Monday, April 28, 2008

W to the 3rd power


Photo by: Fred Buyle

William Winram (Waterman) – remember that name.


I met William during my South Africa trip – he was part of the group that included Fred Buyle and Pierre Frolla. William and I first exchanged words in the water amongst tiger sharks - to be honest, I had no idea who he was.

Turns out William (like his business card says) is a true Waterman, and oh yeah, a world-class freediver. He is the first man to swim through The Arch, Blue Hole in Dabab, Egypt without fins. Let me put this into perspective: he swan down 60 meters (almost the length of a football field), across 30 meters, and back up 60 meters – in breast stroke. Read that sentence again!


But aside from the competition, William loves the ocean and everything that is in it – particularly sharks. In the water he is completely in his element and his passion shows. It was great fun to share his enthusiasm in the water and on land. One word to describe William: soul. Good to see that people some people do not let things get to their head. Something else about him – he is funny, can tell jokes better than anyone I have ever met.

I may see William again in the Bahamas in November as he prepares for a world record dive – he promised he would spend a few days and teach me how to improve my skills – said I should be hitting 60 meters, that would be pretty far out – or should I say…far down.

No comments: