet, I have never been to such a moving and HUGE event... in every way.</span><br /><br /></div>The heart-project of friend and big wave charger Twiggy's parents, Joan and Tich. These amazing people have seen a solution for the gigantic challenge of orphans in Africa, and tired of watching this tragedy unfold, they have built LIV- a village for orphans and women, a sustainable future, full of hope. It was such a privilege to be there, I cried, laughed... felt the magnitude of the challenges our country faces, and was reminded to HOPE! If you want to learn more- AND YOU SHOULD, please check out:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xK7nIrUx3smejAaSnA7BTWZBx6LB4yjBv_akoJY1LocIreRNOSyGACkgyglNXxNaOryfU6L2gjljyViAVGShWAzzIB-nlaObIiBJBnr4cAFKwbZw-1CU9b3n2cYlAZPDrKiR62zFQ4c/s1600/Home-Page-.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 83px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xK7nIrUx3smejAaSnA7BTWZBx6LB4yjBv_akoJY1LocIreRNOSyGACkgyglNXxNaOryfU6L2gjljyViAVGShWAzzIB-nlaObIiBJBnr4cAFKwbZw-1CU9b3n2cYlAZPDrKiR62zFQ4c/s320/Home-Page-.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459187725599723346" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.liv-village.com/home">LIV- </a><a href="http://www.liv-village.com/home">Lungisisa Indlela Village. </a><br /></div><br />And then there is Wolf. Wolfgang Leander is a man I have known for two years, I say known, but I only met him once two years ago in Struisbaai, where we were united in a dream to freedive with Great White Sharks. Neither of us did, on that trip. But we were equally excited to have met each other, and since then a heartfelt, if geographically challenged, friendship has developed. Wolf lives in Bolivia, and spends his time and money on Tiger sharks... wherever you can dive with them, Wolf has been, will go to, or has been to, and is returning to. And when you see him diving with them, you understand why. This man GETS Tigers... like really GETS them. His love for them is palpable... in his eyes, in his words, and when you see him underwater interacting with them, you know. This is true love. With his so-damn-old-it's-retro-cool 35mm stills camera slung around his neck, he hangs around at about ten meters, waiting for his striped ladies to come in, strokes their bellies, snaps pics of their gentle eyes and comes up out of breath and fulfilled. I love diving with him, he inspires me to keep loving the sea and her children as I do.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Thank you Wolf.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrTeFqrbg-gu47u3vbWSfI0TTuq1rr78-Teuqh5Rhvc9zv-RbH2JBKUufv13ndCx46vJsTkEtgB5rV72QT20FX9JRKWFy-7xWyyZFO0nKEOSr1Ondo54nFP7gkD-dGzkCF6k5ZqLOgC0/s1600/Hanli+2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrTeFqrbg-gu47u3vbWSfI0TTuq1rr78-Teuqh5Rhvc9zv-RbH2JBKUufv13ndCx46vJsTkEtgB5rV72QT20FX9JRKWFy-7xWyyZFO0nKEOSr1Ondo54nFP7gkD-dGzkCF6k5ZqLOgC0/s320/Hanli+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459185479381740514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Wolf and I</span></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Photo: Allen Walker</span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>But it's time to go home. Cape Town is where I need to be. I have a week there. Before coming back up this way for a Wilderness Trail in a game farm. 5 days on foot in the Wilderness, what an experience. But for now, the Mother City needs to hold me close for a few days, I need to rest.Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-38372612308505933462010-03-23T15:49:00.006+02:002010-03-24T15:27:35.336+02:00For Love of WaterLast night was a night of<span style="font-weight: bold;"> fear</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">joy</span>... The joy was from swimming with the sharks at the Two Oceans Aquarium, the fear was about the state of the BLUE on our Blue Planet. Justin and the crew from Greenhouse have launched a spectacular nationwide campaign called <a href="http://www.forloveofwater.co.za/">FLOW</a>, For Love of Water.<br /><br />Awareness awareness awareness!! This is always what it boils down to, sometimes I wonder what it is we actually keep our minds occupied with all of our waking hours, when so few of the actually important things are on our minds... What's been on your mind lately?<br />Is it important? Is it uplifting... what are the things you care about the most?<br />Keep them close, in your thoughts, in your heart. This is how we will affect Change!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wXcvjMPklB-BxZbJJ7rkTkETyYwPMgB_ifIP6eUgNAUH5QoWT0N5zPdno5oQPJONyqY1ewW379OYWaO2b0KhumSbol2bFWLB_HOIO5wW62fmA7l2z_i__wh23TtbEMuezeD6nft07Jw/s1600-h/hanli_zolani.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wXcvjMPklB-BxZbJJ7rkTkETyYwPMgB_ifIP6eUgNAUH5QoWT0N5zPdno5oQPJONyqY1ewW379OYWaO2b0KhumSbol2bFWLB_HOIO5wW62fmA7l2z_i__wh23TtbEMuezeD6nft07Jw/s320/hanli_zolani.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451837357607895106" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Beautiful Zolani singing and me behind the glass in the water... </span></span><br /></div><br />For me? It's water... it always has been and always will be, WATER! The salty type, the flowing type, the quiet deep brooding lake type, the crashing Atlantic wave type, the clear, cool refreshing type you gulp down on a hot hot sunny day. WATER!<br />Keep it in your heart, in your thoughts- there isn't a lot of it left, so hold it close...Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-50477230742679913022010-03-18T15:53:00.004+02:002010-03-18T16:05:42.885+02:00Sharks, Surfers and Deep Blue Water!From ice to rolling green hills covered in sugarcane! The KwaZulu Natal coastline has really crept into my heart. Once a month I am teaching a volley of courses up on the tropical side of our beautiful country. The water is a clear rolling blue, the trees are a vivid green and the people are as diverse as the sand is white.<br />I am working together with Mark and Gail Addison from Blue Wilderness just south of Umkomaas, and together with their supercrew- Marcus, James and Goodman, I've been introducing many new freedivers to the lure of the deep!<br />I love this Zuluwonderland and as much as Cape Town holds my heart, a small part of me has definitely taken root up east.<br /><br />A usual week in KZN includes numerous one-day courses- a crash course in the mental and physical intricacies that is freediving; an advanced day of deeper dives for those who have done the course the previous visit; and also, the opportunity for those who have done the course to come out on a shark dive! Aliwal Shoal offers a smorgåsbord of black-tips, Zambezi's, Tiger Sharks, Dusky Sharks, Raggies... not even to mention the whale sharks, dolphin, turtles and other ocean friends.<br /><br />It is always the greatest pleasure to take as active ocean user as a surfer is, and showing them these toothy friends... a shift happens when somebody gets to hang out with over 30 sharks in close proximity and realise 'they don't want to eat me!'<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJuHK1onaxWSrL-XJpm1r0x8zha3YYhQEj0jZUmeNBEvUKiDtNYeflL8_VVvHw4ZwiV6ZX5ywMs78hhzgEkvRcOm3wnqNFskxH1zmUX8iAR0uA7k_OvC_QaMSl1C9OXC_thxh_S33bi_Q/s1600-h/Sharks_march2010.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJuHK1onaxWSrL-XJpm1r0x8zha3YYhQEj0jZUmeNBEvUKiDtNYeflL8_VVvHw4ZwiV6ZX5ywMs78hhzgEkvRcOm3wnqNFskxH1zmUX8iAR0uA7k_OvC_QaMSl1C9OXC_thxh_S33bi_Q/s320/Sharks_march2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449973230792968754" border="0" /></a><br />Look forward to many more days of blue green rolling waves, hills and sharky friends!Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-27618163001535005012010-02-08T23:06:00.007+02:002010-02-15T16:28:02.074+02:00Sweden Ice Freediving!A Sunday in Sweden, a group of Freedivers, an idea.<br /><br />A lake.<br />A cold Winter...<br /> ....a love of water so strong, nothing can stop us!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwCE9gtkU2p__RwkGPKAty5bRNgHVJ7EhafTRKepAadU654rD-pC-id4GBljF1GoNtpu6MQQoyEf0kZcYozaA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Warm heart... cold everything else!<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Thank you Christian, Kent, Sofia and Henrik for an unforgettable day!<br />Filmed above and under water on my Olympus TOUGH.</span></span><br /></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-75619183107924963932010-01-15T07:23:00.013+02:002010-01-15T08:21:07.759+02:00Over under Ocean Adventures: enter NAISH!The last few days I have been walking on clouds... and water! Naish have given me a beautiful, brand new, fantastic STAND UP PADDLE BOARD! She is yellow, 9 foot tall, quite slim- and I have named her Beastie.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_d1MKUIsSTvS3liSUKMsgymB3a_jNZhiwNNTJ9wcACPiV0Ebsp8TVLPyOS4tr7Q5heTiw_h_doTE1__qsRwXkjA0n6E4xJyG1BRPqbOodBX0pjWks4RRF7JyWs6PlY0nBuB_jEjJ7CLM/s1600-h/beastie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_d1MKUIsSTvS3liSUKMsgymB3a_jNZhiwNNTJ9wcACPiV0Ebsp8TVLPyOS4tr7Q5heTiw_h_doTE1__qsRwXkjA0n6E4xJyG1BRPqbOodBX0pjWks4RRF7JyWs6PlY0nBuB_jEjJ7CLM/s320/beastie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426846312571072530" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >About to enter the water at Kommetjie for Beastie's virgin paddle... and many laughs!</span><br /></div><br />I tried SUPping (as Stand up Paddling is fondly known as) for the first time last year at Earth Wave in Muizenberg, and from the moment my feet touched that deck, I was hooked. I have been a passionate (yet amateur) surfer for a couple of years, but this was something altogether different and magical. It is like walking on water. Back straight, knees slightly bent, chin up... one paddle and you glide along the surface as if you're an ancient Ocean Goddess or River Queen!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4c4JYhTnWrqogoO1DPYEylIZEz5To-REEHQ1WQ9HmJuJrZodW3uvSCLOOhVXY4tqWNtHi5Bn5IeX3H3o4ba1jUOcU8GHdsQy2uA90HT6H3veBIvGSf6VdHFoI0VlE-aVhI0W4HuNdsLM/s1600-h/river_supping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4c4JYhTnWrqogoO1DPYEylIZEz5To-REEHQ1WQ9HmJuJrZodW3uvSCLOOhVXY4tqWNtHi5Bn5IeX3H3o4ba1jUOcU8GHdsQy2uA90HT6H3veBIvGSf6VdHFoI0VlE-aVhI0W4HuNdsLM/s320/river_supping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426845244774832418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Wilderness lagoon, sunset paddle... magic!</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>It truly is an exhilarating experience! As the board is bigger than a normal longboard, you can catch waves further out and have a longer ride. But I must say, it's the moments between the waves that are transformed into the most incredible ocean encounters...<br /><br />I intend to use Stand Up Paddling not only as a way to catch waves, but another way of exploring my greatest love, the ocean. I ended 2009 in Wilderness up the east coast of SA where we SUPped at Buffelsbay catching sweet little waves, up the Kaaimans river to the waterfall, family paddling around the lagoon and catching dodgy waves under the bridge.<br />This is truly an exciting way of approaching the sea!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4HdyDbUz79i4do6hmlR7oZdF78slrBPi6Pcl1fU_Gc2Se7NHxyA-gCvJrmLNaHDfvxcymJnJgXebXSFDGU_1OhD26-9Z72SIDqdX74HkbMU92V0t6FXdjBrdwErF6ojj8GvT0xtAr-0/s1600-h/fam_paddle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4HdyDbUz79i4do6hmlR7oZdF78slrBPi6Pcl1fU_Gc2Se7NHxyA-gCvJrmLNaHDfvxcymJnJgXebXSFDGU_1OhD26-9Z72SIDqdX74HkbMU92V0t6FXdjBrdwErF6ojj8GvT0xtAr-0/s320/fam_paddle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426843959237087714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Family paddling on the Kaaimans River! The more the merrier!</span> </span></div><br />I plan to do all manner of aquatic adventures together with new friend Beastie: catching waves, longer river paddles, expeditions out to sea visiting islands and sea friends- strap a mask to your board and the ocean is your oyster!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWeULrtmz8vkMGzEYyQ0nzQ6pEeyReMnfXMBG2kxXOjZknyXL3ywFq613Hw-JawDuGYP8Si8LyMhbOiFEBppsSLsGoLqRl0ydipxpQpfT2w15potqSPIj8Y46RmqjAdFAytvgjWEYBjM/s1600-h/Jeannie_Dolphins.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWeULrtmz8vkMGzEYyQ0nzQ6pEeyReMnfXMBG2kxXOjZknyXL3ywFq613Hw-JawDuGYP8Si8LyMhbOiFEBppsSLsGoLqRl0ydipxpQpfT2w15potqSPIj8Y46RmqjAdFAytvgjWEYBjM/s320/Jeannie_Dolphins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426839928814843826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The unforgettable day Jeannie and I met the friendliest Dusky Dolphins in all of the Atlantic Ocean, paddling off Glen Beach</span></span><br /></div><br />Bring on 2010, not only under- but on top of the water!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For more info on boards and learning, check out </span><a href="http://www.sup-culture.com"><span style="font-style: italic;">www.sup-culture.com</span></a>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-30474397177400812872009-12-15T08:18:00.005+02:002009-12-16T06:42:31.161+02:00The Most Perfect DayTwo like-minded ocean-loving girls, two boards, two paddles... a plan to do a long paddle from Camps Bay around to Sea Point... but the ocean had another plan for us...<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzVN1LWmHPlmKc_T3i7ey8w97oiq-m4xNZo2bNOG6w--310FyJQKkcbSQWu5VIx-D6hIlKXR15oGnnfGOmgEg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Filmed on my Olympus TOUGH</span></span><br /></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-11345634220669869812009-11-27T10:59:00.013+02:002009-11-27T11:51:32.858+02:00Island Style- SwedenThe bus leaves Slussen at 12.05, I've slept too long. Should've gotten out there earlier, well the sun only did come up at 9, but still, it's already, or maybe still- low on the horizon. We drive over Danvikstull, I look over the side of the bridge, remembering summer days next to the water, throwing boule and drinking beer. Neverending sunlight. Nobody there now.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_WpiZDkytD9FOUVhgWjsXXhmVmV2ZCo1cE9ct7Gc8yjNiYCj6cwOLl8CR0LaFvYDwHv9BIdJtbIlWxgJQVhKAj4mk_DjUXFe2Hu6MMIpaxnZkfDNlPXnfw51yu2aTkg4bB5pbxr8aAI/s1600/light.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_WpiZDkytD9FOUVhgWjsXXhmVmV2ZCo1cE9ct7Gc8yjNiYCj6cwOLl8CR0LaFvYDwHv9BIdJtbIlWxgJQVhKAj4mk_DjUXFe2Hu6MMIpaxnZkfDNlPXnfw51yu2aTkg4bB5pbxr8aAI/s320/light.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408717440429128146" border="0" /></a>I've put Arvo Pärts <span style="font-style: italic;">Spiegel im Spiegel</span> on repeat in my iPod, and I live this film of muted Autumn colours, glassy ice cold lakes... 40 minutes later I jump off at Brunn, the final stop for the bus. Stina careers around a corner in a small borrowed car and I jump in. She's wearing gumboots, I'm so happy. It's like seeing myself again after a long time, I guess that's how it is in a way, our closest friends are like safeboxes, we keep parts of ourselves safely locked up in them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5O4tdpP2FwcWI2NbO4QfC10Yk_dlaReflET0b4K_9mmGMyUgFcz5WDBdNJ1sQCRVPKpPSXY2gg5t6gSPKDN99RT33yiLGcoMw3DuKN_j0i-X2ybJ5YRhijgMPk86C0FSdVP7doWj-tY/s1600/friends.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5O4tdpP2FwcWI2NbO4QfC10Yk_dlaReflET0b4K_9mmGMyUgFcz5WDBdNJ1sQCRVPKpPSXY2gg5t6gSPKDN99RT33yiLGcoMw3DuKN_j0i-X2ybJ5YRhijgMPk86C0FSdVP7doWj-tY/s320/friends.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408716701846293330" border="0" /></a><br />The roads get smaller and smaller, no more tar here, forests all around us, the distances between the houses get bigger. We park the car, Stina half-hides the key in it's half-hidden hiding place, this is an island... a safe place, so hidden, no need to hide.<br /><br />We walk along the ever narrowing road, until it's more or less a path, and where it ends... is Stina's house. A small perfect wooden house with great big glass windows looking out over the baltic sea. There's a large wooden deck and a view that stops the clock...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftPpgbfrThQAwbgo1jwCokXUM8uln3oj3hmxLcTyVD2UWK6SKpfs-VtJfSK4HrVBWTLDzc6XSqyJt-QXYnVRcY6J54Ya_2R_W7RO9neO-Jce0dKa2DCL6xDi_NJKT8DCjV9_tfs8TUYQ/s1600/stuga.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftPpgbfrThQAwbgo1jwCokXUM8uln3oj3hmxLcTyVD2UWK6SKpfs-VtJfSK4HrVBWTLDzc6XSqyJt-QXYnVRcY6J54Ya_2R_W7RO9neO-Jce0dKa2DCL6xDi_NJKT8DCjV9_tfs8TUYQ/s320/stuga.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408716083546507330" border="0" /></a><br />Stina's lively brown Kelpy-dog Disa is overjoyed to see us, so we make a quick cup of coffee, and start walking.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN0Nla3G6gcJDooHKpEKjzWWYn8xhtA_TCKcdkJzVNDtESMDmEbg_xP36UqcEh6A6egim5bdAq-HFzionIWJJKmIBtkQ8FBo7j_HEoaqRQT0OS9BI31l9I39GGIwdxTFtbM8GIA-WJng/s1600/coffee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN0Nla3G6gcJDooHKpEKjzWWYn8xhtA_TCKcdkJzVNDtESMDmEbg_xP36UqcEh6A6egim5bdAq-HFzionIWJJKmIBtkQ8FBo7j_HEoaqRQT0OS9BI31l9I39GGIwdxTFtbM8GIA-WJng/s320/coffee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408715018454683058" border="0" /></a>There are scraggly bushes on the hill around the house, we make our own path to the long wooden staircase down to the sea. Majestic old oak trees stand naked on the hillside, moss covers the granite rocks scattering the slope.<br /><br />The small beach is deserted, seaweed lying in heaps on the sand. The wooden jetty juts out into the sea, the echoes of summer swimmers laughing and jumping still hanging in the air. It is dead quiet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp5eiFJdReOIv0_gab_SSktl6HCGPYVhksqYXeL52g8OOpi4KMQMVjvSod7BESfofOzZOc3-WZ1mS5xoQKODcBdRprFVx5Ku4FIWJDPttbi7S1q2HLPDhNYQNO_dKIiJdK-Cic_fBLyA/s1600/boots.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp5eiFJdReOIv0_gab_SSktl6HCGPYVhksqYXeL52g8OOpi4KMQMVjvSod7BESfofOzZOc3-WZ1mS5xoQKODcBdRprFVx5Ku4FIWJDPttbi7S1q2HLPDhNYQNO_dKIiJdK-Cic_fBLyA/s320/boots.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408715816781113666" border="0" /></a>It's 2 o'clock and the sun is low on the horizon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-zoT6edSb8SpuWVbJ24rz8TKebMOhQl3FdycHURie2m65Aa_5MNDH9lvKlGkYi39eLLl9LSWnDXajXn69XWC2S9iWH-TrudHIF_gL8dBPIiGzWt_T3ifFcylMkxkQYFYFqgtAEY71xk/s1600/stina_disa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-zoT6edSb8SpuWVbJ24rz8TKebMOhQl3FdycHURie2m65Aa_5MNDH9lvKlGkYi39eLLl9LSWnDXajXn69XWC2S9iWH-TrudHIF_gL8dBPIiGzWt_T3ifFcylMkxkQYFYFqgtAEY71xk/s320/stina_disa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408714601890895874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzWGBWtdQ8DXMAjFEIBwExUWx_u1JmSv1kOQh1Emay7h0meohjQWRex5SEQgqlG7uFzhSEH8GaEn_YkRAQkYAQ5v_x6_2Fotyt2Je4QAP_92N5AP62_Rrsb4EEp8X6CpViNTGbARSC3Y/s1600/jump.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzWGBWtdQ8DXMAjFEIBwExUWx_u1JmSv1kOQh1Emay7h0meohjQWRex5SEQgqlG7uFzhSEH8GaEn_YkRAQkYAQ5v_x6_2Fotyt2Je4QAP_92N5AP62_Rrsb4EEp8X6CpViNTGbARSC3Y/s320/jump.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408715254279513602" border="0" /></a><br />We play on the jetty, throwing sticks for Disa, looking down into the crystal freezing water. Not even I feel like swimming.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxPXG5bbUjVOyr8DTe31xArpQe6QU-f4xCTlCwi6DPgzWErsGtO7haiADYIUXBP1H1qCATVDUikBvnkT-9AbWzFD2BRb1cLc9hC4Bz_LuEkQKIBM528MuXkR6pqFbxzN1JbtqMemg4IU/s1600/ready.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxPXG5bbUjVOyr8DTe31xArpQe6QU-f4xCTlCwi6DPgzWErsGtO7haiADYIUXBP1H1qCATVDUikBvnkT-9AbWzFD2BRb1cLc9hC4Bz_LuEkQKIBM528MuXkR6pqFbxzN1JbtqMemg4IU/s320/ready.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408715572777258514" border="0" /></a><br />Today the sea is not calling my name... or maybe I'm just not listening...Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-73175026455268142942009-11-13T15:15:00.004+02:002009-11-13T15:29:11.537+02:00The ocean eats my WordsSo this blog is supposed to be about my freediving and my life 'lived in love with the ocean', right? And the last few months have been full of incredible ocean adventures... but you wouldn't know that, cause i haven't been blogging!! What's with that?<br />And now I'm sitting here in a cafe in Gothenburg, Sweden, called Fröken Olsson- seeing my first snow in many months, snuggled into my new warm thick needed scarf- and I decide to write.<br /><br />So this gets me thinking... and you know what it is?<br />The ocean eats my Words!<br /><br />When diving, surfing, climbing, swimming- living the life I do in Cape Town, I live in my body in my heart... a wordless state of physical being.<br />But Sweden gets me back into my head- and I write. And this is a good thing.<br />I'm here to finish my film I've been working on for four years, a very very personal non-oceanic adventure in self discovery. 'White as Blood'. A film about being white in South Africa today.<br />And yes, I had to leave Cape Town, leave the waves, the seals, animal ocean and all that is sea, to focus on this story I'm telling.<br /><br />I'm here for a month, and when done I hope to come back to CT with new words, a sense of accomplishment, no tan and a FILM, at long long last!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheL3nNBdUxKoGcV0Wiek2AKWTfQHPgiPfMrxXnDKyga0vsLECfMon_HOyzn8u98Bmhhk67h9zPw8bXsm6kCE8cCDCSu_IpWNULd1A9leAhPhMuO4DZN_REP0i7IPH6nmfwWf1IOTOckLg/s1600-h/hanli+ligger+p%C3%A5+b%C3%B6cker.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheL3nNBdUxKoGcV0Wiek2AKWTfQHPgiPfMrxXnDKyga0vsLECfMon_HOyzn8u98Bmhhk67h9zPw8bXsm6kCE8cCDCSu_IpWNULd1A9leAhPhMuO4DZN_REP0i7IPH6nmfwWf1IOTOckLg/s320/hanli+ligger+p%C3%A5+b%C3%B6cker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403579105402295186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Words words words of seperation politics... my words for now!</span></span><br /></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-49093628538902027422009-10-06T23:28:00.005+02:002009-10-06T23:40:12.810+02:00EARTHWAVE!Sunday was EARTHWAVE day! Over 400 people signed up to try break the Guinness World Record for how many surfers on one wave. The old record was somewhere just over 100, so we had our work cut out for us. First we all lined up along the beach, hundreds of people and hundreds of boards... and in we plunged. Paddling out through mercifully calm and small Muizenberg waves. What an unbelievably heartwarming experience, to be so many people focused together on one very simple goal: Standing Up.<br /><br />With a whoop and a shout we took off- and there I stood, happy and proud on my board, with over a hundred people with me. We whooped and cheered like kids as the wave carried us forward. Back out to the backline, wait for the next wave... go go GO!! PADDLE!<br />120 people on one wave!!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmx6ayRsd6RKWSWgdE0tX6Y0FGOH_LMIDtfjWAT80QPa-iH9sjQIMiMdfxvD2PzWFLSKpS-OVRMO2Lhyb8x8jwkK8e37i5Oi39tTV1fSkoqdtjr2r8LOSqaIRgk3WbvdZK2Lo5mdifzhs/s1600-h/earth_wave.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmx6ayRsd6RKWSWgdE0tX6Y0FGOH_LMIDtfjWAT80QPa-iH9sjQIMiMdfxvD2PzWFLSKpS-OVRMO2Lhyb8x8jwkK8e37i5Oi39tTV1fSkoqdtjr2r8LOSqaIRgk3WbvdZK2Lo5mdifzhs/s320/earth_wave.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389604346237841186" border="0" /></a>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-56250386571097846372009-09-14T08:16:00.003+02:002009-09-15T09:01:34.193+02:00Golfinos! Golfinos!Saturday saw a sleepy Hanli drag her weary body out of bed at 5 in the morning, still dark- cold and a little misty. Quick shower to wake up... fins, suit, weights and water. Let the adventure begin!<br /><br />Together with Danish diver friends Morten and Astrid I arrived at Steve's house, bundled into his bakkie and headed north, his big beautiful ANIMAL OCEAN boat behind us. We arrived at Yzerfontein on the West Coast just after sunrise, kitted up, launched the boat and headed into the mist.<br /><br />As we sped over the green-blue water, I remembered my first real dolphin encounter, on the Azores, the beautiful Portuguese Islands slap bang in the middle of the Atlantic on your way west. I spent a magical month there some years ago, diving with a passionate oceanman called Norberto. And every time I see a dolphin I hear Norberto's voice echoing in my head- 'Golfinos! Golfinos!' Portuguese for Dolphins. And from that first cry of GOLFINOS to today, I just love these happy, friendly, crazy, athletic, smart, lively, naughty, intuitive MAMMALS!<br /><br />So as the first cry went up- 'There they are!' I was ready! Dolphins all around us. My first experience of Dusky Dolphins, beautiful, small agile little friends coming up close, scanning me up and down, double take 'who are you, funny girl'? And so we play. Until they decide to continue their mystical mission and leave us stranded silly in the middle of the sea, still smiling sheepishly, harldy believing that yes, once again I've had the privilege of encountering some of my favourite friends!<br /><br />Video taken by Steve from <a href="http://animalocean.co.za">ANIMAL OCEAN</a>, check his site for more pics and ocean adventures!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wPBpwTlPopM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wPBpwTlPopM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />We start up again and headed further out to sea.<br />Dassen Island.<br /> A small flat island covered with seals, penguins, pelicans and other smaller birds. The water around the island teems with shark-life, fish and kelp forests. The visibility was over ten meters- glorious! Steve shot a yellowtail and a Hottie, and Danish Morten shot his very first African fish!Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-43805500310708014842009-09-09T09:08:00.010+02:002009-09-09T10:08:28.212+02:00Big Waves Big Lungs Part 2There is something about people who truly love the ocean. I'm not sure what it is, a certain whatchamacallit... depth?<br /><br />The last few weeks I've spent time with Cape Town's Big Wave Surfers (yes all those capital letters are much deserved!) and what a pleasure. Earnest, honest, vibrant ocean people who seek to better themselves, their performance and they really do love the sea!<br /><br />So this past Sunday saw me once again with a group of passionate people, giving and receiving in equal doses. Like last time, I was impressed by the mixture of physicality, mental focus and willingness to learn.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7YHdgZnMpru4K1f7rTpF_YvosmyW9yHeIfWLLYlP8-24FAXkI9NGlfQ4bsylhH_DwSYN_rYKpjoyabzq1MWzYN1NnCLjMShSlbL0m1VuMPlfzOGyMroMLBEmDXGHl8qzQZhGu_EZN-Y/s1600-h/Morning+Yoga+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7YHdgZnMpru4K1f7rTpF_YvosmyW9yHeIfWLLYlP8-24FAXkI9NGlfQ4bsylhH_DwSYN_rYKpjoyabzq1MWzYN1NnCLjMShSlbL0m1VuMPlfzOGyMroMLBEmDXGHl8qzQZhGu_EZN-Y/s320/Morning+Yoga+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379375062171216978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Breathe, breathe breeeeathe... and hold... yes, that's a contraction!!<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolj8og5GXqw2LcL6hHCxVhqyYkk2v3wsPPGQ5PU_lZPj7Si2k09r3i3L8xOrjE3zr72db3FEyYqEcEkC92LnrmazjQ6yL2q2XtNltN7lbm0CUvgT1O3T04QuYkmMmFjOqXV0X6Go5_bo/s1600-h/Freediving+lecture.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolj8og5GXqw2LcL6hHCxVhqyYkk2v3wsPPGQ5PU_lZPj7Si2k09r3i3L8xOrjE3zr72db3FEyYqEcEkC92LnrmazjQ6yL2q2XtNltN7lbm0CUvgT1O3T04QuYkmMmFjOqXV0X6Go5_bo/s320/Freediving+lecture.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379374220711899842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Telling them about the Mammalian Dive Response, man I love it!</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Chris Bertish, Cecilia Liebenberg, Jean Holmes, Sean Holmes)</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzPZA8oCzVV23iTejE0FdgYkFC7BdIgNnPzZlIgQSEe-d9hOfIR7ZIZ7eT7PvsmmJ8K7hvUzzffVHphlsD9YYQznXmlg0_HeIqMODGvTLEXBwbIvjEabfQFGPfoMftkIR2uHdNGXrC3MQ/s1600-h/Preparing+for+the+dive.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzPZA8oCzVV23iTejE0FdgYkFC7BdIgNnPzZlIgQSEe-d9hOfIR7ZIZ7eT7PvsmmJ8K7hvUzzffVHphlsD9YYQznXmlg0_HeIqMODGvTLEXBwbIvjEabfQFGPfoMftkIR2uHdNGXrC3MQ/s320/Preparing+for+the+dive.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379373230561390178" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">James Taylor, Steve Benjamin, Barry Futter, Greg and Chris Bertish getting ready to dive.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWB_bTwSFnseHZcfyh3nZXGRB6TuQfzSlngP2jT9zv0wE22LBA-lbCjAlwiAxW_hTVfoJG5PrwTrFd7-bYjSkXF_t46MuGN78n0Dxgwh4fAOAvrYNHGc_KHdRz5tSv2ISCa8Nek4WCR4/s1600-h/Hanli+-+freedive+instructor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWB_bTwSFnseHZcfyh3nZXGRB6TuQfzSlngP2jT9zv0wE22LBA-lbCjAlwiAxW_hTVfoJG5PrwTrFd7-bYjSkXF_t46MuGN78n0Dxgwh4fAOAvrYNHGc_KHdRz5tSv2ISCa8Nek4WCR4/s320/Hanli+-+freedive+instructor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379373707140006978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">C'est moi!</span></span><br /><br />Thanks to Kimi Stewart for the pics and good company, and huge thanks as always to Steve Benjamin for great boat, great skippering and the best smile in town:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBotR6ACI_rY1jrcYhbPPHhs6KJ8pGbLOuOiCNNqv-p3MLl3ueVU_lp0Fnb59oa58kMjjtYBdEciRt-49Seky3fYLjRhYfueLaO57_uvpik0VNsTlaEyYNot8trb7Qi48ND38BIsKYxU/s1600-h/Steve+-+Animal+Ocean.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBotR6ACI_rY1jrcYhbPPHhs6KJ8pGbLOuOiCNNqv-p3MLl3ueVU_lp0Fnb59oa58kMjjtYBdEciRt-49Seky3fYLjRhYfueLaO57_uvpik0VNsTlaEyYNot8trb7Qi48ND38BIsKYxU/s320/Steve+-+Animal+Ocean.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379376025964966866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-50437193803735625222009-09-02T12:02:00.003+02:002009-09-02T12:10:03.039+02:00A day in False Bay!This is False Bay... a shore entry just south of Millers Point... and there they are- Cowsharks, Puffadder Shy Sharks, and all other fish and friends.<br /><br />Images speak louder than words and all that, so herewith a little film by best skipper and ocean -friend Steve Benjamin from Animal Ocean, your non-stop shop for all and any marine adventures!!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TM_xYFqkAiU&color1=0x6699&color2=0x54abd6&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TM_xYFqkAiU&color1=0x6699&color2=0x54abd6&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Video of me and Craig McKune herding Cowsharks!Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-46963618329687516502009-08-30T11:26:00.002+02:002009-08-30T11:47:25.944+02:00Big Waves and Big LungsWinter is happening in Cape Town, and with it comes sunny days and huge huge SWELL! Breaks like Dungeons and Sunset are Big Wave breaks on Cape Town's Atlantic side. Mountains of energy come rolling through the ocean, almost invisible in the distance, then suddenly this far-traveled visitor hits the reef and raises up like a prehistoric creature, building higher and higher before pitching forward... a magnificent wall of water. First time I saw it my stomach lurched, my heart flipped and I uttered some involuntary expletives.<br /><br />Since that first day I've spent some awe-inspiring days on the water in Steve's boat (<a href="http://animalocean.co.za/">Animal Ocean</a>) getting to know the conditions, the waves... and the men who ride them!<br />Yes, this is the playground of the Riders of Giants.<br />They paddle out on long pointed boards, wait, watch, breathe... and charge! Careering down a living mountain, seconds of pure living.<br /><br />I have long believed that the training I've been doing the last ten years of my life, for fun, will be applicable to these guys- for survival. So last week I taught a bunch of these amazing surfers a course I've developed for them, Surprise Apnea. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3qcM2pO6YiH_BeixnA3c1XlqMx6UlejSfV24qv3ojFnbcm3AxLBkliGZGykfEAbFwtppc2dFVp8zyPWwqyL6N3KOCi-Dth4yfh4o4JPzXvAuUywc48kN00_DJTuwenx219ADYdvJ0MQ/s1600-h/guys.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3qcM2pO6YiH_BeixnA3c1XlqMx6UlejSfV24qv3ojFnbcm3AxLBkliGZGykfEAbFwtppc2dFVp8zyPWwqyL6N3KOCi-Dth4yfh4o4JPzXvAuUywc48kN00_DJTuwenx219ADYdvJ0MQ/s320/guys.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375690845768256114" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Andrew Marr, Simon Lowe, Reinhart Fourie, Jaques Theron and James Taylor</span> did some amazing breath-holds and beautiful dives. They seemed to really get a lot out of it, and over the next few weeks I'll be teaching the others: breathing, relaxing, mammalian dive response, what happens in your body when you're held down with NO air left in your lungs. These men inspire me with their incredible courage, joy and love of life, I feel privileged to share their journey with them.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqlwzaQ9pCkng0JLQ8XyYqLf4C6wdP5LoDXTLs8he57DSs1PK6pdmchrsMex0vW8i-YPZmRvIOHE4TaVdMTg0oDpb-7kZqtLrkQaSzvoZmZyp401iMPk2RXKOn3stNDRBFig6bGiaJGY/s1600-h/Twiggy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqlwzaQ9pCkng0JLQ8XyYqLf4C6wdP5LoDXTLs8he57DSs1PK6pdmchrsMex0vW8i-YPZmRvIOHE4TaVdMTg0oDpb-7kZqtLrkQaSzvoZmZyp401iMPk2RXKOn3stNDRBFig6bGiaJGY/s320/Twiggy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375688766304288370" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Grant "Twiggy" Baker riding Sunset.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pics: Steve Benjamin and Kimi Stewart</span><br /></div></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-65240531358678460082009-07-17T15:44:00.004+02:002009-07-17T15:56:23.472+02:00Confessions of a Commitment-phobicIf you had asked me two months ago if you could book a course with me, say- next year March,<br />you wouldn't have gotten a straight answer out of me. Because how the hell would I know where I'm gonna be next year March, right?<br />Well... ask me now, today!!<br />Go on- ask me 'Hanli, please can I do a course with you next year March'.<br />'Sure', I answer, '2nd or 3rd weekend work best for you?'<br /><br />A shift has happened.<br /><br />I am committing to my beloved Cape Town, my mountains and the two oceans that surround us. I will be here. This is where I will be.<br />I have recently moved into a new flat in Kalk Bay, (well I say new, built in the 1840's or something) and am making it home. This new base will of course be the launching pad for many a travel and great daring adventure, but I will return.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4haZjdGrH-Sqh1-Ph7_FZ82RrauvJVWpLsdDGJ_H3XJKSGrKsu6cK6EhocBnCr5JpIac16afvgB3fduOzGHmYEuP4UPghGFtscO1YTfk0ido9F9C7Tl2BE9C2N-b45TpVopQnbFCL1k/s1600-h/false_bay_dolphins.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4haZjdGrH-Sqh1-Ph7_FZ82RrauvJVWpLsdDGJ_H3XJKSGrKsu6cK6EhocBnCr5JpIac16afvgB3fduOzGHmYEuP4UPghGFtscO1YTfk0ido9F9C7Tl2BE9C2N-b45TpVopQnbFCL1k/s320/false_bay_dolphins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359427422565598130" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">'Do you, Hanli, take this bay, False Bay, to love and to treasure, to protect and support,<br />through sickness and health...?'</span></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">I DO!!</span></span><br /></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954542217075657026.post-48522702252178936622009-07-02T19:12:00.004+02:002009-07-02T19:21:09.350+02:00Blue Rock Winter SunshineA couple of pics from the course I taught this weekend in Kalk Bay and at Blue Rock Quarry.<br />The guys did amazing results, 20 and 23 meters in depth and both well over 4 min in statics! So proud of them, relative newcomers they are. Cape Town opened her skies and gave us a sunny day at the quarry, but golly it was cold and dark down there...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RBzz0WyDMKIw2pQJbjF300tuCo7UUagoNgOlnm-r8hFnRYLe423RX1ckwxois6It8FXtenx1vS4FqVjDH-BM8XWafK67cyeIXxnyQkVU55IuelkOATYtEcTcZjXyeT9DFr3xJDpIn34/s1600-h/P6288410.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RBzz0WyDMKIw2pQJbjF300tuCo7UUagoNgOlnm-r8hFnRYLe423RX1ckwxois6It8FXtenx1vS4FqVjDH-BM8XWafK67cyeIXxnyQkVU55IuelkOATYtEcTcZjXyeT9DFr3xJDpIn34/s320/P6288410.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353913112327202898" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Briefing before first session, Craig listening intently- I think?</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjit1PBvwigB28sONrwTo8__x9w_2ZPyq_Kgrc7rOBgvhu4RIeDGrRdjMyGYlB6d88SLc1X2BhgzGH4pLAkL8YOZ_rqcqTxS8sGT6rUiokkIFAq3V6S2oXvbzW7BmlRSqwXxCDxY1d_Ngc/s1600-h/P6288409.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjit1PBvwigB28sONrwTo8__x9w_2ZPyq_Kgrc7rOBgvhu4RIeDGrRdjMyGYlB6d88SLc1X2BhgzGH4pLAkL8YOZ_rqcqTxS8sGT6rUiokkIFAq3V6S2oXvbzW7BmlRSqwXxCDxY1d_Ngc/s320/P6288409.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353912908754589202" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Yoga stretch and warm up.</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Photos: Nate Maingard<br /></span></div>Hanli Prinsloohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310777844778636394noreply@blogger.com2