Diving insiders had been dismayed and saddened closing month as an nameless group of folk the usage of the moniker “Scuba Sam,” published a series of emails with the right here-to-fore non-public particulars of the 47-one year extinct, ragged Egyptian Army Colonel and tech instructor coach Ahmed Gabr’s Guinness world document deepest scuba dive to 332 m/1,090 toes on September 18, 2014, in the Red Sea off the breeze alongside with the circulate of Dahab, Egypt. He reportedly broke South African cave explorer Nuno Gomes’ old world document of 318 m/1,044 toes spot in Dahab in 2005.
The emails, which had been organized into six installments and sent to plenty of excessive-profile technical divers at the side of Gomes, as effectively as dive media outlets earlier than being posted on Fb on August 27, known as into question the validity of Gabr’s document, particularly whether he reached a document depth the least bit. The emails had been furthermore sent to Guinness World Records. A advisor confirmed to me that they had been being reviewed by the company’s File Administration Team.
Every of the emails equipped a detailed evaluation of a basic component of Gabr’s dive constant with files that had been saved largely non-public unless now. This files integrated a true headcam video taken by Gabr’s lead toughen diver, part of the staunch “runtime” dive thought showing Gabr’s preliminary deliberate gas switches and decompression stops, and a detailed document of the chain of custody of the actual Guinness depth tags that had been to be old to validate the document.
Taken as a total, the analyses highlighted a replace of substantive discrepancies in Gabr’s reported depth document claim and raised questions about Guinness’ quality take an eye on, and most definitely about deep diving records themselves. This may per chance per chance also very effectively be up to Guinness, after all, to resolve whether the allegations are legitimate, and if that is so, whether Gabr may per chance be allowed to defend his document.
The historic past of diving can even furthermore be characterized as a understand higher depth and elevated backside time, so it shouldn’t be exquisite that there are deep diving records. The actual fact is they symbolize a salvage of conundrum in technical diving culture. On the one hand, for the person, deep document scuba diving may per chance be very harmful, comparable to physiological Russian roulette, and arguably lacks foremost motive rather then bragging and or promotional rights. On the opposite hand, as a community, we’re driven by our genetic disposition to explore and judge exactly where the limits are. The question is how form we as a community strike a steadiness between the two.
It’s fee noting that once in contrast with indecent compressed gas diving, the steadiness level is arguably powerful pretty plenty of for internationally-sanctioned freediving depth competitions, which earn a solid security document and are basically athletic endeavors.
Historically, in the case of deep world document scuba dives, plenty of divers earn lost their lives attempting to most efficient a prior document. In Gabr’s case, there had been on the least two known unsuccessful attempts to beat his document, every of which resulted in fatalities. For that reason, many tech divers are unsupportive of plenty of these dives and ponder they desires to be discontinued. The likelihood that a world document dive may per chance be faked casts further doubt on their veracity. The likelihood that somebody may per chance per chance well truly unfaithful one, effectively….right here is what we know.
The Prognosis
As a replace of merely contesting Gabr’s document, Scuba Sam’s episodic analyses raised pointed questions in regards to the dive, constant with the evidence old to validate the document that had no longer been beforehand made public. In step with Scuba Sam, Gabr modified into required to manufacture two objects of evidence to validate his dive. First, he needed to retrieve one of a replace of outlandish, signed depth tags that had been attached to the descent line under the supervision of the Guinness adjudicator, in 5-meter increments (320, 325, 330, 335, etc.) origin trusty beyond the depth of Gomes’ document.
2d, the basic deep toughen diver would video assembly Gabr at depth for the length of his ascent. Within the video, Gabr would prove the retrieved mark, alongside with the show conceal of his dive computer showing his most depth, which presumably would correlate with the depth on the mark. The toughen diver would then ferry the mark, which may per chance per chance well be zip-tied to his shoulder D-ring to the Guinness advisor, who then inspected it for authenticity and considered the video to verify potentially the most depth, and then granted Gabr the document. It desires to be unheard of that, in accordance with sources, the Guinness adjudicator modified into no longer a diver.
In step with cautious examination of the evidence, as effectively as their intimate files of the dive, the Scuba Sam collective, which possible entails people of Gabr’s document dive crew (or on the least has been in contact with them), uncovered 5 discrepancies that lift severe questions in regards to the legitimacy of Gabr’s document.
- Gabr’s ScubaPro Digital 330 m Depth Timer, which in accordance with sources, modified into lined with neoprene glue to guard the crystal obscuring your total readings excluding “most depth,” modified into identified to be the Imperial and never the Metric version of the utility. For that reason, potentially the most depth discovering out of 330 modified into in feet no longer meters. The Depth Timer and one other computer did no longer continue to exist the dive. A third surviving computer modified into clipped at 90m by thought and never went to depth.
- Although he reported that his dive went in accordance with thought, Gabr modified into 21 m/70 toes shallower, and eight minutes earlier than his runtime time table, when he met his first toughen diver at 90 m/294 toes approximately 50 minutes into the dive. Shortening or altering the approximate 15-hour-prolonged decompression time table can even a good deal expand the likelihood of a severe decompression worry. Dive crew people (thought under) instructed me that it modified into highly unfamiliar for the time table to vary by higher than one to two minutes for the length of practising dives. “Even a one-minute distinction on a 200-meter plus dive modified into a large deal,” one crew member said.
- Within the video, Gabr is viewed flippantly breathing the depraved gas—his trimix 4/85 (4% O2, 85% He, 11% N2) back gas at 90m/294 toes, in deserve to from his trimix 12/75 stage bottle, which he modified into supposed to swap to at 120 m/392 toes. The stage appears unused with the regulator aloof in region, on the opposite hand the image is a slight bit obscured. Detrimental or missed gas switches on a dive of this magnitude can even trigger severe worry or dying.
- A trigonometric evaluation of the perspective of the descent line constant with line markings—divers reported a fierce present – would possible build Gabr’s 335-meter mark at about 303 m/989 toes, which may per chance per chance well be afraid of the document.
- Reportedly, there had been on the least three breaks in the chain of custody of the depth tags following the appearance of the Guinness adjudicator, and an arguably much less-than-clear direction of, that potential that the legitimate tags can even had been altered and or replaced earlier than the document dive. To boot, eyewitnesses reported that Gabr and his lead toughen diver had been no longer searched thoroughly for tags earlier than coming into the water. As one gape build it, “Gabr potentially can even earn smuggled a firearm past.” The descent line modified into pulled up the day after Gabr’s document dive, however the event modified into no longer recorded or documented.
What About Gabr’s Dive Team?
After I learn Scuba Sam’s first and 2d emails, my first intuition modified into to are attempting to validate that the video and dive thought files modified into legitimate. I modified into furthermore skeptical as to why this files modified into popping out now, roughly six years after Gabr’s dive. Fortunately, an trade buddy build me in contact with a member of Gabr’s dive crew, who agreed to grunt with me on the condition of anonymity.
The diver then referred me to 1 other member of the crew, who referred me to 1 other. All together I interviewed 5 crew people, who validated the authenticity of the video and the thought, alongside with a native tech operator. Remark that the distinctive dive crew consisted of 22 people at the side of 12 toughen divers, who spent nine months working with Gabr to put together for his document strive, which integrated 22 practising dives, and consumed higher than 500,000 liters of helium, and bigger than 250,000 liters of oxygen. The gas modified into donated by sponsors.
After talking among themselves, the crew people I interviewed made up our minds that as a bunch they wished to stay nameless for this article. Three of the folk instructed me that they had been afraid of that that you just may per chance per chance well take into consideration retaliation from Gabr and feared for his or her effectively-being and their livelihoods. In step with them, one toughen diver who modified into focused on retrieving the descent line the day after the dive modified into reportedly threatened, subjected to a campaign to discredit him, forced to present up his possession in the native dive shop, and ended up fleeing Egypt for his existence, plenty of months after the incident.
All 5 of the crew people that I spoke to had been livid, distraught, and felt betrayed. “Every of us had questions on the time, however there had been plausible answers. After I build all of it together now, I possess boring,” one said. Another said, “I trusty need the truth to come out. I’m fuming!” And one other, “I haven’t heard any correct answers. I don’t are attempting to wait on somebody who has cheated.”
Several crew people instructed me that once somebody confronted Gabr about his breathing back gas after seeing the video, he reportedly responded by announcing he had lag out of (deco) gas, contradicting his earlier statements that the dive had long past as deliberate. “There are trusty so many holes,” a toughen diver unheard of.
Tiny Discrepancies
In step with crew people, there had been plenty of runt discrepancies leading up to the dive, every with plausible answers. On the time, no one had build all of them together.
- Why did Gabr build neoprene cement on the corners of his ScubaPro Depth Timer obscuring almost all of the learn-outs excluding for optimum depth? Resolution: It modified into instructed by the producer to guard the integrity of the crystal face.
- Why would Gabr thought to clip off one of his dive computer methods at 90m and never elevate it to the backside? Resolution: To make certain he had a working computer on the ascent.
- Why had been there no submersible pressure gauges (SPGs) on the tanks? Resolution: Fewer parts of failure.
- Why wasn’t Gabr willing to lift a camera to doc the dive? Resolution: He didn’t need his childhood to thought the video on the Web if he had been to die.
All plausible answers taken by themselves, however taken as a total doubtlessly symbolize a sample of non-transparency.
To boot, crew people unheard of that Gabr apparently had an unheard of amount of energy after surfacing from his 15-hour dive, which carried out at about 12: 30 am. After offering a defense power salute, he modified into chatting and shaking every person’s hands and needed to be instructed to sit down. He even needed to be dissuaded from working later in the morning.
In difference, Gomes modified into so exhausted following his 12-hour world document dive, he needed to be helped to trail off the boat, modified into placed on a saline drip, and modified into wheeled to the auto with a diving doc in attendance and modified into driven to his hotel. There he modified into given a scientific, placed on precautionary oxygen, and went to sleep. He rested for plenty of days however he said that it took him a couple of weeks earlier than he modified into back to fashioned. John Bennett, one other prior 300m/979 toes reportedly had a identical experience.
Some speculated that the variation modified into on account of the truth that Gabr’s crew removed his quads (four back mounted cylinders) and switched him to a sidemount rig at his 21 m/70 toes halt, while Gomes stayed in his quads the total dive. On the opposite hand, Gomes, who has been diving quads since 1996 and has a total bunch of in-water hours on them, is insistent that carrying quads had nothing to form alongside with his condition. “I can grunt you with 100 p.c certain bet that having the quads on my back for the length of the dive made completely no distinction to my condition and how I felt in a while,” Gomes wrote to me.
Why weren’t any of the discrepancies highlighted in the video noticed on the day of the dive? These tag reported that it modified into a tense operation. “The day modified into insane. Chaos. There had been folks, the click, and the police. There modified into no time to ponder or compare notes,” one crew member recalled. Prerequisites had been furthermore tense, with a ripping present. The toughen boat reportedly even ran out of food. “It modified into potentially the most tense day of my existence,” a toughen diver instructed me. Another explained that he modified into so job loaded, all he can even form to focal level on his job. Gabr’s dive concluded about 12: 30 am. By 1: 30 am, the boat modified into back on the quay. Gabr modified into then awarded his Guinness world document certificate.
So why is all of this popping out now, six years after the dive?
Blame it on the COVID-19. After powerful of the northern hemisphere went into lockdown earlier in the one year, one crew member reportedly made up our minds to employ the time to write a book in regards to the world document dive experience and obtained in contact with others to grunt about their experiences, to match notes, and then he started reviewing the ideas. No one had reviewed the video. “It modified into a holy sh*t moment. We had been seeing the video with original eyes, no longer what we had wished to thought,” a crew member reported.
What Now?
After seeing the basic four emails and interviewing crew people, I reached out to Gabr to thought if he may per chance per chance well be willing to grunt with me on the document. He responded hasty and said that he may per chance per chance well be willing to chat however asked if we are able to also wait unless the closing installment of Scuba Sam’s emails had been published. I contacted him again after the closing electronic mail episode modified into launched and the diverse analyses posted on Fb. Gabr said he may per chance per chance well be chuffed to form the interview in the subsequent few days and gave me some that that you just may per chance per chance well take into consideration times. He asked if I may per chance per chance well electronic mail him the checklist of questions that I deliberate to search files from. I sent him my questions and waited to hear back.
Gabr wrote back to me the day earlier than we had been tentatively scheduled to chat. He thanked me for my hobby however explained that he wouldn’t be ready to form the interview. “No longer attributable to I don’t are attempting to,” he wrote, “however attributable to all my media interactions deserve to be authorized first by my trusty crew and apart from they instructed in opposition to doing the interview on the moment.”
Creator’s prove: Gabr contacted me and agreed to form an interview trusty as this memoir modified into being finalized for liberate. His responses to my questions may per chance be published on Friday 4th September
This may per chance per chance also very effectively be up to Guinness to analyze the allegations which had been leveled and form a decision whether Gabr truly done a world document deep dive or no longer. Given the newly published evidence, and Gabr’s seeming lack of response, he’ll possible face a gargantuan level of skepticism on the part of the technical diving community unless in fact legendary and the subject is resolved.
I asked Gomes, who’s spent the bulk of his thirty-some one year occupation making deep dives for his standpoint on the insist. Despite every little thing, reckoning on the tip results of Guinness’ deliberations, his world document dive to 318 m/1,044 toes may per chance be reinstated. We spoke by phone. “I never doubted Gabr’s document modified into legitimate,” Gomes equipped. “How can even somebody fool Guinness World records? It can well elevate a effectively-deliberate scam, a helluva scam. It’d be trusty abominable. I point out how can even you dwell with yourself? It’s trusty impossible.”
Remark: A version of this article has furthermore been published on GUE’s In-Depth Blog.
