Recent headlines have put Kaş back in the free-diving world news.http://kahovka-service.ru
Sunday, October 2, 2011 ANTALYA – Anatolia News Agency
“A Turkish diver has broken a world record in 87 meters constant weight apnea Saturday. Cenk Devrim Ulusoy reached the depth of 87 meters in 1 minute 15 seconds off the coast of the Kaş district in the Mediterranean province of Antalya in the presence of observers from the World Underwater Federation, or CMAS.”
World Record By Turkish Diver Ulusoy
Posted 01.10.2011 12:41:44 UTC – Updated 01.10.2011 12:41:44 UTC
“Antalya’s Kaş district, was the scene of a free-diving world record. National diver Cenk Devrim Ulusoy…”
Free Diving in Kaş is not accidental. Kaş has some of the best locations for free-diving, there are many dive centres in Kaş and many experienced divers for free-diver support in addition to the support teams of the competitors.
One of the most famous female free-divers in the world is Yasemin Dalkılıç. She has attempted and accomplished several free dives in the sea near Kaş. “Yasemin Dalkılıç (born 2 May 1979) is a Turkish female free diver. She holds numerous world records in different categories of free diving. Though still in the middle of her career, she is already considered to be one of the all time greats in the sport.” A biography of Yasemin states: “Yasemin was born…in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, 800 km away from the closest coastline. Which makes her passion for the ocean depths all the more remarkable!”
Free-diving was brought into international fame with the free-diving film The Big Blue by Luc Besson. Which “depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers…French diver Jacques Mayol and Italian diver Enzo Maiorca.”
Free-diver Jacques Mayol “was a French national born in Shanghai, China. He was the first free diver to descend to 100 meters (330 ft) (November 23, 1976), and he managed to descend to 105 meters when he was 56 years old.”
Enzo Maiorca “(also spelled Majorca; born June 21, 1931) is an Italian multiple record holder in the extreme sport of free-diving…A native of Syracuse, Italy, he was a pioneer developer of free-diving in the 1960s and 1970s. Maiorca held 13 world records in the “No Limits” class of free diving between 1960 and 1974. Maiorca was fictionalized in the 1988 Luc Besson film The Big Blue as well as his rivalry with the French diver Jacques Mayol.”
Free-diving “is any of various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold underwater diving.”
Diver Cenk Devrim Ulusoy broke the world record in constant weight apnea. So what is this area of competition in free-diving defined as Constant Weight Apnea?
According to the Free Dive Planet Website of January 18, 2011, “Constant Weight Apnea can be best described as where an apneaist has to dive to the depth following a guide line that he or she is not allowed to use for aid during the dive. The Constant Weight references to the fact that the apneaist is not allowed to drop any diving weights during the dive. Bi-fins and monofin are allowed to be used while practicing this discipline (AIDA). There is also Constant Weight Apnea Without Fins, the difference being the use of fins.”
Free-diving is a sport not to be taken lightly especially at the extreme depths of world record holders. Years of preparation are required to perform at these levels and free-diving should not be attempted without proper training, supervision and medical clearance. The human body adapts itself under extreme diving conditions. These adaptations “stem from the mammalian diving reflex. These adaptations enable the human body to endure depth and lack of oxygen far beyond what would be possible without the reflex.” The mammalian diving reflex “is a reflex in mammals which optimizes respiration to allow staying underwater for extended periods of time.”
“The adaptations made by the human body while underwater and at high pressure include the following; a drop in heart rate, the blood vessels shrink directing the blood stream for the benefit of heart, lungs and brain, the spleen contracts releasing more red blood cells carrying oxygen, and blood plasma fills up blood vessels in the lung and reduces residual volume. Without this adaptation, the human lung would shrink and wrap into its walls, causing permanent damage, at depths greater than 30 meters.”
As mentioned above, free-diving can be dangerous without proper training and supervision. Some possible dangers include hyperventilation leading to a diver blackout (going into unconsciousness) and subsequently dry drowning.
“Hyperventilation: The primary danger in exercising apnea, and the cause of many blackouts nationwide related to freediving…if a person proceeds into levels that extend beyond their body’s capabilities, the result is the aforementioned blackout, and even death, which can happen without any physical warning. The method of asphyxiation used to activate apnea means that when a person loses consciousness, their body will not automatically begin respiration as it normally would otherwise do. Many divers have drowned with lungs completely dry this way.”
It seems there are two primary theories as to what causes dry drowning, “and it may well be that both are correct and that this form of death can be brought on in two different ways. The first theory is that a sudden rush of water into the throat causes the airway to snap shut, a condition known as a laryngospasm. During this event, although no water enters the lungs, no air enters either, so the victim dies of asphyxiation. The second explanation posits that the shock of a swimmer’s suddenly entering extremely cold water causes the heart to stop.”
