Author: rokur

Jacques Cousteau practically invented scuba diving when he developed the regulator valve that made possible breathing air from tanks underwater. “I remember most that he was enchanted with ideas … He was almost like a little child, but he was the most creative and imaginative person I’ve ever met,” says Susan Schiefelbein, a close collaborator with Cousteau for more than two decades who also helped him write his autobiography. Read more here on CNN

Yup, 28 years straight, I guess, about 300 divers and snorkelers listened to music beneath the sea Saturday in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, while exploring a portion of continental United States’ only living contiguous coral barrier reef. See Lower Keys Chamber and (with really nice pictures) theVsky, via Today’s THV.

I think they are Óli Mortensen (Havnar Svimjifelag) on lane 3, Eyðbjørn Joensen (Suðuroyar Svimjifelag) on lane 4 and then Alvi Hjelm (Ægir) on lane 5. All born in 1994, here at a meet in Klaksvík in February 2012, where Óli Mortensen in this race won himself the Faroese Swimming Association ‘gold pin’ for swimming 1500 freestyle in 15:53.39 (short course).

Read Nothing To Do With Arbroath An Anoka woman faced a bizarre situation when she went swimming in a Duluth lake this week and an otter attacked. Fangs pierced Leah Prudhomme’s legs as she swam across the deep, dark rum-coloured Island Lake in Minnesota. It could be anything, she thought – muskrats, beavers, maybe a muskie. But it didn’t let up.

He he, an environmental group has filmed remarkable footage of a whale shark sucking fish from a hole in a fishing net. Read 9News

A really nice article here on the The New York Times, via SCAQ Blog: Rome Neal walked up to the microphone last week at the Paris Blues in Harlem and was just about to sing “I Worry About You” when he decided to share some great news with his audience. In his 12 years of performing a one-man show about Thelonious Monk, Neal had come to appreciate the importance of exquisite timing. “My daughter’s name is Lia Neal and she just made it to become an Olympic swimmer, and she’ll be swimming in the Olympics in 2012 in London, England,…

The Royal Navy’s largest warship, the carrier and assault ship HMS Ocean, has returned to London to provide helicopter support and sniper teams for the duration of the Olympics. RAF Typhoon fast jets and RAF Puma helicopters with snipers armed with hi-tech rifles will be among the military aircraft patrolling the restricted zone, air security pain including: RAF Typhoon fast jets based at Northolt RAF Puma helicopters with sniper teams, based at Ilford in east London Army Rapier and Starstreak ground-based air defence systems at six London sites Royal Navy Sea King helicopters based at Northolt Helicopter carrier HMS Ocean…

Swimming, can turn from a safe activity to a life threatening situation in a matter of seconds. Often it’s because of something we are doing wrong in the water. 13 On Your Side took a look at the top mistakes swimmers make and how to avoid them. Read wzzm13.com.

46-year-old Irish endurance swimmer Steve Redmond has become the first person ever to complete the Ocean 7 Challenge, when he late yesterday evening crossed the Tsugaru Strait in Japan in 14 hours and 24 minutes. Read for instance Irish Times and West Cork Times.

The Aviationist reports that as of this weekend, the usual civilian control of London’s skies is (temporarily) over, and the Royal Air Force is in charge. A new task force called “Atlas Control” will monitor London’s airspace in the weeks leading up to and during the Olympics, with most traffic over the city banned or tightly regulated. “Not since the Second World War have our skies been so closely guarded.” Wow, read Gizmodo. The Aviationist says flying near London should be pretty tense: All pilots have to be in constant communication with “Atlas Control”. Even those that are within 10…