http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033733/The-height-daring-Brit-scoops-Red-Bull-Cliff-Diving-Championship.html The height of daring: Brit scoops Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series title By Lucy Buckland Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033733/The-height-daring-Brit-scoops-Red-Bull-Cliff-Diving-Championship.html#ixzz1kRQBqUj2 It took seven spine-tingling leaps but Southampton-born Gary Hunt definitely finished this year's Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on a high. The 27-year-old Briton scooped the Red Bull series title for the second consecutive year running by performing a number of daredevil twisting and turning descents from platforms at venues across the world. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033733/The-height-daring-Brit-scoops-Red-Bull-Cliff-Diving-Championship.html#ixzz1kRQ7QBJ9 More than 15,000 fans on boats, rocks and the beach surrounding Swallow’s Nest castle in Yalta watched the event which was won by Russian Artem Silchenko. Hunter had already scooped the series championship after his performance in Boston. Writing on his blog yesterday the former Commonwealth games diver, said he was determined to go out on a high. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033733/The-height-daring-Brit-scoops-Red-Bull-Cliff-Diving-Championship.html#ixzz1kRQKotnh 'Wow, the final is here – it only seems like yesterday that we were waiting for the start of the Series and here we are coming up to the final! The competition in Yalta is going to be a chance for me to overcome the dive that defeated me in Italy last year, the two and a half twisting quad.' 'I was a little disappointed after not doing it in Boston. The first day the platform felt more like a springboard so nobody went for their big dives and then we had to deal with the thunderstorm during training the following day.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033733/The-height-daring-Brit-scoops-Red-Bull-Cliff-Diving-Championship.html#ixzz1kRQRt123 Since the series began in March, the 12 divers have wowed crowds in the Easter Islands, Mexico, Greece, France, Italy and Boston with leaps of up 27 meters. After this weekend, the two time world champion will go back to diving for tourists at a French amusement park called Walygator. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033733/The-height-daring-Brit-scoops-Red-Bull-Cliff-Diving-Championship.html#ixzz1kRQoFRBe ======================== http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Event/Red-Bull-Cliff-Diving-Ukraine-021242941893134 The biggest landmark in Crimea hosts the grand final of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2011! Exactly one hundred years after Russian architect Leonid Sherwood started to build it in 1911, the ornate Swallow's Nest castle near Yalta on the Crimean shore in southern Ukraine provides the perfect backdrop for the third season's culminating event. Following Athens in Greece and Hawaii in the USA, the world's best cliff divers will attempt to twist and tuck their way to the crown on Ukrainian soil on September 4. Overlooking the cape of Ai-Todor, the castle is situated on top of a 40m-high Aurora Cliff facing the Black Sea. In 1927 the venue survived a serious earthquake, which did not damage the building itself although some small decorative items were thrown in the sea along with a small portion of the cliff. The cliff developed a huge crack and, for the next 40 years after the quake, Swallow's Nest remained closed to the public. Renovation and restoration started in 1968 and the 20 metre-long by 10 metre-wide building has since become one of the most popular visitor attractions in Crimea. Swallow's Nest also featured in several Soviet films, as well as a brief cameo role in a Jackie Chan film. The ultimate showdown of the 2011 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series occurs in the land of the Cossacks, and, like all European stops, it will be screened live on Red Bull TV. Ukrainian fans can visit redbull.com.ua and Facebook for more information. Location: Swallow's Nest Platform height: 26M 85 feet 3? inches Water depth: 5m+ 16 feet 427/32 inches Average water temperature in September: 21°C 69.8F Average air temperature in September: 23°C 73.4 Type of water: Seawater (Black Sea) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow's_Nest The Swallow's Nest (Ukrainian: Lastivchyne hnizdo) is a decorative castle near Yalta on the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine. It was built between 1911 and 1912 near Gaspra, on top of 40-metre (130 ft) high Aurora Cliff, to a Neo-Gothic design by the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood.[nb 2] The castle overlooks the Cape of Ai-Todor of the Black Sea and is located near the remnants of the Roman castrum of Charax.[2] Swallow's Nest is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Crimea, becoming the symbol of Crimea's southern coastline. The building is compact in size, measuring only 20 m (66 ft) long by 10 m (33 ft) wide.[6] Its original design envisioned a foyer, guest room, stairway to the tower, and two bedrooms on two different levels within the tower. The interior of the guest room is decorated with wooden panels; the walls of the rest of the rooms are stuccoed and painted.[6] An observation deck rings the building, providing a view of the sea, and Yalta's distant shoreline. ----------------- http://englishrussia.com/2007/08/30/swallows-nest-the-sea-castle-in-crimea/ “Swallow’s Nest” is a castle, built in the late XIX century near Yalta, in the South of Crimea. Situated on the steep cliff right over the sea, it has become the symbol of the South coast of Crimea and one the of the most exciting point of interests of the whole resort.