Bahamian Spearo Boys Take the World Stage.......... Island Style!

I Introduce to you, the FIRST ever BAHAMIAN National Spearfishing Team!

This year, with 50 years of spearfishing and freediving experience between them, these four young Bahamian Spearo's  have decided to take their acquired skill to the next level. They have entered to compete in the 2017 World Freshwater Spearfishing Championship (WFSC), scheduled to start tomorrow, located in Lake mead near las Vegas Nevada.  #bupbup #242totheworld! 

Lake Mead, Colorado River, near Las Vegas

Now before I continue, I know what some of you guys may be thinking... 'wait....huh? where??? Lake who? Fresh what?!?' all things that certainly contrast our crystal clear, marine-life filled oceans of The Bahamas. All things foreign to us 'Salt Life' proclaimed islanders.

Team Captain Luke Maillis, who currently holds the National freedive record and a very impressive spearo resumé, was committed to forming a National team to compete in this year's (WFSC).  So he recruited  3 other familiar bahamian spearos who  have the acquired skill and were also keen to participate.  

 Regardless of the unknown challenges they may face by diving head first (literally lol) into a different world of spearfishing, these men were still dedicated and excited to finally be able to represent the Bahamas on an international level.

Ontop of this first time international representation for the Bahamas, there's a small yet significant catch. Knowing how us Bahamians is go, we aren't going to pull up anywhere new without bringing a bit of home with us. 

Most of you familiar with the laws and regulations here in the Bahamas regarding spearfishing, would know that we are not allowed to use any hunting device that has a trigger. i.e. a spear gun. That of which competitors of the WFSC are allowed to use and have used since the competition's inception. 

Athletes Luke Maillis, Adrian Phillips, Gregory Maillis & Alexandro Mullings proudly holding up their pole spears and Bahamian flag. 

But not Team Bahamas! Yup, you guessed it! They're going in Island style! 

These men are showing the world how it's really done in The Caribbean by using our traditional pole spear & Hawaiian sling as the 'weapon of choice' for the competition.


Most will say that the team may have put themselves at a disadvantage from the rest of the competitors, but for them it's not just about winning, it's more importantly about staying true to one's self.

I can tell you first hand that not only do these 'primitive tools' create a bigger challenge = more skill needed to use,  but they also require a different level of patience, awareness and understanding of their environment than when compared to using a gun. BUT my personal opinion is that, these young men who over the course of many years have been able to train in world class diving conditions here in our home waters of the Bahamas, have pretty much perfected the use of their slings and poles and have a very high chance at performing well. 

Team Bahamas has chosen to go above and beyond the norm.

I remember Team athlete Gregory Maillis telling me from day one that he was determined that if he was going to compete at an international level that he would not use a gun for the competition. That he would stand with his spearfishing traditions that he and his family have used for generations.

And thats exactly what Team Bahamas is doing! 

Athlete Gregory posing with his 'island style' catches  after some scouting before the competition. 

Athlete Adrian Phillips with the first Bass!

....Things are looking promising for Team Bahamas! 

I wish my friends/athletes Gregory, Alexandro, Adrian & Luke the best of luck tomorrow on day ONE of the competition!! Stay safe, stay smart & stay productive! 

TeamBahamas is dedicated to making a statement all whilst competing on the world stage against the world's best.. "Spearfishing isn't a game for us, it's a way of life bey!" #islandlife #bahamianlife

Very proud of you these guys, look forward to joining the team at the next WFSC! Team BAHAMAS ALL THE WAY!

 
Thanks all for reading, stay tuned for more posts/info on  Team Bahamas' progress within the competition!

much love,

Soph x

Spearo Girls of the Caribbean

Meet

Dyaria Ariell Knowles

Nassau, Bahamas

Dyaria, a twenty-four yr old, proud, self proclaimed Island Gal, spends the majority of her free time emerging herself in the magical moments the Bahamian outdoors has to offer.

She likes to grasp these priceless moments through amazing photographs she captures and frequently shares on her instagram page

@Dyarr

When asking Dyaria some questions about who or what influenced her to explore a life above & below the ocean, I was intrigued to find out that she and I shared having influences from our fathers. 

“I've always loved the ocean, my middle name is Ariell 😜 .
 I started diving/ spear fishing/ fishing at a very young age probably 7. I grew up around boats as my father had several fishing boats. I learnt how to make crawfish pots, how to tie hooks and ropes at that age. My brother also is a fishermen and taught me how to spearfish, we would go out miles and miles from the beach, some days not catching anything.” said Dyaria

One thing I absolutely love about meeting and talking to fellow Spearo’s and fishermen is that no matter what, I know that we ALL have at least one crazy story or a memorable experience… you know that one moment that literally blew your mind or took your breath away! 

& the adventurous Dyaria shared one of her moments with me;

“My most memorable spearfish experience was when I actually speared my first crawfish. It was the biggest crawfish I laid my eyes on that day! It was very thrilling knowing to hunt in a place that I don't belong, however, respecting the ocean entirely.”

My goal with this #BREAKTHESTEREOTYPE movement is to motivate & encourage other Caribbean females to explore and indulge in what is literally sitting in their backyards. 

Living in a Caribbean country such as the Bahamas, most Bahamians are quite aware that we are surrounded by phenomenal clear waters filled with endless marine life. That of which Spearo’s around the world dream about encountering and very often not only travel thousands of miles, but also pay thousands of dollars to experience.  

So why do most of our own not see the attraction foreigners praise and empty out their savings for?? 

With the common knowledge that “It’s better in the Bahamas” why do the majority of us not take advantage of this?

Here is where one begins to question the reasonings behind the small number of bahamians, particularly female, who like Dyaria can actually claim they “are about that Salt life”. 

She shared with me her inspiring  views on this matter; 

"It would be awesome and pretty kick ass for more Caribbean girls to explore the ocean, there is so much to discover and a completely different world down there. It helps me clear my mind and allows me to find gratitude. “ 

"I think a lot of females don't have a interest in diving and spearing because most  are worried about their 'hair', the stereotype of 'only guys do that', the fear of the unknown, or being in a place you feel you don't belong. Also a great part of our population can't swim which is sad to say because we live on a island.” 

"I get a lot of people messaging me, asking me if they can come with me on my next exploration. One of my friends in particular, couldn't swim but was determined to dive and snorkel and to see the beauty the ocean has to hold. It was incredible to inspire someone to do that."

" I think girls who've experienced this amazing world down under should, inspire other girls like you are doing. Show them with our amazing photos. Educate them. Let them experience the awesomeness of the ocean.."
- Dyaria

Be sure to follow my new Instagram account @spearogirl242 for more awesome posts! 

#BREAKINGTHESTEREOTYPE

Breaking the Stereotype to Inspire Others

#BREAKTHESPEAROTYPE

For those of you who are wondering what this hashtag means and stands for -  

A few days ago I created a new Instagram account that will be, along with this blog, dedicated to breaking the stereotypes set on freedivers, fisherman & more specifically Spearos.

As mentioned in a previous blog post, my biggest influence in my love for the ocean/fishing has come from my father who's knowledge and passion was passed down from his father, so on and so on. & I guess with me the chain was bound to be broken as tis way of life has practically been engraved into my genes. 😂 

I remember being excluded from fishing trips because I was a girl, and though I was passionate about fishing and marine life, because I was a female I was never really taken seriously by the boys. Therefore I was excluded most of the times. 😭😭 

& I mean, I can't really blame them.. what girl actually wants to wet their hair over & over, break their nails while jumping into the boat/while trying to grasp a fish, get countless of cuts/scrapes from coral reef, fish, hooks & knives, spend hours on a rocky boat to then have to jump into a dark obyss and then hold your breath to dive up and down countless of times into 20-60ft of water to hunt in sometimes freezing ocean, to later return to land exhausted, to then have to clean the fish that have very smelly fish guts and get covered in guck all whilst getting bitten alive by sand flies/mosquitoes...

             

        *takes breath* 

LOL... I DID & DO!! & That's just the thing. Despite the not so fabulous moments, I love every single second of it. And I KNOW there has to be girls out there who would be down for the cause as well, because there are so much more magical moments involved that makes it all worth it. 

Many of you may ask why I am trying to 'break the stereotype' within these salt life communities. 

But before I touch on that subject I just want to make a few things clear:

Without a doubt, Spearfishing is a very dangerous sport that requires a lot of strength, endurance, knowledge and skill. Tough qualities that are usually bestowed upon men. 

I'm not going to sit here and say that this world is easy, even after a few years of spearing I am still considered a newbie/apprentice, and have tuns & tuns of things to improve and learn in the grand scheme of things.  lol 

I am also not trying to say that there is something wrong with males dominating an activity, but more so that the world deserves to see and acknowledge that there are females out there who can and do partake in these 'manly' sports. 

That there is no stigma or anything wrong behind pursuing such an activity as a way of life, sport or career. 

Now back to the question. 

As a female of Afro Caribbean descent I certainly do not fall into the Stereotyped category within the general 'saltlife world'. lol 

& it's as simple as this-  when you think of someone who fishes, who do you usually picture in your head? 

A male correct? :D

ok, now let's talk more specifically about Spearos. 

The Spearfishing/freediving sport for decades has been dominated and perfected by Europeans & Americans.

When focusing more so on the Caribbean, Spearfishing within our communities has mostly been used as a technique of fishing in order to sustain a source of food and income. 

Though I spear for the same reasons, I and many others also pursue this activity as a sport.  

Within this 'Sport' category there are only a handful of people from the Caribbean, that pursue spearfishing under such a category.

Focusing here in the Bahamas in the handful of people, from what i've seen, I can only estimate that about 40% of people within this group are of afro Caribbean descent, and to my knowledge about 5% of those are females  (I've only met two others) lol

So I can only speculate that I am beyond the 'norm' and might as well be categorized as an outcast/outlier.

This is why i've taken it upon myself to lead this journey to find others who are like me or aspire to be like me. By using these social media platforms to also prove to, inspire and encourage others that regardless of our Nationality, backgrounds, & gender we can still be Spearo Queens & Kings! 

Join me in the #BREAKTHESPEAROTYPE Movement. 

Every week I will be featuring a Caribbean female who considers or aspires to be a Spearo Girl! Email me at sophiemelissatay@gmail.com or DM my Instagram Page @spearogirl242 if you would like to or know someone who wants to be featured!

Much love,

Stay tuned for this weeks featured Spearo Girl!

Catching Up with the Spearo Girl

Guess who's back?? 

ME!  

GAHH it's 2017 already!

Firstly, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!
I know... I know, IT'S BEEN WAY TOO LONGG SINCE I'VE LAST POSTED.

It's incredible how fast time flies by when you have so many crazy things going on. But I promise I will be more frequent this year!

BTW I have a lot of catching up to do with you guys ... especially since  i've recently started a new project. So just giving you guys  a warning in advance  that I will be releasing about three blog posts today 🙈🙌 

hmmm, ok. So where does one even start?

Shortly after my "deadly" encounter with the Barracuda, I decided it was best to take some time off of the ocean to really focus on my diving skills and techniques.I began to train for what was meant to be my EPIC spearfishing filled summer.
My goal ultimate goal was to get some World Records in. 

Womp Womp!😰

But instead, I was met with an embarrassing incident that left me with a torn ligament in my ankle that had it swollen like a tennis ball and in a boot for weeks (lol I walked into a pothole) and to top it off I was later met with more knee complications.

Yup, so typical of clumsy, accident prone Sophie. 😓😭😜

But anyways, after some physiotherapy, and strength training i've managed to somewhat recover. I am still not back to 100% but with the encouragement of my dive buddies & family i've been able to head out on some Spearo missions these last couple months..

& let me tell ya, ITS BEEN AMAZING. 

Here are some some of my late 2016 spearo highlights!

I'll fill you guys in with some details later.. but right now I have more EXCITING news to speak about. 

#BREAKTHESTEREOTYPE
 if you follow me on social media most of you may have seen this hashtag floating around. 

Those of you who are wondering what this hashtag means and stands for-  a couple of days ago I created a new Instagram account that will be, along with this blog, dedicated to breaking the stereotypes set on freedivers & Spearo's.
In the hope that by doing so I will encourage more females from the Caribbean to join me and the other Spearo Girls!! 

Check out my new account & follow me if you support the cause!!! Also, be sure to check out my following blog post to learn more information on my new movement #BREAKTHESTEREOTYPE. 

@spearogirl242
(you can click on this link to take you to my page)

Thanks for catching up with the Spearo Girl!
Stay Tuned for more on my  following posts.

Much love,

Soph

Near Death Encounter.

Spearfishing is considered a very dangerous sport/form of fishing. Bearing in mind all of the factors involved.

During my spearo years I have faced many scary & life threatening moments under water.. but the award definitely goes to this  sweet but unfortunately sour day. 

(Please keep in mind that to help you guys out with visual aspects of my story/blog I have  tried to fill in the gaps by using images from different sources to portray what I experienced in those moments. and am not taking any credit for them as  as they are sourced.) 

 I'm sure most of you who follow my Facebook posts would know that about a month ago I had a close life or death encounter during one of my not so planned spearing trips.

Yes.. I know XD  If you're one of those followers you would also know that I am prone to accidents or crazy incidents/encounters. ahaha

Looking at it from the bright side, what can I say, I guess I love to test my self and leave my comfort zone to experience true adventures. 

So let me begin with the story. It all began on a beautiful sunny & perfect day... as expected, my inner saltlife was craving the ocean as the weather was horrible in the previous days.


My friend had brought down a group of his friends from Switzerland for winter break.  And because it was finally a bright and sunny morning amongst a week of wind & thunderstorms we obviously had to take them out on the boat to prove to them that the crappy weather/water they saw in the previous days was nothing compared to the "real ting!".

So we took a trip out to sea to go snorkeling & to let them explore the beautiful reefs & marine life of the Bahamas. 

Initially we all snorkeled around the reefs. Everyone was so happy and intrigued by the amount of fish swimming around us. I just love exposing people to marvelous new things such as this. 

We even encountered sharks! ....& I can't even lie, seeing a shark in person for the first time can be quite frightening. But not to these guys! They were swimming right behind them! 

LOL soooo it's not what you guys are probably thinking . NO SHARKS were involved in my encounter story haha. Sorry for the tease, I promise the juicy part is coming !! bare with me. 

As predicted they did not stay in too long. Eventually their non-fish tendencies lured them back into the boat to I guess chill & sunbathe. ahaha I mean, I wouldn't know because I obviously stayed in the water.  

So it was just me & one other person, who I guess by defult became my dive buddy. My spearo senses were indeed tingling and I of course had to get my gear to see if I might as well take out a couple fish while I was there.

I got back into the water and I was doing my usual scoop around the reefs, looking for a decent fish to shoot. 

Source: http://maritimenews.id/makhluk-cantik-dalam-kawasan-berbahaya/

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article2500074.html

I then neared a ledge and saw two HUGE lips poking out of a reef head... and there it was... my trophy grouper. It was sitting right there- so still & calm. & It was at that moment that I knew he was MINE!   

I remember being quite excited. So I had to take a couple of breaths in and out to calm my bursting heart beat.
FOCUS! I told my self and I then took my one last breath and began to slowly descend towards the grouper. 

Source: : https://plus.google.com/113273537727385880706/about

I had made the perfect descend, so smooth & so graceful, as the grouper did not even realize that I was right there.

I then pulled back my sling as far back as I could (to get the most powerful shot), aimed right at the temple of it's head and released. 

BAMMM!! The spear hit the grouper right where I aimed! Stoning it dead cold. It did not even flintch 

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY4M3fZ4oNQ

I can't even begin to explain to you guys how excited & eager I was to bring my 3.3ft trophy fish to the surface.

I held the grouper by it's gills and began to swim up towards the surface with my back towards the ledge. (Leaving my back exposed to a blind spot- FIRST MISTAKE)

I was about 50 feet underwater so at about 30 ft as I was ascending I was above the reef ledge and was now exposed to what ever was waiting for me above the ledge.

SUDDENLY out of NOWHERE, in a blink of an eye this is literally what I see heading full speed towards me.

***** 

Source: http://1080.plus/CCvgG6wM2Bw.video

a SIX FOOT BARRACUDA!! OMGG!! My worst nightmare. all I saw was an open mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. 

Never in my life did I think such a  thing would/could happen to me.

It swooped in and I kid you not, in about THREE seconds It had sawed through my massive prized grouper. 

source: http://gruntfarter.co.uk/tag/recession/

Only missing my hand by inches. 

+
But thats not even the whole story.. In that moment & in the shock of it all, Instinctively my reflexes told me to turn away obviously to try avoid getting bitten by this massive monster.

Total Sophie's luck would have it that in that moment while avoiding getting bitten I twisted awkwardly & yup.. you guessed it.. my KNEE decided to DISLOCATE.  

So I here I was 30 ft underwater, with half of my breath, half of a fish, a broken sling (it popped at impact), a hungry barry, and of course a dislocated knee,

Source: http://mulpix.com/instagram/underwater_time_water_diving.html
So what did I do?? 

Source: http://mulpix.com/instagram/underwater_time_water_diving.html

I did the most sensible thing of course.
Simultaneously, I prepared myself for the inevitable pain, popped my knee back into place, tried to remove my hand from the remaining head of the grouper. Resulting in me having to take off my whole glove as it was stuck inside of the barbs in the gill. Left the other half of the fish with my glove in it's gills & swam.. or should I say franticly kicked away with one leg, like a BOSS.

 Source: http://www.surfski.pl/przewodnik/86-egipt--el-gouna--przewodnik-nurkowy.html

Can you believe that after all of that, the only two  things that were going  through my mind when I reached the surface was the fact that my GOLDEN grouper got torn in half & that my Gopro was not even ecording!! !!!

haha trust me.. any other Spearo would understand the feels involved.
I often dream about my golden grouper that got away.. But I take comfort in knowing that another chance will present it's self.

Wellp, there you have it! My survival story I guess haha.

 I am thankful to God for life & protection. 

Aftershock update:

With some minor physiotherapy my knee is fully functional again!
I am not and have not been afraid to re-enter the water since that experience though I try to be more aware of my full surroundings.

I learned many valuable lessons from this frightening encounter and will def use it to improve my skills as a diver.

ps. Most people asked why I didn't go after that barry and shoot it haha. Though I was tempted I would never do such a thing as I was in it's territory and it was simply collecting it's taxes. :) 

That's it for today guys, 

Until next time!! hope you enjoyed my life or death encounter story!!

Much love,

Soph

Please note that as