Back!

image: Daan Verhoeven

One might say that blogging has been far from my mind over the last year. This is largely a good thing, meaning I have been immersed in projects and adventures and generally making a beautiful mess of my life, in the best possible way.

Challenging was my competition season, which started well enough with my 33d German national record - a dive to 55m without fins at the event Vertical Blue. I thought I had it all figured out since I had given myself a longer freediving period to look forward to for the first time since 2013. A great plan, that was kicking off with world championships in Roatan and supposed to get me to a peak a month later at a small competition in Domincia. Planning, however, is only half the project. A truly evil stomach bug kinda messed up the world championship performances (still a 6th and 7th place, not that bad all things considered) and instead of enjoying the beautiful nature of Dominica I experienced nature at its wildest: I was caught - and trapped - in hurricane Maria, one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded. It destroyed 95% of the island. A challenging experience of an  entirely different kind and not one I, or the people of Dominica, need to repeat anytime soon.

This year is shaping up to be even worse than the last on the freediving front: it looks like I will not get to see the water until the end of June, which might just be the longest break I have ever had, a painful thought for my blue water heart. Truth is, I am faced with brilliant, challenging opportunities that are pushing me right outside of my comfort zone and I wouldn't miss any of them for the world - I love getting scared like that!

So here my is the blind panic, total "oh shit" challenge of 2018: I have signed a book deal. Which was always coming up eventually but the reality of it is terrifying. Added reason for panic is the deadline: 1 October 2018.

Oh no! What have I done? Coffee! Coffee!