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Freediving came later in life, which is surprising when you consider Gemma’s father is NZ spearfishing champion and international representative Geff ‘Cookie’ Cookson. But she says her father “actively discouraged” her and her siblings from diving with him as children.
“That was his way to escape the family and the farm,” says Gemma.
“It was his release. I don’t know if it was intentional – I feel it was – but he’d always give us old, baggy, holey wetsuits that just did nothing but hamper us. So of course, none of us kids enjoyed diving growing up.”
She admits she was always jealous of the other kids at the annual spearfishing camp her dad would drag the family along to. While her dad spent all day diving, other kids would head out with their parents in wetsuits that fitted them and with spearguns
But at age 27, working full time, completing a masters in architecture, and playing high-level competitive volleyball, Gemma hit burnout and returned home for some recovery time. She saw her opportunity to spend time with her dad and learn valuable skills that would help her secure a regular supply of fresh fish. They struck a deal, and Geff consented to buying Gemma a decent wetsuit if she would be his buddy for the New Zealand Spearfishing Nationals.
Despite her inexperience, her first Nationals competition couldn’t have gone better.
“Everyone else got seasick and I managed to get two butterfish and a porae, which is really embarrassing, but that won the Spearfishing Nationals for me that year.”
The result was an invitation to the Inter-Pacific Spearfishing Competition in Tahiti. But the prospect of having to dive deeper than she had ever gone before didn’t fill Gemma with confidence.
So she joined the Auckland Freediving Club, where she was introduced to proper breath-hold and depth diving techniques under the guidance of freediving royalty, John Wright.
“I was very lucky,” says Gemma. “I met up with some really experienced divers in the club who were in the same place as me, wanting to go deeper, with the added experience of understanding what’s happening physiologically to your body. It was a real rapid progression. Within a month I was down at 30 metres, with a minute bottom time. I went to 50 metres pretty early on.”
In the seven years since her first Spearfishing Nationals, Gemma has packed in an incredible amount of diving achievements, winning the women’s Freediving Nationals several times, and continuing to compete in both spearfishing and freediving competitions overseas.
She’s since moved home to Northland too, bringing the wealth of experience she gained at Auckland Freediving
“It’s been such an amazing experience and I just love sharing it with people. I love that adrenaline rush you get after a good dive – it’s addictive, and it’s such a positive addictive feeling. It’s like a free drug.”
Moving home came with its challenges too, like where to live. Her parents offered
“I was looking at trying to live as low cost a life as possible,” says Gemma. “I was prepared to sacrifice comfy living for financial freedom, so I could do the things I wanted.”
Her original tiny house design was fully sustainable and low cost, with a composting toilet, and even hand pumped water. It would have been “like camping”, she says, and given her a place of her own without the constraints of a mortgage.
“It’s beautifully crafted,” she concedes though, with Pete’s eye for good timber leading them to process some of the totara from the farm to incorporate in the build. “But it looks like a very small shed that belongs to a multi-millionaire.”
As Gemma knows all too well, however, life is for living, so she’s happy to accommodate Pete’s embellishments to their tiny home. “I really want to live my life to the fullest,” says Gemma. “Life is short, so do everything you possibly ever wanted to now, while you can.”
And she definitely couldn’t be accused of doing anything else.
TAMING THE TIGER TROUT
Josiah Atkinson has spent considerable time searching for the rare tiger trout, and not without success. He shares some of his hard-earned lessons on how to tame the tiger…
HAMISH WARD
Brewing beer is one of the oldest and most noble of trades. From the deeply spiritual processes mastered in European monasteries, through to the bloke in his garage just desperate to make something drinkable, the desire to create beer is a not so secret passion of most males on this planet. Hamish Ward is another on the list of legends who take brewing seriously, and it didn’t take long for him to become one of NZ’s best.
Kiwi
Teams from Kiwis for kiwi and Rheem have been “on the tools” recently, partnering with Kaipara Kiwi to plant 1900 trees. Their efforts were part of the Mataia Restoration project, which is seeking to create a 1300-hectare kiwi safe-haven in the Kaipara region.
Steady Hot Strong
When Rheem heard families were going without hot water this winter as a result of COVID-19’s economic impact, they acted quickly. Their idea was to donate water heaters to Kiwis in need, but the first hurdle they faced was installation – something which can only be done by registered plumbers and gasfitters.
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BOAT BUYING
Here is a checklist of common potential issues that should be checked before buying a second-hand boat
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Salty Summer Fishing
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The Great Tradie Fish Off 2023
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Welcome To Issue 34 Of Rheem Offsite
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Offsite.fishing Comp