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Cayman 2004 - Freediving World Record Event

Day 9 - Look out, SHARK!!!

Derek & Mandy-Rae

We get to the dock early and load the boat while Danny grabs some lunch. We set up the counterbalance system but today change ropes to a 125m line that Martin brought with him. Soon we are under way through the shallow sound and out the cut.

Martin is to go first again but switches to free immersion and an 87m dive. Mandy will go second with an 62m constant ballast dive and last is Doc with a 31m attempt to work on equalizing technique. Within 20 minutes of leaving the dock we have the counterbalance rig in and are suiting up.

Martin prepares his new rope

Martin turns at the bottom

Martin starts his warm-ups, but mentions later that he's thinking of calling it off because he feels tired and slightly dehydrated and all because we were editing video till 3am for our first webcast. If it doesn't feel right, he can always turn early and we have a great safety system, counterbalance, safety rebreather diver, and me :>)

He starts his dive a little slowly to help his first 5m of equalizing, but quickly picks up speed and is soon out of sight. Today Martin switches his lanyard to his ankle instead of his wrist. On the way down he says "I look up and see 87m is still far away and think I didn't pack enough or I'm tired". Martin hits the bottom at 1:36 into his dive, about the same time I leave the surface to meet him at 25m.

On the video review I can see him quite relaxed leaving the bottom, but I'm also thinking that he's quite slow today. I'm not too concerned as I expect this from Martin at times :>) Eventually we meet, making our way to the surface. He takes two hook breaths, smiles big and "That was a fun dive". He looks at his gauge, "Wow, 93m. I guess the rope was mis-measured". Oops, the 90m minus 3m to get 87m only works when you're using the proper end of the rope. Lesson learned. We'll splay it out better on the boat next time. Either way he is very happy with how good it felt and comments that this is the best dive so far. 93m in 3:17, 1:36m down and 1:41 up.

Mandy-Rae getting ready

Mandy past the plate

Fifteen minutes later Mandy's getting her seven minute countdown and not a minute too soon. The swell south can be pretty rolly and she's starting to feel a little bit of sea sickness coming on. Zero plus eight and Mandy is off for a 62m target dive. Today Derek's at the bottom to safety and record video. Before this dive and during Mandy's negative pressure dive we had a little 1.5m long Reef Shark come by and check us out. This excited Mandy as she's always wanted to see a shark: her good luck charm, just like the one in her tattoo --- :>)

Today her descent and technique are starting to look really good and she is soon out of sight. Zero plus minute 35 I'm leaving for the bottom, but as I look down I already see Mandy. I was late to leave or she turned early. I got to her at 15m and notice her fluid goggles around her neck and guess that she turned early. We hit the surface and she's in control. Her lip colour looks good, and there's very little breathing after her recovery breathing. I guess on the way down she noticed the goggles shaking with each stroke (they must have loosened up) and on the way up they started falling off. So at around 50m she grabbed them and put them around her neck.

As she's distracted by her goggles, she doesn't notice how close she is to target and zooms past the plate. She ends up turning by hanging onto the line above the weights, with Derek yelling through his rebreather, "Mandy! Mandy!". Her computer malfunctions and doesn't give a proper reading of depth and time. We know that the plate is at 62m and the video review shows that she has another meter on it. So, in the end, we're counting this as a 63m dive. The time down and up? Good question. But by reviewing the video we estimate a total time of 1:50-2:00. Guess I misjudged my timing.

Doc on his free immersion dive

Doc starts his last warm-up, but mistakenly thinks it's his target and turns a little early as he isn't fully prepped. Upon reaching the surface we discuss the mistake and start another countdown. Unfortunately this sets the tone for the next dive and soon he's off like a race horse down the line. (Note to self: we work on slowing his pulling.) Once more Doc turns a little early from the bottom plate, but makes a fantastic recovery on the surface. In the end he still achieves a PB of 32m, only one arm pull shy of his target.

We all have our good days training and our not so good days. Martin turned early due to his ears; Mandy turned early on her first free immersion. It happens, you roll with it, don't dwell on it and move on. Doc's a pro, he realizes what he needs to improve on and a race horse out of the gate doesn't work. Slow, relaxed and steady, and Wednesday will be another training day to improve.

The day over, we race to the internet cafe to upload our first video clip to the PFD website. We get it off OK, but not before they close. Guess we'll see it on the website tomorrow. We're excited and we can't wait for everyone to join us. It's our first. We're learning and Tony's making great strides in getting our pictures and video out. Between Tom and Tony our IT professionals, we're trying to bring the very best of our experiences to you to enjoy. Give them both a big hand.

Tomorrow's a relaxed day at the Hyatt pool where Doc's staying. Mandy and Doc will practice some static. Then we'll laze around, do some email, enjoy the pool, eat a good lunch, and relax and rest for Wednesday.

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