Brett Lemasters' World Record Dive
Posted By Dan Hodgins on 1 July 2000
In the last half year I have witnessed a human evolution. It has been one of the most fascinating times in my water sports career. Just recently I was lucky enough to be a part of the scuba support team who worked with Brett Lemaster as he trained for and set the Men's Constant Ballast world free diving record. In my free diving and scuba diving history of over ten years, I was never so awed by a person's drive to accomplish a challenge in the water. I've completed around 3000hrs underwater plus or minus. Nothing prepared me for what I experienced. I had one of the most amazing moments in my life watching Brett swim down unassisted to 266ft, pick a tag off a line, then turn around, calm, cool and collected swimming back to the surface, all on his own accord!
The Constant Ballast category in free diving compititions is by far the most difficult form of free diving. It is the one that demands the most amount of respect from anyone who is involved in the sport of free diving. In terms of what holding the Constant Ballast World Record would be if you were a boxer, baseball player or even into hockey. It's like the Heavy Weight Belt, World Series or Stanley Cup! What's even better is there has never been a North American who held the TITLE. History in the making!
During Brett's two minute and fifty second dive he wore four pounds of weight. A three millimeter wet suit and C4 carbon fiber blade fins. He spent about an hour preparing to make his descent. During warm up Brett would go into a transformation. Brett moved from being a terrestrial being, morfing into an aquatic one. A process that Brett has been perfecting over the past five years of his life. Mammalian Diving Reflex what is it? It's Brett's heart rate dropping, bradicardia ever slowly as he drops in the water column on his descent. His heart rate may drop as low as 10-12 beats per minute, maybe less? His blood shunting (blood vessel contractions in the extremities forcing blood back to the body's core). The oxygen rich blood is relocated back to the major organs, brain, heart and liver. His body became fully transitioned from our air environment to his now very familiar aquatic surroundings. We as human beings grow up with our stimulus coming from the land. Brett has adapted to take control of his aquatic reaction. He uses his aquatic biorhythms, (latent breath-hold skills deep in his brain cortex) to forge ever deeper past what no other person has ever done. Most land locked humans will never understand what we as free divers experience. Basically we change during repetitive breath-hold dives. Focus, breathing patterns, descent turn around at depth and lastly ascent back to the surface. Nothing like it is there? NOTHING!
That does it take to be the best, the very best in free diving? From what I can see, drive and dedication for sure, a willingness to let it all go, get in touch and trust your most basic instincts and go for it! Trust in yourself. And Big.... Call it passions; call it destiny call it what ever you want, Brett became very serious about becoming the world's deepest man. I teach free diving. I free dive, alot! I can tell you from a person who has made, what I would consider deep free dives, to accomplish what Brett did is amazing!
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