Malta man’s record for coldest dive

Malta man’s record for coldest dive

Sean McGahern with his diving certificate. Photo: Jason Borg

A man of Maltese descent has officially broken the Guinness World Record of the longest scuba dive in cold seawater.
Holder of two national records, 37-year-old Sean McGahern had entered the bone-chilling water at Starfish Diving School, St George’s Bay, on March 3 at 11.45 p.m.
He emerged out of the 14°C water 12 hours and 34 minutes later, breaking the world record that stood at 11 hours and 46 minutes.
But the diver had to wait some three months to obtain official recognition of his record-breaking accomplishment.
He finally received the certificate, before setting off for the Arctic Circle where he spends summer delivering fish-farm salmon to traders and sellers.
To beat the record, the water temperature had to be below 15°C and the diver whiled away the hours at a minimum depth of 11 metres.
To occupy himself, Mr McGahern cleaned the seabed with his team of 16 safety divers.
But Mr McGahern did not just earn a place in Guinness World Records – he also gained a fiancée after writing a marriage proposal to his girlfriend of five months, Mikaela Papagiorcopulo, on an underwater slate.
Born in England, raised in Ireland and a resident in Malta for 17 years, Mr McGahern had also held the longest open salt water scuba dive in warm water record.
In 2009 he managed to stay underwater for more than 25 hours, but the record was broken the following year, when Will Goodwin dived for 48 hours in Taiwan.
Mr McGahern came close in 2011 with a 36-hour dive, but he is planning on breaking the record in September of next year.

After weeks of waiting!!

After months of preparations and 6months of team meeting 20 training dives 1 world record dive the 10 weeks of waiting it finally arrived... Well done to every one involved...and many more that have not been added!!!!!!

The record has been broken......

THE ROSTER

Now few days after the record and the body is nearly back to normal now 8kg lighter and the new GWR holder of the cold water endurance record of 12hours 34min now that was cold.

THE MANAGEMENT

I would like to thank my team and Starfish diving school along with Corinthia hotel st Georges and Marina for all their support.

THE VIEW OF THE DIVE SITE FROM OUR ROOM!!!!!!

LAST MIN CHECKS WITH IT DEPARTMENT BEFORE GETTING IN THE WATER!

1AM  DOING FINE

SAFETY DIVERS PATRICK & ULRICKE GOING IN

THE DIVE SITE AT NIGHT

THE SPONSORS

JUST OUT OF THE WATER FEELING BLOATED

TIME TO EAT DRY FOOD NO SALT!!!!!!

EASY JET TEDDY BEAR BREAKS RECORD

NORDIC AT NIGHT?

SURFACE MARKER OF SITE

24 HRS TO GO!

 With only less than 24 hours to go the team has been super busy making final preparations and testing equipment. After a long day down at the dive school, the team is off to rest as we have finally reached the day of the Event - Come down to Starfish Diving School on Saturday 3rd of March at 11.30pm to see Sean McGahern and the WRDMalta team attempt to set the new Guinness World Record for Longest Cold Water Open Sea Dive- See you all there!!!

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while we sleep

While much of the nation can relax for a few extra hours in bed this morning, one determined diver should be waking up wide-eyed at the bottom of the sea, several hours into a world record attempt.

Sean McGahern entered the water at Starfish Diving School, St George’s Bay, at 11.45 p.m. last night.

And if all goes to plan he will not re-emerge from the depths until 4.20 p.m. this afternoon, as the new cold water open sea dive world record holder.

The current record stands at 11 hours and 46 minutes, but Mr McGahern hopes to “set the bar high” and smash it by around four hours. To beat the record, the water temperature must be below 15°c and he must while away the hours at a minimum depth of 11 metres.

To occupy himself, Mr McGahern plans to clean the seabed with his team of 16 safety divers and he said other divers interested in joining the clean-up today are welcome.

But before the clean-up, Mr McGahern said he would probably get a few winks of sleep at the bottom of the sea.

---

11

hours 46 minutes – the current diving record

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“I’ve slept underwater before, it’s not as difficult as you might think,” he laughed.

He is beginning the dive at night and finishing in the day as he knows from experience that daylight and sunshine will keep his spirits up during the latter stages of the dive.

Born in England, raised in Ireland and a resident in Malta for 17 years, Mr McGahern had previously held the warm water open sea dive record. He is hoping this record attempt will promote Malta as an ideal destination for divers and raise money for Dar tal-Providenza, a home for the disabled.

Qualified divers who wish to join the clean-up can dive with Starfish Diving School at the Corinthia Marina Hotel in exchange for a minimum donation of €10 towards Dar tal-Providenza.

Mr McGahern has attempted the cold water record before but fell one hour and 10 minutes short of his goal due to bad weather conditions. However, the forecast for today has made him confident he will succeed this time.

And if he does, he would like a crowd of well-wishers to be present at Starfish Diving School to see him re-emerge as a world record holder.

“We’d love people to come along, show their support on the day and add to the occasion,” he said

15 minutes to go to set the new Record!!!

Sean has only got 15 minutes to go until he breaks the Guinness World Record and sets a new record time. All seems well except that Sean is feeling the cold terribly. He is more than thrilled to be at the 12 hour mark and be the new holder for the Longest Guinness World Record Dive.

Sean has passed on a message through his divers to land support that he is satisfied with this time and has decided to start making his way up to decompression once the record has officially been broken!

The team has done more than excellently in looking after his well being, providing him with drink, food and medications as well as cylinder changeover. Moreover land support have performed their duties excellently. I have no doubt that Sean is immensely proud of all the team and he is grinning away still at the bottom of the seabed.

Finally all of our sponsors have played a huge role in this event and so would like to stay a massive thanks to you all for making this record possible.

Just a quick reminder that this record has been organized in aid of Dar Tal Providenza. Any contributions will be highly appreciated. To make donations kindly visit www.rtk.org.mt

Anyone who wishes to come and see Sean surfacing you are more than welcome to do so by visiting the Starfish Jetty down under the Corinthia St George Hotel.

Thanks for all your care and support!!!

9 1\2 hours down

9 1\2 hours down and Sean seem in high spirits and swimming around cleaning up the site warm drinks and chocolates are being sent down with every dive team


his land support team are in high spirits although all running on very little sleep

Here Comes The Sun!

The sun is finally coming up shooting a positive note of energy amongst the entire team!! Sean still doing great - now with some natural light we are able to monitor him much better on the CCTV. This should be up and running on live stream within the next couple of hours.

We are now over 6 hours into the dive- meaning that we are half way along beating the current record! Team is doing a wonderful job and everything is going like clockwork :) Keep it up guys let's do this !!!

1/3 away to breaking the record, 1/4 away from setting the target!!

Four hours into the dive- we are 1/3 away from beating the current record for the longest cold water dive and a quarter of the way from reaching our target goal of 15 hours. Sean still being supplied with drinks, food and medication on the hour. He has managed to get a couple of minutes sleep but is now awake again making sure that the CCTV is in place for when the sun is up :)

Some of the team is up in the hotel room having a quick nap until there next dive time. In the meantime, Sean still in high spirits and happily swimming around in his natural habitat :) !!! 

Well done Sean and well done team- you're doing great!!! Keep up the good work!

2 hours down already!

Already 2 hours have passed since Sean entered the water with his safety team. Entry went in smoothly and well on time. Since then the divers have swapped shifts over and taken Sean his hot drink. As seen on the CCTV he was quite pleased to have received it and happily drank away :)

The third team of divers are now sitting on the edge waiting to jump in and head down to base camp with the Camel back full of Sean's first dose of medication. Message brought back to Land was that Sean is in high spirit and extremely confident about the way the dive is going. He is now having a swim around and will probably have a short snooze shortly.

Land support is busy recording diver logs and files, whilst also helping divers get in the water as well as out of the water. Hot drinks are obviously not only being supplied to Sean but also to all the divers 

Once again for any divers wanting to pleasure dive you are more than welcome to join us tomorrow in day light. The charge for cylinders at the school will be that of 10Euro. This will be donated to Dar tal Providenza as the event has been organised in aid of this organisation.

And Off We Go!!!

Sean has just entered the water at 00.02 accompanied by lead divers Ian Warwick and James Norris, together with Partrick Schembri and Daniel Sammut. They have just reached base camp and as we can see here on CCTV they are happily swimming around settling in. Lead diver Leo Dunaev and Dymar Angileri are not kitting up and getting ready for their dive shift. They will be entering the water at 00.50.

The team has been immensely busy throughout the past 2 weeks testing equipment, placing in lines and the cctv unit, setting up  marker buoys. All seems to be going well and in our favour. Delighted to have woken up to a beautiful sunny day and would like to say a special thank you to Corinthia St George Hotel, Marina Resort Hotel and CT Park for all their kind help throughout the weekend.

Will keep you all updated as the dive progresses- stay tuned.

Time to rest

With only less than 24 hours to go the team has been super busy making final preparations and testing equipment. After a long day down at the dive school, the team is off to rest as we have finally reached the day of the Event - Come down to Starfish Diving School on Saturday 3rd of March at 11.30pm to see Sean McGahern and the WRDMalta team attempt to set the new Guinness World Record for Longest Cold Water Open Sea Dive- See you all there!!!





independent. newspaper Malta

Sean Mcgahern on One Radio with Aaron Benjamin

This is a radio on super 1 radio interview by Aaron Benjamin about the upcoming world record attempt. Sean will be attempting to break the record of longest cold water dive in Malta,
Thanks Aaron see you soon thanks for the slot on air......

World record breaking attempt at St George's Bay next weekend - timesofmalta.com

World record breaking attempt at St George's Bay next weekend - timesofmalta.com

This GWR will be to raise money for local charity in Malta with the support of every one for 'DAR TAL-PROVIDENZA'
We firmly believe that we should shoulder some of the responsibility and participate in the Church's mission to offer security and other support services to those who seek support. RTK4Charity is determined to help in the creation of a more caring society that would contribute and in the process, enhance the potential of those who seek its support. Please help. Your contribution will make a difference.

 

rtk for charity. 

One week to Go!!!!!!

One week to go until the WRD Guinness Record Attempt for Longest Cold Water Open Sea Dive - Saturday 3rd March 23.00hrs at Starfish Diving School, Corinthia St. George, St Julians.

X-FM MALTA RADIO INTERVIEW

This is the radio interview with Steve Hili onX-FM 100.2FM Malta with slide show of the dive team..........

WRD Malta Promo Video March 2012

 

Two weeks today we will finally be entering the water! After long months, weeks and days of preparation everything seems to have fallen in place... now we wait to the day to arrive! Saturday 3rd March, 11.30pm @ Starfish Diving School, Corinthia St. George, Paceville! Hope to see you all there!!!

Thanks To M&A diving supplies

Big Thanks to M&A  who has been one of our sponers from day one
has supplied us with full face mask /  rocket fins / masks along with Aqualung
7mm gloves for the team and aqualung 7mm hoods also for the team along with
various other dive kit for team members along with Intova torches and strobe lights

M&A started as a family business in 1968, over the years it grew into the main distributor of scuba related products for the Islands of Malta a hub for scuba diving in the Mediterranean. The business now employs 5 full time members offering sales and servicing for Bauer Compressors, Aqualung group, Tusa, PADI , IQ, Faber, Worthington, Sea pearls Mcnett and a selection of other manufacturers.
We hope to have brought you a balance between price, service and quality and strive to supply you with goods directly from our warehouse avoiding unnecessary delays in waiting for goods to prepare your order.

M&A Diving Supplies Malta 

T-15 Days

Diver Sean McGahern,
 who currently holds the Maltese record for the longest cold water open sea dive, is planning to break the Guinness World Record on 3 March. He speaks to Francesca Vella about the event, his fascination with the underwater world and with world records
Sean McGahern currently holds the Maltese record for the longest warm water dive, as well as the longest cold water open sea dive, having spent nine hours and 45 minutes underwater. The current Guinness World Record for the cold water open sea dive category is 11 hours and 42 minutes.
“On my attempt to break this record on Valentine’s Day last year, I had to abort the dive due to bad weather conditions with force six to seven winds.”
However, the 36-year-old diver has not given up and is going to attempt to break the world record again. “My aim now is not only to beat the Guinness World Record, but to raise the benchmark to 15 hours.”
Last summer, Mr McGahern also attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the longest warm water dive, which currently stands at 48 hours eight minutes and 17 seconds. He said there is also the World Record Academy and the record for the warm water category stands at 50 hours and two minutes.
Guinness World Record dives of this type of duration must be in open sea water at a minimum depth of 11 metres for the whole duration of the dive, that is without surfacing. For the World Record Academy, on the other hand, one must dive below a minimum of five metres. The depth difference is what makes the dive, as well as the decompression plans, more challenging, explained Mr McGahern.
On 19 September, 2009 he broke the Guinness World Record for the longest warm water dive at 25 hours and 10 minutes. Shortly after, in mid-2010, his crown was taken from him. In another attempt last summer, the dive had to be aborted after 36 hours and 22 minutes, due to unforeseen technical issues. However, he improved his personal best by 11 hours.
“This helped me gain more experience and confidence. I do plan to re-attempt to achieve this record in summer, by pushing for 55 hours in order to break both the Guinness World Record and the World Record Academy records.”


He is very optimistic about the forthcoming events and has no doubt that he will set new records.
“Over the years we have built a strong team of motivated individuals who have shown their constant support and who I now consider family. These events would not be possible without them. Moreover, I hope that my dive event records serve as a showcase for this sport and a means of promoting Malta as an ideal destination for divers.”
Asked about his fascination with the underwater world, Mr McGahern said he is not a treasure hunter or a treasure seeker. However, he explained, so much has been lost to our oceans, and we are only aware of about 17% of what is actually lies beneath the waves.
“Curiosity got the better of me from a young age, when I used to spend countless hours exploring my uncle’s bookcase, which revealed a whole new world to me, the world that took me under the sea. The thought of being able to swim free as a fish, float the deep azure waters and see a whole new world stayed with me until eventually, in the year 2000 I was in a position to turn my lifelong dream into a reality.”
Over time, the more hours he spent underwater the more comfortable he started to feel. He said that till today, he is still impressed by the silence found underneath the surface of the ocean.
“I find that being underwater not only helps me to relax, but I seem to forget about any problems on my mind while I’m down there. I suppose I consider it some sort of get-away, so much so that I always seem to dread coming back up.”

Spending so much time underwater, after so many years of diving, he had learnt to not only observe the vast amount of marine life and explore wrecks, but through his record-breaking events, he has adapted to living underwater. In fact, his safety team has witnessed him eating, drinking and even sleeping on the seabed.
“I truly enjoy sharing this experience with others, as well as learning from other divers. My idea of a fun day out is a dive with my safety team on a sunny afternoon. Nothing thrills me more than a relaxed dive with friends.”
He first decided to start attempting to break the Guinness World Record after he lost his mother to brain cancer in 1997. During her battle she was helped by a Maltese organisation and this motivated Mr McGahern to raise awareness about those suffering from cancer.
One afternoon, while discussing different fund-raising possibilities with some friends in the UK, one of his mates jokingly suggested organising a Guinness World Record dive event. 

“This didn’t sound so funny to me and I thought it would be a brilliant idea to fly over to Malta, a place I considered home for many years, and plan this event.”
During the forthcoming event, Mr McGahern will be using about 15 cylinders of air. He will keep a couple of spare cylinders down on the seabed for emergency purposes, bearing in mind that the colder the sea temperature, the more air he is likely to use.
He will be accompanied by 18 safety divers, who will need to ensure that his safety, as well their own, is not in jeopardy. They will also be supplying him with cylinders and retrieving expelled cylinders, delivering drinks, vitamins and food during the course of the dive, keeping an eye on temperature, heart rate and central nervous system levels, as well as relaying information from the seabed to land. 

The team also consists of eight land support members who will ensure that everything is under control during the event, tracking all records and making sure divers do not exceed their dive times. They will also need to ensure that the correct drinks and medications are brought down to Mr McGahern on time, and will also be in charge of updating the webpage and blogs on each phase of the event. Together with the safety divers, Mr McGahern will also clean up the bay as a means of promoting environmental awareness.
The event will take place at Starfish Diving School in St George’s Bay on Saturday 3 March and starts at 11.30pm. It will be held in collaboration with Corinthia St George, Corinthia Marina Resort and Nordic+ Club. The aim is to spend 15 hours at a minimum depth of 11 metres. Any divers who are interested in joining for a pleasure dive are more than welcome.
Mr McGahern is dedicating this dive to his grandfather Lawrence Clements, who passed away on 20 December, 2011. 
Thanks to the Malta Independent for the write up