Vertical Blue 2010: Record Breaking Dives

As predicted, the 2010 Vertical Blue in the Bahamas was a competition full of record breaking dives. Their hard work and training seems to have paid off as the divers pushed their bodies to new limits.

In just the first few days of the 2010 Vertical Blue both world and national freediving records have been shattered. The event was held at Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas.

New Zealander William Trubridge is now the first man to surpass 300 feet, freediving completely unassisted - which is known as constant weight no fins (CNF).

Without the aid of fins, William Trubridge swam an adapted form of the breaststroke down a vertical line and snatched a tag from the bottom plate to prove his feat. He was able to swim all the way down and back to the surface within a total time of 3min 45sec.

A regulation Suunto D4 depth guage also records the depth of the dive.

Constant Weight No Fins is an extreme test of the human body and is the most demanding of the freediving disciplines. During a freedive, there is always a risk of running out of oxygen and losing consciousness underwater.

Just a day before William Trubridge's accomplished dive, American freediver Robert King added a huge four metres onto his free immersion (FIM) national record, diving to 86m in 3min 9sec.