I decided to go to Norway based upon the recommendation of my friend Phil Stevens. He and Anne had competed in the Kristiansund Cup in 2006 and enjoyed the tournament and the country. After a few conversations, I decided to join him and Anne for the 2007 tournament. Unfortunately, Phil died in July while diving off of Newport, RI.
It was very clear that Phil enjoyed, and was looking forward to returning to, Norway. Now that I have been there, I understand his enthusiasm. Many people I met in Norway remembered Phil and Anne fondly and were very sorry to hear the bad news. At the begining of the briefing for the tournament, they held a minute of silence for Phil and Igor, a Russian who died diving near a dam 10 days before the tournament.
I was aprehensive about traveling and competing alone, but I am glad I did. I met lots of great people who helped me and made me feel welcome. I hope to return to Norway sooner than later with a full team or maybe a couple teams. If you have any interest let me know.
As a final thought, at Phil's memorial service, Ted Warnock talked about Phil and others who had a passion for life. Phil certainly did and so did so many of the people I met in Norway. I'm glad that regardless of where we are from or any language barriers that exist, we all have the chance to share our common passion for diving, spearfishing, and life. Thanks!
Phil and Anne at the Massachussets Invitational meet in 2005.
I put together this website to share some of the highlights of the trip. Of course, I couldn't come close to including everything I wanted to share, but I guess I can always add more information later. I also tried to give an overview of the places, the tournament, and the diving without getting into lots of detail.
I guess I could go on for quite a while about any one place or topic, so if you are interested in the specifics of how many competitors used drop weights and, for lack of a better term, speed-stringer floatlines, or any other topic, send me a message.
I hope you enjoy the site and it encourages you to go somewhere, see something new, make some new friends, and live life to its fullest!
All the Best,
Joe
PS: Kathy, the kids, and I are working on the UK part of our trip...stay tuned...
I'd like to thank Arild, Tommy, and Tonja for making the trip easy by taking care of arrangements and being so hospitable. Thanks also to everyone who made me feel welcome and gave me tips along the way. In no particular order and I am sure I am missing others: Sergey & crew, Juri, Manne, Ronalds, Nils, Stig, and Ingebrigt.