This article is from page 12 of the 2011-08-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
A CLARE man says he is confident of winning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records next month when he attempts to swim 10km underwater in under eight hours.
Barefield diver Christopher Healy has been given the official go-ahead from the Guinness Book of World Records to go ahead with the dive on September 18 next. Because this will be a new category for the records, Christopher, who owns the Atlantic Diving School, has been set a target of eight hours to complete the 10km course in order to make the book.
“I am going to go 10 kilometres completely underwater. We are starting off at Crab Island in Doolin and we have a route mapped out which will take us about a quarter of a mile out into the Atlantic, then north up the coast and back again to Crab Island.
“We will be setting a new category for the Guinness Book of World Records. They have set us the challenge of finishing the 10k dive in under eight hours to make the record but I am confident that we can complete it in under seven.
“We are looking to smash the target that they have set and make it very hard for anyone who might want to come after us and want to break this record. We are going to push it all the way and make sure that if anyone wants to come and better us, they will have to earn it.”
The attempt will see Christopher being helped by three safety boats, as well as a safety snorkler and two guide snorklers.
“The guide snorklers will go ahead of me and drag a small lead weight along the bottom of the sea floor that is the mark that I will follow. It is very hard to tell directions under water,” continued Christopher.
“The idea is that we will have two guide snorklers and two safety snorklers who will take the journey in shifts. The safety snorkler will be my son and my wife who will both swim 5km each underwater.”
Sponsorship cards are available for anyone who wants to support Christopher’s record attempt, with all money raised going to the Share A Dream Foundation. To donate money, visit www.mycharity.ie/event/ 10k_world_record_attempt.