Mermaid Kammeron
My Recommendation for Ed Papp. aka. The Mermaid Hunter
Ed, Mermaid Hunter, was an absolute pleasure to work with. He is laid back and
easy going yet very professional. The job is neither easy on the models part nor
Ed’s. It is hard work but Ed is patient as well as skilled and knowledgeable in
aiding and training models to succeed. He doesn’t just blow through training, he
takes it seriously. And considering the work he does you can understand why. And
his work is absolutely wonderful and stunning, as you can see by his portfolios,
and to get the images takes planning, creativity and drive all of which Ed has
plenty of. The Mermaid Hunter project he is creating and working on is
inspiring. So many people run with an idea but only take it half way, but not
Ed. He takes it and sails to the end, Hurricanes and all.
Being in Key West was amazing all on it’s own, Ed gave me a tour of the area so
in my free time I could explore or whatnot. And Ed’s studio reminds me of
tropical paradise. But the skills and talents I walked away with make it a “no
brainer.” It’s an absolute must do if you think you have what it takes.
And if you’re not sure you have what it takes…When I arrived in Key West I could
hold my breath for a around a minute max, had never opened my eyes in salt
water, and had never been deeper than a swimming pool, let alone scuba dive. But
after a few days of training I left Key West with the knowledge that I could
hold my breath for over four minutes, scuba dive, and free dive to 33 feet
deep…Pretty empowering stuff. I couldn’t recommend Mermaid Hunter enough.
Contact me for a reference:
theorangeelephant@hotmail.com
Journal entry # 1
Some background information on myself. First, and foremost I am an artist. If
you ask what type of artist I will only reply “all of it.” Of course I have no
degree in art, I have no degrees at all. Unless there’s a degree in living, and
if so they forgot to send it to me. Many colleges attended, many majors chosen
but none finished. My friends call me the hippie but I call myself the Jack of
all trades and of course the master of none. I enjoy moving about the country,
staying here for a few months and there for a few months. I call it bouncing but
I always bounce back to home base for that is where my stable income is.
Everyone says “it must be nice having the financial ability to do all that
‘bouncing’” and I reply with a wink “that’s what credit cards are for.” {I am in
fact quite poor, perhaps if I stopped bouncing I wouldn’t be so. But my
philosophy is you’re born, and you die, so you better make sure all that time in
between is what you want it to be.
Though I must admit if I lived near the sea all that bouncing would wither to a
dull boring. For the ocean truly is my heart.
Once upon a time a very small child feared the ocean waves and ran from them.
She tripped, falling face first into them. And instead of crying as her parents
anticipated she stood up laughing with pure joy and has been positively obsessed
with the ocean since.
Mermaids have always been in my life. My favorite summer activity as a child was
swimming in my aunts pool, where I could be a mermaid. And fashioning washcloths
into tails for all of my Barbie's and spending over eight hours a day in our
three-foot deep ‘tin can’ pool all summer long.
I fell in love with mermaids long ago. They get to live in the sea and I am
envious of that. There is nothing in the world that provokes the kind of longing
I feel when I look at the sea. It’s an indescribable feeling, it’s as if somehow
I were meant to be in it, surrounded by it always.
I do not see the ocean as much as I used to, and I do not play in its waters nor
caress the sand one one billionth as I’d like to. So just the idea of being able
to play init, swim in it, be deep inside it fills me with joy. And getting to be
a creature of the sea fills me with excitement.
Journal Entry # 2
A few days before receiving the initial email from Mermaid Hunter I had finished
a series of mermaid drawings. Perhaps Lachesis, second of the fate sisters, was
sending me a sign. If only she’d tell me what name I should chose. I have
several; these names are ones I chose long ago for different sides of myself.
The strong, invincible side; the innocent fragile side; and the numb but
breathing side. Pandora, Mairead, and Andromeda.
And as a whole I named them Trinity. But with the Matrix movies unleashed into
the world I feel that I cannot chose that name.
And for each name I chose a champion creature. A fish, a butterfly, and a bunny.
From there these creatures transformed into their own character and of course
the fish became a mermaid. So I’m leaning towards Pandora, but am not sure yet.
Journal Entry # 3
One of my favorite painters is John William Waterhouse. Who happened to paint
mermaids, and nymphs. And one of my all time favorite paintings and concepts is
titled Beloved, I can’t remember the artists name at the moment but the piece is
one of a beautiful mermaid with long red hair holding onto a handsome angel
under the water. Art has a flow to in a movement. And sea creatures have a way
all of their own about them. The way they move, float, flip a fin. It’s just
magical. Bringing me to my one main worry about becoming one of them. Buoyancy.
I am very buoyant. I could probably float for hours. With air in my lungs it is
more difficult to sink or stay down. And with empty lungs it’s difficult to go
up. And while I am sure that is quite normal for a land creature my worry is
that I won’t move good enough to be indoctrinated into the fellow sea creature
guild. I’m aware that the sea creatures don’t actually have a guild…but if they
did I would want to be in it. Or at least fit in when I swim with them
Journal entry # 5 : Friday, August 25, 2006
Today was a fantastic learning experience as well as being absolutely fun.
We started the day with an introduction to the island of Key West. And I must
admit I am already in love with it. It’s absolutely gorgeous, truly a paradise.
Next we moved onto scooter lessons. And at the start I was not only extremely
nervous but not sure I was going to be able to get the hang of it. But Mermaid
Hunter was patient with me and after a few hours and a slight sun burn later I
got it. Sort of. Can you believe I missed a spot on my back while sun
screening…oops. But I have had far worse burns before. But note to self… SLATHER
on the sunscreen!!!
Then we headed back to Mermaid Hunters fabulous home and begun the journey of
learning the skills necessary to become a mermaid and/or siren.
We began in the mermaid tank. Built by the Mermaid Hunter himself, and I am very
impressed. Most of the place is built by him. WOW!!! We began with a few basic
breath holds and some deep breathing exercises. And in the process he showed me
that I wasn’t using my lungs full capacity. I always knew I was a shallow
breather in general, but I really thought I was taking huge breaths. How I got a
full breath was quite easy, I just didn’t realize it was possible. You breath
fully in and then you almost sip in more air, in small amounts. I began at
around 30 seconds, then after more practice I was a little over a minute. Then
he taught me a hyperventilation technique. Very deep breaths in, filling the
lungs completely then pushing all the air out using the muscles of the
diaphragm. And repeating the process several times. This increased my hold time
remarkably, as well as making it feel more comfortable under the water. We then
increased the number of times and the speed of breathing until my head got
tingly and my body just began to feel jello-y. So at the start of the day I was
at around 30 seconds, by the end of the day I was at 2 minutes 25 seconds. And I
believe with more practice we can get the number even higher.
After a soak in the hot tub we headed off to visit a shipwrecked sailboat. A
remnant of a hurricane past. We donned our wet suits, flipper, and masks then
snorkeled around and did some free diving. I pulled myself down using a line
coming off the mast. Equalizing ear pressure was tricky at first, one of my ears
pops easier than the other. And that is something that I never would have
guessed.
Today was absolutely amazing and tomorrow holds more adventures.
Journal Entry # 6 : Saturday, August 26, 2006
We began our adventure today not far from the Mermaid Hunter’s lair. A sunk
ship, 12 deep in front and 32 feet deep in back. Ed dons his scuba gear and
dives to the wreck while I await on the boat. He ties a thick rope to the front
of the boat that has a big floating buoy ball attached to the end, then ties a
floating chair to the rope. Feet flippers donned, mask on I sit in my floating
chair and begin my breathing preparation and exercises then down I go, my feet
below me balancing me on the rope, one arm pulling me down and the other on my
nose popping my ears as I descend. I begin with just making it down then holding
onto the railing of the sunken boat. Midway threw the adventure I was at the
back of the boat the full 32 feet and watching little plums of silt stir as I
pulled myself along side the boat. Then around the boat again and then onto the
harder challenge, NO facemask. I have never intentionally opened my eyes in salt
water before today and I was surprised by the fact that it is not much different
than chlorine. Though visibility is not as good, or perhaps that was because I
was 32 feet deep and it’s not as bright that deep. What else surprised me was
how salt water felt to my nose. A slight burn-y sensation, not really painful
just awkward. However, I think with more attempts I will get used to it.
A few days ago I had never been beyond a 10-foot deep pool and I am exceedingly
proud of myself for it. I definitely need to work of equalizing the ears more,
but we think that I am doing very well for a first timer.
A rainstorm greeted us while at the wreck so we headed back to the Mermaid tank
and did more breath hold practice. My best time, and I am so wowed by this… 3
minutes, 9 seconds. WOW. I would love to be able to say that I thought that I
could do that, but I really wasn’t sure I could. I am amazed. This was achieved
by super hyperventilation. A series of long full in, then full out breathes then
faster and faster making sure to completely fill and empty the lungs each time.
Under water in the ocean you can hear the current, the water, the waves. But in
the tank while you can hear the water, your own heartbeat is louder. It’s really
quite calming. But I find it easier to focus on the sounds of the water with the
heart rhythm in the back on my mind. Something odd I realized today while in the
take is that while holding my breath I get this sensation in my chest and
throat, and it makes a noise as well. And in previous resurfacings after such
hyperventilation techniques I end up doing what could best be described as
belching. AND it also occurs during long holds underwater as well. Making it
difficult not to laugh.
Then while in the tank we began some basics of scuba lessons. Do’s, Don'ts, and
Never ever’s. And the golden never ever… never hold your breath while scuba diving.
It was explained to me as such. Say a bubble is a millimeter under water - as it
reaches the surface, because the pressure is less, the bubble increases or
expands. Basically I remember it as such… hold your breath and try to come up,
and you can explode your lungs…and that would be bad, very very bad.
I practiced breathing on a Scuba regulator. How to leave it behind and then use
it again while still under water. How to clear any water from it. How to remove
and then put back the diving mask while underwater. A neat trick! How come no
one ever told me that before? While underwater you place the diving mask against your face and tilt your head
slightly upward holding the top. Then, blow
air out of your nose. And voila, no more water in your eyes. Magic.
More adventures to come tomorrow. Can’t wait.
Journal Entry #7 : Sunday, August 27 and Monday, August 28, 2006
Yesterday started off badly for me. We returned to the 32-foot deep boat wreck,
and I couldn’t clear my ears past 10 feet. I tried several times but they just
wouldn’t cooperate with me. I get to about 10 feet and that was it. It wasn’t
painful unless I tried to push it. It was however painful resurfacing. I would
have rather stayed down then come up. I can’t help but wonder if this wasn’t due
to sinus issues as well as trying the deep three days in a row. Perhaps I’m a
two-day ear girl. So we had to leave the wreck and I almost felt dis-spirited. I
had been so excited about swimming threw the boat. But we moved on to a new
site. Quite spectacular. 3 feet deep for a huge distance, then a 20-foot drop.
Mermaid Hunter informed me that it was man made and that you could actually see
some of the crane teeth marks. We started by snorkeling along the edge of the
wall. Then free diving with the sponges, plants, and fish. A three or four foot
barracuda decided to stick around and see what we were up to on his reef. I even
did a two minute swim, mask free, along the edge of the wall. Very proud of
that. Under the water on the reef I really don’t think about time at all. So
when the need to resurface comes I have no idea just how long I have been under,
or how far I have swum.
Moving along the reef is fantastic. So much wonder to take in. Angelfish as big
as my open hand, barracudas. We even encountered a baby jellyfish. It was so
cute, and SO tiny. It was the size of my pinky nail. Later we showed the footage
of the barracuda to a new friend of Mermaid Hunters and he commented on the
barracuda. But I really don’t find him threatening at all. I knew not to wear
any jewelry in the ocean. A lesson my mother told me about with her own
encounter with barracuda. They way she tells it I thought they’d be mean
creatures… but they so aren’t. They just get a bum wrap.
Then I donned my own scuba gear and off we went along the reef wall. It’s
wonderful. But as I had worried before arriving in Key West, my buoyancy is an
issue. I float. And I was getting more frustrated trying to stay down than I was
enjoying the sights. But after we added much more weight to my weight belt I was
able to stay down and enjoy the sights instead of fighting to stay under the
water. So being weighted correctly is definitely a must. Unfortunately I
couldn’t see into the cave Mermaid Hunter wanted to show me because my ears
would not pop. Which was disappointing and frustrating especially since my face
was only two feet above the opening. But the barracuda returning to check us out
again made up for it.
Other than all the mermaid training and fun, we have been watching what
“Ernesto” will do. While I have always wanted to see a hurricane or a tornado
{Yes, once upon a time that was what I wanted to do with my life, chase storms
and visit volcanoes.} it’s timing is either going to ruin the water for the rest
of my stay, unsettling all the silt bringing visibility to zero. Or, and with
luck, it’ll pass by only unsettling the water for a few days. Leaving us with
more productive time before I leave in a week.
Today (Monday) was a more relaxed day. We did face, glamour shots at Chicken
bone reef. Chicken bone reef is right off Mermaid Hunter’s dock. He made it
himself and it's beautiful. But my buoyancy was still an issue. But I was a able
to pull myself along a hidden or rather camouflaged rope system along the ground
to keep myself down. It was an interesting feeling though. It’s a weird
antigravity feeling. Chicken Bone reef is only about 3 feet or so deep. And while my arms
and torso are holding onto the rope the lower part of me, legs and etc are
trying to float upward. It was definitely funny to me. Unfortunately I yet again
unwittingly touched something under the water that irritated my skin. Later,
while analyzing
the videotape we discovered that it was a small amenity. I must admit, it hurts.
Yikes does it hurt, or rather it burns. After a little while it’s just a tingly
sensation and eventually it’s fine. It’s tolerable I thought. I have severely
sensitive skin though. The previous day I had touched some other thing under the
water and my legs burned. I when I say severely sensitive, I mean it. I can’t
even use most face lotions. And I also can’t use most sun blocks. Well I can… if
I want to get splotchy and itch like crazy for a few hours.
Mermaid Hunters new friend Alex filmed Mermaid Hunter filming me. A behind-the-scenes set up. Very interesting and fascinating to watch. We’ll see what
tomorrow brings, a storm or a bad storm.
Journal Entry # 8 : Friday, September 1, 2006
Well, Ernesto didn’t become a hurricane. After hitting the landmass on Cuba, it
became a Tropical storm. And over all it wasn’t that bad. But I’m holding onto
the technicality that it was a tropical storm. Why? Well simply because the
difference between a tropical storm (70 mph winds) and a hurricane (75 mph
winds) isn’t that much difference. And I have always wanted to see, or be in, or
near a hurricane… and it’s close enough for me. Yes, I’m weird, but I did at one
point want to be a storm chaser. But as I mentioned it really wasn’t much, at
least not here in Key West. However, it did muck up the water for two days. So
Mermaid Hunter and I just chilled out. We rented some movies, and I read
magazines. Mermaid Hunter has a huge collection of magazines. He informed me
that before one of the bad hurricanes last year he had ten times more. WOW,
that’s a lot of magazines.
Then Thursday the water still wasn’t quite clear enough, so we did a fashion
shoot for me and my portfolio. And I must say I LOVE them. I had selected
several island outfits from the Mermaid Hunters’ collection and we did some
eye-catching stuff. One of my favorites is one of me looking at a starfish that
he just reached down a plucked out of the water then placed in my hand. And it
felt so weird in my hand. A good weird. Then when I put it back in the water it
immediately stiffened in my hand. Very cool. Another favorite was of me opening
my eyes in the waterfall above the hot tub. It was difficult to get it right,
but we got it.
Then we did some experimental work in the mermaid tank. Working on being just
below the surface and playing with the reflection there. It was surreal. And
harder that I would have thought.
Today (Friday) we headed out in the boat to dive the sailboat. It really is
quite a spectacular sight. And easy to miss and crash into. One mast sticks out
of the water at around a 60-degree angle, but once upon a time there were two
masts. I was told one night someone smashed right into it. And apparently people
steal the buoys that the coast guard puts around it. My idea…paint a reflective
stripe down the mast, or something along those lines.
The sun was shining when we left the dock and within the 10 or so minutes ride
to the site, the sky had darkened. And in the distance was the beginning of a
funnel cloud. And again that excited me. I have lived in tornado alley for
almost all my life and never even seen the beginnings of a funnel cloud. Well
today I finally got to see one. Wahoo!!! But it soon dissipated.
The ocean was choppy at the sailboat and by the first dive the waves and the
rain were too much. Not to mention the lightning. Especially since the mast of
the sailboat is huge, and aluminum. And not two minutes after we returned to our
own boat to wait out the storm, a sailboat not far from us got struck. Around 15
minutes later the storm had passed us and we hopped back in and were diving
again. And I of course rubbed against something that my skin disagrees with. Not
an amenity but some sea plant, sensitive skin can be a pain in the butt. After a
few minutes the burning subsided, but of course the splotches remained for a few
hours. On the sail boat I stood when the steering wheel once was, now long lost
in the sea somewhere. I looked in the hull, and crawled in it too. Then back to
the surface to breathe. 25 deep breaths in the chilly sunless air and then back
under the water I go. Up and around the mast of the ship. I would have loved to
stay down longer and explored more but by then I was getting too cold. With the
tropical storm and several days of rain, the ocean had no sun to keep the water yummy
warm. And 85 degrees can start to feel down right cold when in it for a
while.
And as we head back to home base the clouds moved and the sun came out. So I
decided to lay in the warm sun to warm myself. It felt so great. I looked over
the edge of the dock and watched the fish, and sea life of chicken bone reef. I
noticed something on the sea floor that looked like a flower but had little feet
like things underneath it. Later I was told that those were actually jellyfish.
Sooo cool. After a few hours of down time I jumped in the mermaid tank for
portraits. Playing with my hair underwater was very fun. Plus I got to don
waterproof makeup. And I do so love to play with eye makeup. And the pictures
are absolutely beautiful. I LOVE them.
After showering off the chlorine and kicking back on the deck we watch another
thunderstorm roll in, but when the rain hit we headed inside for dinner.
Journal Entry # 9 : Sunday, September 3, 2006
Saturday, we decided to take some vacation pictures in down town Key West and
around the island. Those touristy kinds, with mile marker 0, and the Hemingway
house. So we rode our scooters into town and drove around. Of course since I
hadn’t used my scooter in a week I had to do some practice before we hit the
main roads, it came back relatively fast. While I’m not an expert on the thing,
far from it, it is quite fun. The feel of the wind on your face… it’s quite
freeing. Why didn’t I use it during my stay, well besides my not wanting to use
it at night, I also didn’t want to use it in a rainstorm. I’m daring but not
that daring. And it certainly rained a lot, but it is hurricane season. And plus
I am over all not that into doing touristy things ALL the time. A day or two of
playing tourist is enough. I’m in Key West!!! I just want to chill, kick back
and take it easy. And I love reading at Mermaid Hunters place. It’s very
peaceful. Though if I bring one of my friends down with me next time I’m sure
we’ll hit the clubs a lot.
After scooting around town and not hitting any chickens… did I forget to mention
that there are wild chicken and rooster just roaming around all over the place?
It’s actually pretty neat…we returned my scooter and headed back to have dinner.
We were expecting guests for dinner but unfortunately they couldn’t attend, but
I didn’t mind much, we had a fabulous dinner. I am a vegetarian, and Mermaid
Hunter was very great about that the whole week. And I am now hooked on a new
soup, French onion…YUM!
Today we did some more experimental stuff in the mermaid tank, because the ocean
was too cold. And it was fun. I got to act under water. Act like I was drowning,
trapped, captured. It was cool. Then at the end we decided to see if I could
beat my old time of 3 minutes 9 seconds. And so I super hyperventilated and it
was actually pretty easy. Every now and then the “belching” sensation would come
and I would knock on my chest and then it would release and it was like I didn’t
even need air. And when Mermaid Hunter said to me through the tank glass “you’re
almost at 4 minutes” I was wowed and shocked. Initially he had called out my
time for me. But this time he didn’t and I must say that it definitely works
better for me to not know how long I’m down. Just as it’s better to know focus
on how far I’m swimming. I’m just focusing on being under the water. This hold
was actually really relaxing. I really felt like I didn’t need air at all. Then
a bit after he said 4 minutes I needed air. But I fought it off, determined to
hold out as long as possible. I was waiting for it to hurt, but it never did.
Not even when my diaphragm began involuntary spasms where it would be impossible
for me to not hold my nose closed because the spasms physically try to suck in
air… being underwater would suck in the water… so holding my nose, I pushed on.
My time? 4 minutes 30 seconds. A new record for Mermaid Hunter’s mermaids. Very
exciting. I never, EVER thought I would be able to beat the previous record of
4:09. But I did. SOOO awesome. I can’t accurately express how cool that is. Now
if we can just get my ears to pop better. Mermaid Hunter tells me that I could
definitely win some bar bets…but how would I go about proving I can do that
without having a place to be underwater? Ideas anyone?
I am currently sitting in the Miami airport. The bus ride was great. The ride
down I was unable to see the sights because it was already dark when I reached
the keys, but this time I could see the keys out the greyhound window.
Fantastic. I can’t wait to come again. And as I sit here nearing the end of my
Mermaid Journal entries for now, I’m almost sad having to leave the sand, ocean,
and palm trees. BUT I’m not sad. Because I will get to return to this wonderful
place and I’m just too filled with wow and amazement at all the adventures I got
to have and all the things I got to do, and accomplish. So for now I say adieu,
and blow kisses to all my new sea friends out there, and extra ones to the baby
jelly fish, and the barracuda that I got to swim with.
And just for laughs it’s 1 am and I still have 7 hours to wait here before my
flight leaves. I think it’s funny. But the great thing is, I had originally hand
written all these entries in a notebook. But the Mermaid Hunter gave me his old
(old IBM ThinkPad) laptop and in the past two hours I have typed up all the
entries. Good use of time huh? Thank you Mermaid Hunter. Big Hugs to ya. BIG!!!
I’m on my way to being Internet accessible. Groovy. I won’t have to walk a mile
(one way) to use the public libraries anymore. So groovy.
--Later—
the new mermaid Kammeron.
Kammeron's Second Key West Visit
January 22, 2007,
Mermaid Journal.
I am again sitting in the airport, looking back at the past two weeks.
Fantastic! The first week was like a vacation, very laid back. A few trips into
the city, not many though, I wanted to kick back and relax. Eating breakfast on
the dock, watching the fish and sea life right off the dock. The first day or
two were chilly. But coming from cold northern winter, if felt like early spring
to me. Then it turned nice enough that I decided I was going to hop right off
the boat into the ocean. And even though I wouldn’t say the water was warm it
was definitely tolerable, I swam back and forth and practiced some mermaid
movements, swimming with both legs together.
After so many days of rest and relaxation it was time for work. And it was work.
We spent about five days of doing some different and weird stuff. But I like
weird. Underwater acting, being flipped upside down, practicing drowning scenes
for the Mermaid Hunter soap opera; complete with ropes and all kinds of things.
I was averaging about two minutes underwater, and that was without
hyperventilating first. Go me! The only unpleasant thing to happen to me this
trip was double vision. For three days in a row, all after getting out of the
chlorine- hmmm? I'm guessing too many days in a row of open eyes in chlorine.
Although I read on the internet that putting a drop of milk in the eyes after
helps sooth them, but I didn’t find that information until after I was done, so
I haven’t experimented with it yet. When I do I’ll let you know. Or better yet,
if you experiment with it let me know if it works or not.
My second to last day I got lost in Key West, intentionally. I hopped on the
scooter, which I now absolutely adore, and drove around the city, the beaches,
and the main street in town Duval. I was trying to find the one perfect
souvenir. I'm not one who needs a bunch of little trinkets. And I found the
perfect one. A henna tattoo (a temporary tattoo, lasting two to three weeks).
The perfect souvenir. It can’t get lost, stolen, or broken, and I don’t have to
pack it. Sure in a few weeks it’ll vanish, but don’t the thrill of most
souvenirs fade by then anyway.
Then I headed back to Ed’s but had to make a stop at the beach again. And it was
too tempting so I had to jump in. Well, wade in clothing and all. Sweet sand
between my toes, wonderful!
Then after a rest and some down time we set up and got in the mermaid tank for
some serious breath holding. Ed got in the tank with me. After hyperventilating
and altering my blood chemistry I went under and I beat my previous attempt last
trip by 17 seconds.
I stayed underwater for four minutes and forty-seven seconds (4:47), it was
awesome! And, as great as that time is, I wanted to get to five minutes so we
planned to try again the next day.
On that attempt I made it to four minutes and fifty-four (4:54) seconds -
beating my breath hold from the previous day by seven seconds. And my first
thought when he told me the time was it may not be five minutes but it’s good
enough for me. I am very, very, very proud of this accomplishment. VERY.
And wow, let me tell you. There was no pain at all, no pain, no burning, just
this desperate, all consuming need for oxygen. But at the very end of the breath
hold I was gone, asleep, unconscious - however you want to word it I was totally
gone when Ed pulled me up.
I super hyperventilated myself, which is actually the only part of the whole
ordeal that I do not enjoy, not at all. Strapped a weight belt on me to keep my
buoyant self down. Struggling to stay under the surface wastes precious energy
and oxygen that you really really need later on. Ed was in the tank with me, and
so I got in the mindset that I’m safe and if I get into any trouble Ed is right
here.
The previous day’s hold was odd because the last thing I remembered was being
underwater fighting to stay down longer, then having ED in my ear telling me to
breathe. No recollection of surfacing. At the very end it’s like going into a
dream-like state, but not a dream. During the last breath hold I remember seeing
stuff a split second before I regained consciousness. I’m fairly positive I was
dreaming, and oddly the last thing I saw in this dream state was something
resembling a dive flag. It was like I was in a dream, then being ripped from
deep deep deep sleep, by someone telling you to breathe. It was freaky too.
Especially watching the footage of it. My lips were even blue, but my EYES were
what was freakish, I mean my eyes were wide open and blank.
I enjoyed doing it though. I hate, and I mean HATE doing the hyperventilation
beforehand. Hate it. But the underwater part is mostly just relaxing. Then after
the spasms start there is a brief moment where the mind wants to panic, and you
yell “no, not yet.” Then nothing, I’m at the surface and voila, still alive. I
enjoy it a lot. Ed informed me that all the other girls hate the ‘try at long as
you can’ breath holds but not me. I loved it.
I’m of the opinion that if I were to do it alone, no one in the tank with me, my
time would be around four minutes forty seconds. Alone and able to surface on my
own that is. Ed’s going to send the footage to the place in Colorado Springs
that trains the “pros.” There’s a USA Team who does this sort of stuff for a
living! Awesome!! I don’t know that I could make the team but it’s a worth shot,
and honestly just getting to try out would be super cool.
There is talk of me returning to Mermaid Hunter and staying for a longer time,
meaning trying to get me be a "local", aka living in Key West. Well who wouldn’t
want to live in Key West? Let’s all keep the fingers crossed that it’ll all fall
into place.
Today we did some high-res still pictures. I put on one of Ed’s belly dancing
outfits. LOVE IT. I can belly dance too, so I shook my booty and waist. I can’t
do all those fantastic belly rolls as good as the pros, but I think I’m close
enough.
And now I’m in the airport, awaiting my flight in ten hours. I really need to
plan better between the flights and the bus huh. But it gives me more time to
write, and read.
Until next time
Kammeron's Third Visit to Key West
My third visit. May/June 2007,
I have been in Key West for over a month now, and the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. Which is great for lounging around and hanging out in town, but not so great when you’re anxious to get in the ocean and get diving. The ocean is still below normal temperature and the winds and breezes are keeping it that way. But I have occupied my time well with doing other things in and around town. Including a ten day in and around Key West shoot with a fine art photographer I’ve been working with for years. That’s right, I was nude all over Key West even some of those bars and restaurants, with permission of course. Even Mallory Square at dawn. But I’m not the biggest dawn fan, too early for these lazy bones.
I’ve have gone out to several of the other keys with my mermaid friend Penelope. Her roommate who has a great Austrian (German) accent has a boat, and I got to see "the" reef for the first time, and it was crystal clear. It was so beautiful, but of course I got stung by a jelly. Those sea critters just love me. It didn’t hurt too much, but I know I didn’t get stung too bad either. But I was more worried about leaving a mark than anything else. But it was worth it, because when we were leaving I saw flying fish and a dolphin in the distance. And that rocked. And earlier that day I was walking along the sand of Boca Grand and saw a fairly large manta ray swim off. It was amazing.
Ed and I have worked in the tank four times and he is learning his new High Definition camera. And wow!!! The clarity is amazing, I can understand why he says that you just can’t go back to the old way. The water is just simply amazing in High Def. Beautiful. We did a night shoot in high def and it was absolutely stunning. The movement of hair strands and the bubbles are perfect.
My boyfriend came down for a week and it was fantastic, we hung around town and of course a mermaid at work got her prey in the water. I even got him in the mermaid tank with me. I think he needs to practice breath holding though, but not too bad for a first timer.
We even went out with mermaid Penelope on the boat and had a picnic in the Marquises. A beautiful spot, absolutely amazing.
I am anxious to get to work on Ed’s project for the summer and am keeping my fingers crossed that the hot miserable weather rolls on in.
It’s about two weeks later and the weather is just not cooperating. However, I enjoy watching all the little creatures who appear off Ed’s dock. Sea slugs, weird birds, and the other day an iguana. And a few small rays.
Well, the sky finally opened and the sun came out and warmed up the ocean for us. And some not perfect but pretty nice clear visibility days according to ED. Sunday Ed and I took the boat out to a brand new sailboat wreck. Brand new as in just sunk the evening before. It was pretty neat. The water was around 10 feet deep or so, but I discovered that using the feet flippers like a mermaid helps me swim straight down pretty fast. I really like the fins now. We just explored the boat and played, and avoided the ropes and lines still attached to everything.
Monday Ed put me to the test to be sure I could make the 32 foot dive again, without much ear trouble. My first visit I did the dive fine one day and had trouble the next day. But woohoo, I can do it. I practiced going up and down the rope to the boat below. My sinuses have been blocked up for a while now and my ears were giving me a little bit of hesitation while diving, but I felt the pressure in my sinus cavity above my left eye more. But man was that water down there cold. But I made it to the back of the boat in the deep end and my ears cooperated very nicely. I just have to take my time and not rush things. And even though the water down there was cold, I find it fascinating that the ocean does that kind of stuff. Warm at the top, and a few feet down it’s suddenly much cooler, and then finally it’s just cold. Like a line drawn through the water. It’s awesome.
Tuesday Ed took me to a new dive sight that he had found this winter. A boat wreck that is swimming distance right off the shore. 8 or 9 feet deep. In the middle of the boat is an engine and lots of fish hang out there. Angels and other cute fishes. Unfortunately I had the beginnings of a migraine earlier that day, and being out in the sun felt like being kicked in-between the eyes. I was determined to finish but in the end it was better to finish another day. Which we did today, and wow what a different feeling good makes. Yesterday was work, but today was fun. I really like the boat. It sits along side a small ledge and it’s really pretty. Plus I don’t have to worry about sea plants irritating my skin as I pull myself along side the boat.
Then we headed off to a small beach to finish filming for a small scenario Mermaid Hunter’s working on to hone his editing skills, and try out his new software. After that we headed to water around three or so feet deep and did some poses with sponges. I like how the sponges feel when you accidentally step on them (oops, I try not to disturb the sea life but every now and then you miss, but gee they feel squishy).
Today is my last day here. It’s sad to leave especially since we didn’t get too many good weather for diving days but at least we had four good days of diving in before I had to head back to the dry states, aka the Midwest. Got to get back to the dry work. But we’ve already discussed my returning later in the summer to finish up projects and woohoo, that makes me smile. It also makes the fact that I have to leave paradise a little easier because I’ll be back this summer. My friends and family are excited about my leaving, but only because they haven’t seen me in two months. But guys… it’s key west!!! Next time you’ll just have to visit me!!
Until the next time – later-