The Vancouver Apneist freediving club held its very first underwater Christmas tree decorating event December 15, 2007. It was a very rainy and windy day but despite that, we had four divers in the water. Nikkey and Patti provided moral and logistical support on shore. Greg was the chief enthusiast, bringing a small fake tree, numerous decorations, a stuffed Santa and a battery powered fish.
The sea was about as rough as we had ever seen at Ansell Point so we left the more delicate decorations on shore. Decorations were sparse but tasteful, with apples supplied by Sean and a star on top that was a live sunflower star. The star quickly folded itself around the top of the tree, as if to devour it. A bit scary for a Christmas event.
I spent much of my time trying to get that perfect underwater Santa shot. Unfortunately it was pretty buoyant and had a tendency to float backside first unless wedged between two rocks or held under by another (equally buoyant) diver. Manfred performed artificial respiration on the Santa after bringing him back to shore.
It was a fine start to what will probably be a long standing Vancouver Apneist tradition. Hopefully the weather will be better next year.
Photos
Manfred ready to go with his Santa hat |
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Santa underwater with the Christmas tree |
A sunflower star looks menacing atop the tree |
Santa and his freediving elves |
