Into the Big Blue

Tanya Streeter set a new free diving record earlier this week, diving off the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. She was pulled down on a weighted sled to a depth of 400ft, before ascending unassisted back to the surface 3 minutes and 38 seconds later.

This kind of story really amazes me - the extremes that mankind can endure. The article in Ananova doesn’t go into too much detail, but the pressures and demand on the human body must be incredible. As a measure of how dangerous free-diving is, Audrey Mestre died in her attempt on the world record in October last year.

Posted 6 years, 7 months ago

There’s a bit more info in the Guardian today:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1003999,00.html

Not sure I like the sound of the ascent being so anaerobic. The temptation to try to breathe must be unbearable.

mal · www · 6 years, 7 months ago

"She is still a little tired after Monday’s dive, which saw her heart rate slow to 15 beats per minute, her lungs compress to the size of scrunched-up plastic bags and her blood cease circulation around her extremities."

Not sure I could handle that. You must need zen-like self control.

I remember as a kid, I could manage a length of the local pool under water (just). Not sure I could get past halfway these days...

Phil · 6 years, 7 months ago

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My name is Phil Lindsay, a web guy from Scotland, now living in Newcastle upon Tyne in England. I also run a web design company called Presence. You can email me at phil@xlab.co.uk, read more ramblings on my Twitter stream and view my photos on Flickr. You can grab the RSS feed for this weblog here.