Lubomir Stefanoff | freediving and UW photography

Tag: skandalopetra

Skandalopetra in Porto Koufo

by on Sep.29, 2009, under Freediving

Skandalopetra dive - TanassosIn the beginning of September Nikolas Trikilis inivited us to the Skandalopetra event in Porto Koufo. We didn’t hesitate much, just borrowed a friend’s car (thanks Boko!) and took the 6 hour drive on Thursday night. The event was the First Panhellenic Skandalopetra championship, organized by Nikolas Trikilis and the Freediving Association of Thessaloniki.
For 3 days we had the opportunity to try Skandalopetra diving and enjoy the company of some great freedivers and friends. We want to thank them for the hospitality and the great time we had (Nikolas, Dimitris and the other divers that participated)! The event was organized very professionally (it’s usual, since Nikolas is behind it) – and we all felt safe while diving despite our (the Bulgarian group) limited experience with Skandalopetra. Well, that’s the nature of this type of diving – it’s really safe and enjoyable (I won’t describe the safety features here, if you want to find out more check out the Skandalopetra group in Facebook).
Skandalopetra - preparing for the dive Skandalopetra - coming up from a diveI still need more practice in order to do decent dives with the petra. I don’t feel very comfortable with the noseclip (I think I overequalize my ears) and no wetsuit…I couldn’t concentrate well during the dive and reached only 15 meters…my right ear betrayed me several times. On Sunday I went with Vov for an early constant weight session and did easy 25 m dives without any EQ problems, but later with the Skandalopetra I’ve got the same feeling in my ear…Anyway, it was fun. Peter was doing great dives (I’ll make a short video about the whole event when I have the time). With Peter we’ll order a real petra (9-10 kgs) and will practice more :-) .

Skandalopetra - peter - Nikolas - Lubo Bulgarian group and the organizersSkandalopetra in Porto Koufo - winnersSkandalopetra - ending ceremony


I noticed that it’s the second year in  row that I do Skandalopetra diving around my birthday (after last year in Lindos). So, that’s what I wish for myself in 2010 – I want to participate in Skandlopetra games/event again with those guys :) .

P.S More Skandalopetra pics from Porto Koufo coming soon on Facebook.

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Skandalopetra in Rhodes island, Greece

by on Jun.23, 2009, under Freediving

SkandalopetraThe Skandalopetra games start tomorrow in Lindos, Rhodes island and will last till 28.06. Last week I found by chance the SKANDALOPETRA group in Facebook and learned more about this event. Organizers are The Free Diving Association of Thessaloniki, the Municipality of Lindos (Rhodes-GR), Apnea Academy Competition and Apnea Evolution Hellas.
Unfortunately I won’t be able to participate…I’m sure it’s going to be great since I’d dived many times at St. Paul bay in Lindos last summer. And I was lucky to meet the guys from Apnea Evolution and Dr. Nikolas Triklis (the organizer of Skandalopetra events) and try this ancient technique. I’ll tell you more about this experience in the next paragraphs.
Skandalopetra stoneIt was in mid September 2008 – I had just started my (long) vacation. I arrived in Rhodes by chance – Diana, a friend of mine, departed with the intention to stay there for 2 weeks and invited me to come by. I also planned to stay for 2-3 weeks which turned out to be 45 days…(I started a part time job to cover some of the expenses). Rhodes island is a great place not only because of its rich history, but for the diving sites and the clear blue water.
One day I headed with Diana to a city called Lindos, (I’d heard that the nearby St.Paul bay is a nice place for diving). It really was – I did some freediving in the calm and crystal clear water when I noticed 3 divers with a round buoy approaching. At first I thought they were spearfishermen, but soon I realized they all wore C4 fins and Elios suits and didn’t have spearguns…obviously freedivers. That’s how I met Rosarita, Alessandro and Antonio from Apnea Evolution. They set up a line for constant weight and kindly invited me to join and reminded me that solo freediving is dangerous. I couldn’t believe it was real – I had arrived at the right place at the right time and met some great people! Rosarita and Antonio told me that on the next few days they were going to practice ‘skandalopetra’ diving with Nikolas Triklis and suggested me to join them. Honestly, at that time I knew nothing about skandalopetra…
Nikolas_Rita_Alessandro_LuboOn the next two days I had the opportunity to dive with Alessandro, Rosarita, Nikolas Triklis and a large Italian group of freedivers who had come on  ‘Apnea vacation’ in Rhodes. I learned what skandalopetra is (a variable ballast dive using a 12 kg stone tied to a rope. A companion on a boat recovers the diver pulling the rope after the descent; you can learn more about skandalopetra here and why not join the FB group?). I did some dives – it was a bit strange in the Skandalopetra beginning to dive without a mask and a wetsuit, but soon the joy of falling down with the stone made me forget about the cold. The second day of skandalopetra diving happened to be my birthday and I think that diving with these people was the greatest present. I still remember vividly the feeling of these dives and the positive people around me.
I won’t be able to come to the Games starting tomorrow, but I’ll definitely participate in skandalopetra events some day (maybe in Kalimnos).

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