Where exactly do you intend to attempt the record and do you have a fixed date yet?
The Guinness World Record Dive Event will take place at the Corinthia Marina Hotel, St. Georges Bay Paceville with the help of Starfish Diving Centre which may be found below the hotel. The date set for the event is Saturday 3rd March, keeping in mind the weather conditions which caused many technical problems during previous world record attempts. Therefore, this date is subject to change. I will be entering the water at around 11.30pm on Saturday evening. In order to beat the current cold water record, I must remain in the water for a minimum of 12 hours however I have decided to push for 15 hours instead in order to raise the bench mark, therefore I am due to exit the water between 15.00 and 17.00 on Sunday 4th March. The reason for entering the water between 11pm and midnight on Saturday is so that I will spend as little time as possible in the water during the night, when the temperature drops. I would prefer to be thrown in at the deep end and start the dive when the water is coldest, as I will be full of energy whilst entering the water.
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| Sean & John Clements{his uncle}out side Starfish Diving School. |
What motivates you to attempt this record and what do you hope to achieve besides the record (i.e.raise awareness... etc)?
Firstly, the main objective behind the dive attempts is to showcase the sport of diving and its popularity in Malta, thus promoting our island as an ideal destination for divers. Diving has been my passion for many years now and it gives me great joy to share this with other people as well as fellow divers. These record attempts are not only rewarding when it comes to achieving the records, but they are also rewarding as I have met many people, both divers and non-divers through organising these events. During the past couple of years, we have built a strong, dedicated team of motivated individuals who have been working hard together. The teams’ dedication alone gives me great satisfaction, so much so that I am proud to call my team of safety divers my family.
Moreover, during my past records inspiration came from the death of my mother, Irene Patricia McGahern. Just over 14 years ago, my mother lost her battle against brain cancer and this had a huge impact not only on my life but also on my diving career. This has given me great motivation to promote different charities and to collect donations during my events in order to help bring hope to those diagnosed with cancer. Moreover, I have also strived to promote the research of psoriasis which is a condition that I have suffered from for the past 10 years and unfortunately I have learnt that there is not much knowledge on any cures for this condition.
Furthermore, during my previous record attempts I have worked alongside Project Aware which stands for Aquatic World Awareness Research & Education, in other words being environmentally aware, keeping in mind marine conservation and ocean protection. So much so, that during my past record events the team and myself spent several hours cleaning out different bays in Malta from any marine debris.
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| Safety diver above the dive site! |
How do you prepare yourself physically and mentally for such an attempt?
Physically and mentally preparing for the dive is definitely no easy task and is much harder than it actually sounds. During the months building up to the dive I organise a number of training dives where I spend several hours under the water and have my safety team constantly supporting me and providing me with food, drinks and cylinders. On several occasions I have cancelled my training dives half way through due to one reason or another. Moreover, I have also had my land support team calling dives off when they believed my safety was in jeopardy. It is always important to remember that at the end of the day anybody can call a dive if they feel there is reason to do so. When it comes down to the day, it’s all hands on deck as for mentally preparing for the dive.
Prior to the dive event, I make it a point to eat as many carbohydrates and proteins as possible. Baring in mind that whilst spending several hours underwater I tend to lose quite a few kilos (water based weight), I always try to put on weight before the records.
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| Just getting ready to enter the water!! some time soon? |
How do you occupy yourself mentally when underwater for such long periods?
Keeping yourself occupied underwater is simple; there is a lot that you can do when you are down there. Apart from swimming along and observing the different marine life that we have here in Malta, I have done my utmost to organise a number of activities such as clean ups as well underwater video and photography courses during the record attempts.
Furthermore, I always find that mentally imagining myself in other places, such as lying on a beach or sitting in the countryside, tends to make the time go by much quicker. Moreover, believe it or not, I generally use my time underwater during the record dives to brainstorm ideas and contemplate about my next record attempts. With all the ideas that go on in my head, time definitely flies by whilst I’m down there.
Last but not least, it always seems to impress people, even the divers on the team that being underwater or on land I still follow the same routine; that is- eat, drink and sleep. During my previous records I have spent quite a few hours throughout the event fast asleep under water.
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| O'Three msf-500, HUV, Base layer, Main under-suit. |
Could you also provide some personal background info please, e.g. age, where you're from, how longyou have been diving etc.
My name is Sean McGahern and I was originally born in Brighton, England in April 1975 and raised in Southern Ireland. I now live in Malta, which has been home to me for the last 17 years. My interest in diving stems from hot afternoons spent at my uncle’s house here in Malta, where I was supposed to be taking a siesta, but why would an 8 year old boy need an afternoon nap? Searching the bookcase revealed a whole new world to me that took me under the sea. The thought of being able to swim free as a fish, to float in the deep azure waters and see to be able to see a whole new world stayed with me for years, until eventually in the year 2000 I decided to fulfill my lifelong dream and turn it into reality- thus I took up the sport of scuba diving.
I am a now a professional certified scuba diving instructor and have been in three previous Guinness World Record attempts involving dives in both warm water and cold water, the first being in 2009 where I set the Guinness world record with a warm water open sea dive of 25 hours and 10 minutes. Subsequently, I also attempted to surpass the cold water record but was unlucky due to bad weather conditions that forced the team and myself to abort the attempt 1 hour and 10 minutes short of the record. Last September, I again attempted to set a new world warm water record as my previous record had been surpassed. Unfortunately however, the attempt was cancelled 36 hours into the dive due to a few technical issues that placed the teams’ safety in jeopardy.
Now having achieved both a Guinness World Record as well as two Maltese National Records, I believe it is time to get back into the water and I am looking forward to achieving a new title for the Guinness world records’ longest dive in cold water. Having learnt a lot from my previous attempts, I can say that I am very optimistic about my upcoming dive. I hope that this event will excel far better than any other I have over taken so far, and that it will be the foundation for other better records to come!
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| Relaxing outside after dive. |
