Divers continue to plunge to deeper depths in search of world records

In 2005, Patrick Musimu dropped to a depth of 209 metres on one breath, breaking the No-Limits world record by about 40 metres. As a world record holder and Adel Abu Haliqa's coach, the 41-year-old Belgian believes that No-Limits should not be considered a sport, but a personal experience. His record has since been broken by Austrian Herbert Nitsche, and now stands at 214 metres. An art "It's not a sport to me, it is an art," said Musimu. "However, with No-Limits attempts on the increase, so too has ruthless access to the sled. "Inexperienced sled operators flourish around the world, offering cheap access to depth. This is a major problem which needs to be addressed," he added. "Too often the diver is blamed for accidents, but I think the organising that goes into these dives has to be really examined and changed." Musimu, a professional freediver with 12 years' experience, was five days away from joining Adel on his training in Santorini, Greece, where he is feared dead. No supervision "Adel was an athlete, he had competed and had sled experience, but he should have been supervised," he said. The appeal of No-Limits diving lies in going deeper and the benefit of the sled is getting there faster, but many divers are not physically and mentally ready when they make their attempt. "Short cuts are being made and I predicted that something like this could happen. Simply having access to a sled is not enough to go deeper," he said. Musimu and Adel did a tandem No-Limits dive to 50 metres in Dubai during a freediving workshop in 2010. Coaching "Adel and I started discussing my coaching him a few months after the clinic. It all started really when we met again in Greece in September 2010. That year Adel performed a clean 76 and 84 metres No-Limits dive. Only that year I was there to supervise and coach him on every step," said Musimu. "You can't take shortcuts with freediving. It's an evolution. Some will achieve this and some won't. In the beginning I was the same, obsessed with depth and beating my records. It was a sport and many divers go through that. Now for me it's spiritual, and the incredible sensation it brings." Pearl diving, the ‘original freediving' Patrick Musimu, the first man to freedive to 200 metres, is planning a documentary film on pearl divers of the Arabian Gulf, as men who performed an ancient form of freediving. "Pearl divers had the same technique, they tied themselves to a rock which brought them down to the seabed to work, and were pulled up by men on board the boat." In 2009 Musimu launched the No-Limits Triple Quest - a three-fold challenge that includes asides from the documentary, achieving a record for a tandem No-Limits dive — which he achieved in 2010 and reached 121 metes by perfecting a new technique of apnea by exhaling and descending with limited air in his lungs, instead of filling them as is the norm. In 2002 Musimu withdrew from all organised competitions. He has devoted the last nine years to being a "free electron", exploring depths and focusing on the impact of depth, sled and No-Limits on human physiology. From gulfnews.