NEWS

Cayman 2004 - Freediving World Record Event

Day 20 - Stretch, measure, check, brief

Sunset at Turtle Reef

Saturday is a day to sleep in, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and prepare for the afternoon's activities. After breakfast we head up to Cobalt Coast to use their WI-FI internet connection and send some important emails. It isn't the most pleasant reading with all the drama and commotion surrounding Stephan Mifsud's record attempt, but such is the world of young sport.

The judges have put the official line in the swimming pool to soak through for stretching and marking in the afternoon. This is the time when the judges place the official depth marks on the line. Mandy, Martin and Doc put together a list of depths they will likely attempt so that the judges don't have to measure and mark every meter on 110m of line.

We head off to the Turtle Farm, a favourite location for this job. It's where I've stretched and measured lines for Pipin and Audrey, two for Tanya Streeter's records, two for Brett LeMaster, and now the second for Martin and Mandy. We hook a pulley onto the telephone pole after setting up a weight belt with the minimum prerequisite of 30kgs / 66lbs as required by AIDA rules. We lay out the line from the back of the van where we tie off the 110m mark and then drive slowly until the line stretches, pulling the weights off the ground through the pulley. Then we whip the line to remove any surface tension or friction. Now all is good. The line has the same tension on land as it will in the water and is therefore stretched to an accurate measure of depth.

Bill Strömberg and Nicolas Laporte set about marking a zero point where the plate will sit, and then measure the distance along the line. They measure out Doc's multiple attempt marks, Mandy's, and finally Martin's. Each time we stand by to verify their measures for accuracy and to ensure that the tape is secure and the depth is written on each mark. The following marks are set out:

Following is a list of successful training attempts by the athletes following AIDA rules:

The measuring now complete the judges secure the weights and line into their custody. They leave it soaking in their bathtub in readiness for the next days' activities. Afterwards we head off to Legends Cafe for a meal and then home to prepare for a 7pm meeting at Sunset House with everyone involved in the event.

We arrive at Sunset House to a host of people waiting. There are EMT/Paramedics, rebreather safety divers, rebreather videographers, still photographers, boat captains and crew, judges, media, athletes, and organizers. All listen intently to the briefing which outlines the next four record attempt days. We cover the specifics of each day: schedules, timing, safety coordination, emergency procedures, judging procedures, and much more. In the end it was great to see all the volunteers coming out to donate their precious days off for Mandy, Martin and Doc. Especially, I'd like to thank Reg and Erika at Sunset House for pulling together a fantastic group of volunteer safety divers and EMTs, in total over ten people and the single largest group in our flotilla. A sincere thank you for believing in what we're doing and for helping us with this event.

All's done. We head off for our last meal of the day at Bella Capri for some great pasta with our host Radimus. I've known Radimus (spelling?) for many years and enjoy hearing the stories about his daughter, Isabella, who's making the transformation back to fish in the local swimming pools.

Tomorrow's just another training day in our minds. Yet as I try to go to sleep checklists spin in my head, and bail out and contingency options are reviewed. Finally I give myself up to a restful nights sleep knowing that everything's in place. Now it's up to the athletes.

More exciting events tomorrow!

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