Eric Fattah (1)
Carla-Sue Hanson
Misuzu Hirai            
Robert King
Dave Mullins (4)
Guillaume Nery (4)
Herbert Nitsch (28 )
Frank Pernett
Niki Roderick
Alfredo Romo
Jared Schmelzer
Ryuzo Shinomiya
Martin Stepanek (13)
Walter Steyn
William Trubridge (8 )
William Winram

In case you are wondering what the numbers next to the names are, they are the number of world records set during the athlete's career.  A total of 58 records between all the competitors, almost all of whom are national champions in one or more disciplines.  This is the strongest field for a Vertical Blue event, or any freediving competition other than AIDA the world championships.  The format, the incredible venue and the dizzying depths being reached by some of these athletes all foretell an epic event.
Expect fireworks...

Hot on their heels are a group of formidable athletes who are all either ex-world record holders or national champions, including Guillaume Nery, Ryuzo Shinomiya, Dave Mullins, William Winram, Walter Steyn and Robert King.
It is fitting then that this year Vertical Blue will inaugurate the very first edition of the Suunto Dive-off, a contest to confirm who is the best all-round freediver in the world.
The system is simple and eloquent: in each of the three disciplines, (CNF, FIM and CWT) an athlete can earn up to 100 points, depending on the ratio of their best performance compared to the best dive in the event.
So if Jack registers the deepest FIM dive, with 110m, then he receives 100 points, whereas Joe's dive to 90m earns him 90/110 x 100 = 81.8 points.
This way each discipline has the same weighting, and the freediver with the best aggregate (out of a possible total of 300) wins the Suunto Dive-off and is crowned the best all-round freediver of the year.

Vertical Blue will maintain the same format as its past 2 editions: 9 days of diving organised into 3 acts between April 17-27, with a day of rest between each act.  Potentially freedivers could attempt each discipline several times, and we are anticipating that records may fall repeatedly as the top divers attempt to finish the event with the deepest performances.  No longer will there be any conservative "holding it back for the next event," and the judges will be measuring the line all the way to the bottom...

More news will follow soon on what will be the most high profile individual event of the 2010 calendar.

Even if this is the main cause, it is hard to really put too much blame on the people of these cultures, who have probably never been educated as to the durability of plastic and it's effect on the marine environment.  Instead the blame should really rest on the shoulders of companies who ship vast quantities of disposable plastic products to countries that have no ecological practice for its disposal or recycling.  After all you wouldn't give a gun to someone who doesn't know it is a weapon, so how can you justify shipping tonnes of plastic to countries who will inevitably release it into the environment?

Since this is an issue that directly affects the Bahamas, and Dean's Blue Hole in particular, Vertical Blue is adopting the seaborne plastic problem as its major cause, and over the next several years we will work to increase the awareness of the situation as well as develop and implement methods to resolve it.  Any ideas or information would always be appreciated.

The drama was around the silver and bronze medals.

The world championships started with record depths demanded for a place in the final in the no fins category. Three french men announced the same depth - 73 meters (which became the qualifying depth), forcing the organization to include them all in the final. It was no surprise that the ruling world record holder William Trubridge announced the deepest depth in the final. The plate was lowered to 90 meters depth where no light reaches down. Before that the crowd on the beached had seen the Austrian Herbert Nitsch try for a world record depth of 89 meter, making it down there in a 3.40 minute dive, but failing to deliver correct surface protocol to the judges at the surface, due to low oxygen and lack of focus (and lingering narcosis). Trubridge compeeting on "home turf" did a very secure dive to 90 meters leaving the competition behind. The Canadian William Winram did an impressive come back, with first an 80 meter dive in the heats, and then 86 meter in the final, claiming the silver medal. Due to young Alexey Molchanovas short black out at the surface after a 83 meter dive, the french man Guillaume Nery took the bronze with a 78 meter dive - and remember, these are dives done with breast strokes down and up.

Among the women Natalja Molchanova was out of reach for the other women with her 62 meter no fins dive lasting 3.15. Nikki Roderick, New Zealand, claimed silver with a 55 meter dive (coached by her partner the multiple world record holder Martin Stepanek). Jana Strain Canada kept within her limits, not pushing it too far as has happened before, took the Bronze medal with a 54 meter dive coming up with blood from the sinuses.
But no one was as happy as Junko Kitahama finishing 4th with a 52 meter Japanese record (leaving her coach crying happy tears). Junko having progressed nearly 10 meter during the training week preceding the World championship.

Constant Weight dives (CWT = with monofin).
After an early turn from Jana Strains, leaving her out of the CWT (fins) final, Swedish Klara Hansson made it into the top 6 doing one of the many national records during this world championship. Japaneese Misuzu Hirai managed two national records in this competition and finished 4th with a dive to 72 meters. Jarmilla Slovencikova from Czeck republic did 74 meters national record and finished with a bronze.
Sara Campbell having lost motivation for really challenging the ruling Champion Natalja, did a (for her) easy dive to 92 meters. Natalja for the first time in years not announcing a world record depth in a world championship claimed the gold medal after a 97 meter dive.

For the men, in the classic fin category not even a 80 meter dive with monofin was enough to make it into the top 10. One of the favorites, the Japanese Ryouzo Shinomiya, turned early at 90, and missed the final, letting swedish Johan Dahlström into the top 6 and the final.
The final for the men was all clean dives, everyone making their announced depths the 6th and last place in the final with a 100 meter dive. as expected.

The Blue Hole in Long Island proved to be perfect place for performance freediving. Calm, deep, warm waters a few swim strokes from land. 51 athletes from 17 nations participated making it one of the smallest World Championships, but at the same time one of the most successful in the sense of depths achieved and number of national records.

World records
Natalja Molchanova 62 meter CNF
William Trubridge 90 meter CNF

BO percentage 8%
DQ percentage 10%

VERTICAL BLUE
- WC organizer.

Well done Sebastian, the athletes of the 2009 World Championships salute you!

Sebastian in an Orca swimskin suit, breast-stroking down to 65 meters (213 feet) and back.

Sebastian was overtaken by copatriot Christian Ernest, but with another mini-competition scheduled for the day off between the finals, he may yet have the last word...

above: Pavel Alcocer of Venezuela, all smiles after a clean dive to 47 meters

Mikko Pontinen (left) swam to 50m in a time of 2:18, while Anders Larsson of Sweden (right, and below) hit 63 meters, along with 4 other divers.  This was the first of three Swedish CNF records for the day - it was followed with Sebastian Naslund's 65m and Christian Ernest's 66m.

Christian Ernest putting some muscle into the armstroke.  Below: athletes program their whole day around their 'official top time' the zero hour for their dive - Christian has written it on his hand, in which he holds the tag he brought to the surface 3 minutes and five seconds later.

Above: having made stratospheric advances in training, it wasn't to be for Kerian Hibbs on the day.  Attempting 72m (after arriving at the World Champs with a PB of 55m), he blacked out just below the surface.

Christian Maldame (above left) and Guillaume Nery (right) on their way to 73m.  Morgan Bourc'his (below left) also announced the same depth, maximising the chances for all three French CNF divers to go through to the finals.  It paid off, and they will have a chance to improve on their depth on the 3rd December.  Frederic Lemaitre, doctor and coach for the French team is on the right.

For the first time in years William Winram announced a depth in CNF that was less than his training PB.  80m, in a quick dive time of 2:58, and a new pan-American record for his favoured discipline.

William Trubridge was last to dive for the day, and had announced 85m.  He was greeted on the surface by his new wife, Brittany.

all photos copywright Igor Liberti http://www.apnea.ch/

aiming for the darkness...

Junko Kitahama celebrates her new Japanese (and Asian) record of 48 meters, in a dive time of 2:11.

With a dive time exceeding three minutes, Natalia Molchanova had some of the AIDA Canada safety freedivers worried during her ascent.  She drifted the last few meters of the ascent from 55 meters, and completed the surface protocol to claim a place in the finals.

The Vertical Blue dive rig seen from below.  The plaftorm is built from fibreglass by master boat builder Francis, of Chamcem boats here on Long Island.  The official competition zone is defined by a 6 meter square of rigid floating pipe.

Mrs. Barbara Cartwright, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and Sebastian Naslund, chief organiser of the event, were the hosts for the evening.  The athletes entered with the flags of the nations they are representing, and stood for the Bahamian national anthem, sung beautifully by Mrs. Maria Watkins.  After an invocation by Father Ernest Pratt of St. Paul's Anglican Parish, addresses were made by Mrs. Salena Burrows, Minister of Tourism for Long Island, Mr. Mario Cartwright, Vice Presiden of the Chamber of Commerce, Chief Councillor Mr Ian Knowles, and Deputy Administrator Mr. Roderick Bowe.  Mrs. Ramona Taylor gave a vote of thanks, and announced the competition officially open!

The athletes assembled for the photoshoot at the opening ceremony

The site for the 2009 AIDA Freediving World Championships: Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas.

The custom built Vertical Blue dive rig

A freediver making their descent into the maw of the blue hole...


The last stroke before the freefall.

All photos courtesy Igor Liberti.

best CNF dive so far, 21/11/2009

best CWT dive so far, 22/11/2009

It has already started. Side by side every day on the diving platform the athletes are competing indirectly against each other. Who is progressing towards a peak, who is wearing himself out, who adds meters in training, who is stopped by lost mouthfuls, BO´s etc?  New suits are being tried out, new evaluation of weighting has to be done. Its about finding a peak in performance after months of training aiming for this one (or two) coming dives.  And all the time the unspoken question: how much will it take to get into the final, to be among the top 6, that gets a second dive to change final ranking?
Some have arrived with personal goals. Maybe expressed in a general desire to improve and set a competition PB, or be among the ten best. Others want to get as close as possible to 100 meters, or even break that barrier. We have seven athletes here that can dive to 100 meters with a monofin.

There have been some very ambitious athletes arriving early: William Winram, Jana Strain, Herbert Nitsch, Robert King, Johan Dahlstrom, Kerian Hibbs, and of course William Trubridge with the advantage of living here big parts of the year.
In a second wave we saw Guillaume Nery and the other french, Alexey Molchanov and Natalia Molchanova.

The atmosphere around the ropes is as usual friendly, relaxed with that underlying tension of being part of a group of people doing an adventure sport submerging to extreme depths. Depths that would gather the whole beach to watch some years ago are now done rather nonchalantly. As Christian Maldame pushing for 90+ setting off with only his safety Patrick B aware of the magnitude of the dive. Christian coming up slightly upset that his dive alarm preparing him for mouthfill at 30, beeped at 70.
Other athletes are more secretive about their training. William Winram always setting the rope at 100 (psychological reasons?) turning by feeling or depth alarm. And every day (almost) Trubridges´ dives done with lots of whisperings and hiding of rope markings by his safety diver Kerian and morally supporting wife Brittany. We are talking 90´s here I believe.

And day after day Herbert going down to 100 meters and usually pulling himself up, sticking to his strategy of only really pushing it on comp day. Most divers dive according to a 3 days diving and one day off. Guillaume Nery adding a day off after a confusing incident where he pushed himself in a 80+ dive in CNF, doing his in-water O2 deco for seven minutes breathing heavily after the dive - resulting in symptoms resembling DCS, but turning out to be hyperoxia. Otherwise no major setbacks seen so far. Kathryn McPhee trying to push her squeeze level deeper, Alexey Molchanov training at PB levels in CNF, failing once due to too little rest.

You can not get lost on Long island. There is one long paved road going on for hours. And while driving along this road you soon become aware of the many churches: assembly of god, first church of god, church of Christ, seventh day Adventists, Anglican church. One senses some level of competition here as well.
In such a "god-fearing" country it seems appropriate that the opening ceremony next Wednesday the 25th November will be started with an invocation by Father Ernest Pratt from St. Paul's Anglican Parish.

After that it will be like Umberto Pelizzari once said: "I seek god at the bottom of the ocean." (free quote)  In this case the bottom of the Deans Blue Hole. One last training day on the 26th and the next day the womens CNF qualification heat where we expect Natalia Molchanova, Sara Campbell, and Kathryn McPhee to come out with a lead.

The main organizer, Sebastian Naslund, and his assistant Filip, arrived after navigating the width of the Caribbean, surfing down giant swells in a tiny sailboat.  Together with a dedicated team of coordinators, safety divers, medics and photographers they will be responsible for moulding the event into the shape of a Swiss timepiece and ensuring the athletes have the safest conditions possible for their freedives.

Already training groups have formed, between romantic partners, compatriots and friends.  But even across the borders of these groups there is still a spirit of generosity and sociability.  Perhaps closer to the event the surreptitious surveillances and rumor-mongering will begin, but for now the waters are calm and the Blue Hole is smiling on its guests.

Over the weekend a team of local high school students descended on the blue hole beach to remove the seaborn plastic that washes up on the sand and rake up the sargasso seaweed.  Below are a couple of photos, with everything being closely documented by a Japanese film crew.

Glorope kindly agreed to sponsor the World Championships with a spool of 3/8" (10mm) dyneema glorope.  The dyneema core means that the rope has a five figure breaking strength (>10,000kg!) and is about as stretchy as a brick tower, perfect for accurate line measurements.  They have also sent us sheets of glowing vinyl stickers to cover the base plate so that the black tags are clearly visible.

At $2.33/ft ($7/meter) Glorope is not really any more expensive than standard dyneema rope of its thickness, and the glowing property will last as long as the rope does.
Visit their website at http://www.glorope.com for more information, or to buy online.

In these photos I am at Tenerife Top Training Center (Canary Islands, Spain), where as well as state of the art 50m olympic and 25m pools they have one of the most advanced flumes in the world.  A flume is like a wind tunnel, but for the liquid element.

I tested the Orca Free for both DNF and DYN and it's performance was incredible.  With the monofin on we dialed the water speed up to 2.5m/s and I clung to the railing while a river seethed around me.  I expected to be flung against the back grating, but as soon as I let go and started moving I found I was able to stay in the same place, and even make headway into the current.  The incredible silicon surface of the Orca Free meant that I felt like I was invisible to the water - it parted effortlessly around my body.

During DNF trials I was able to complete laps of a 25m pool with 2.5 relaxed strokes, and still maintain a speed of 1.0m/s.  This suit performs, and the clever inner back panel means that you are warmer than one-piece wetsuits twice its thickness.

Now I am back in the Bahamas, and have starting depth training in the lead-up to the AIDA freediving world championships.  Already I have cut 2 ascent strokes off (in an 80m dive) from what I was doing at this time last year.  Anyone who was watching Vertical Blue 2009 might recall I had difficulty in CWT with water entering the neck seal and pooling in the suit I was using, but Orca have solved this problem as well as many other minor details, creating the ultimate performance freediving suit.
The suit will be officially released in January 2010, but Orca are doing a limited run of suits in time for the World Champs, so stay tuned to this space to see if you can pick up an advance model.
You can see more about what Orca are doing for freediving at this link.

The course was a huge success, with 10 students from all over the globe thriving on the new techniques, knowledge and expertise of the instructors as well as the perfect training conditions offered by Dean's Blue Hole.  Personal best performances weren't sought out, but occurred almost daily for most students, and by the end of the course everyone had increased their operating depth by between 5 - 25m.  The yoga classes with Simon gave students a new approach to becoming in control of their own body, as well as insights into diet and breathing strategies.

Here is one warm description of the course and the Long Island experience from a close friend and Apnea Academy Instructor, Glenn Venghaus:

click here

• in water technique and dive strategy, with practical lessons and theory classes run by world record holder William Trubridge
• sessions of advanced yoga and pranayama with world-renowned Ashstanga instructor and expert in the physiology and diet of yoga, Simon Borg-Olivier.
• guided meditation and formative exercises with Brittany Vanacore

Pictures from the 2008 course

pre-dive stretching exercises on the beach in front of Dean's Blue Hole.

The class hanging out on the Vertical Blue dive platform.

Ascending under the watchful eye of instructor William Trubridge

Master Class instrucors Tim Carroll, Simon Borg-Olivier and William Trubridge

Sessions of pranayama and meditation on a rock promontory overlooking the Atlantic.

For more information visit http://www.verticalblue.net/school.php or write to info@verticalblue.net

This year Sonim released its new ultra-rugged cellphone, and the first cellphone with IP-57 certification, which means it is fully submersible to 1m for up to 30 minutes.  Although this doesn't mean you can send texts at 30m you can use this phone comfortably on boats, dive platforms and around the water.  The unit is also resistant to salt, humidity, thermal shock and transport shock (i.e. getting dropped several times a day from up to 1.65m is routine for the XP3).

There is a 2.0 megapixel camera, and ultra long-life 1180 mAh battery that delivers 5.5 hours of talk and over 9 days of standby time.  All this is covered by an unconditional 3 year warranty.

I tested my Sonim XP3 during a freediving course at Marettimo on the weekend, and it functioned perfectly in the boat, and even in the water.  There is a YouTube video of the phone lighting up with an incoming call whilst being boiled in a pot alongside the pasta...

The phone is a little heavier than phones generally are these days, but this in itself is a fashion statement, as are the chunky lines and big buttons that can be used easily with gloves.

Best of all you can buy it unlocked so you can easily swap your SIM card over to the phone when you go traveling or on a dive trip.

Sonim XP3 will be the phone used at the AIDA World Championships by the organisational team and medic.

Check out the Sonim page on http://www.sonimxp3.com for more information

Anyway the problem is resolved now, and we will be working to update the website soon with new pictures, videos, course dates and more.

Pleasant diving to everyone!

William Trubridge.

Photos courtesy of Frederic Buyle (www.nektos.net), Dave Button & Blue Eye FX and Ryuzo Shinomiya.

Herbert, Sara, Ryuzo and Tomoko in the garden at Ellen's Inn, where half of the athletes were staying.  The Ellen's Inn cat (foreground) never knew so much love!

(from left to right) Mads, Walid and Leo discuss their training on the beach next to Dean's Blue Hole.  Walid is wearing an Orca Apex 2 wetsuit, Mads an Orca Alpha, and Leo used an Orca Pflex in the competition.

Walter transports William from the platform to the oxygen station after a deep constant weight dive.  Most of the freedivers found partners amongst the other athletes to coach them during their dives.  Coaching entails looking after the athlete, giving them time cues leading up to their official top time, carrying any equipment needed, transporting on the surface, and reminding the athlete to breath and do the surface protocol upon completing the dive.

PR manager and comic relief Dave Button (middle) is courted by the lovely ladies of Vertical Blue, from left to right Kathryn McPhee, Jana Strain, Olivia Phillip and Georgina Miller.

(above and below) a pot luck dinner held at William's apartment during the training days of Vertical Blue.  Never before has Long Island seen such diversity of ethnic dishes all under one roof!

(above and below) William, Herbert and Alex Sarasitis (Herbert's coach) went on a spearfishing trip after the competition was finished.  They are holding 2 hogfish, a conch shell and 2 yellowfin rockfish - some of the most tasty seafood the Caribbean has to offer, and served up on a barbecue later that night.

The Vertical Blue athletes and crew together at the midway barbecue at Kris and Jean's private beach in Salt Pond.  Conflicting goals, common spirit.

 AIDA judge Grant Graves checking the depth on the official depth gauge for Vertical Blue 2009, a Suunto D4.  Photo courtesy Frederic Buyle.

Vertical Blue saw 5 world records in 4 events, and the correct answer in the competition, for total of 14 possible points was:

male CWT: broken, Herbert Nitsch, 120m
male CNF: broken, William Trubridge, 88m
male FIM: broken, Herbert Nitsch, 109m
female CWT: broken, Sara Campbell, 96m
female CNF: unbroken
female FIM: unbroken 

Two entrants both finished with 11 points: They were LEONARDO D'IMPORZANO from Italy, who picked:

male CWT: broken, Herbert Nitsch, 114m
male CNF: broken, William Trubridge, 88m
male FIM: broken, Herbert Nitsch, 111m
female CWT: broken, Sara Campbell, 96m
female CNF: broken, Sara Campbell, 61m
female FIM: unbroken 

and STEFAN DROGUET, who picked:

male CWT: broken, Herbert Nitsch, 115m
male CNF: broken, William Trubridge, 90m
male FIM: broken, Herbert Nitsch, 111m
female CWT: broken, Sara Campbell, 96m
female CNF: unbroken
female FIM: unbroken 

Leonardo: 3:21
Stefano:   3:37