Pascal Bernabé
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profile Pascal Bernabé A conversation with diver for the free dive even before that event, technical diver and champions, Pipin Ferraras we were working together and Audrey Mestre, so while they trained for depth record break- there are several fac- the record attempt. For er, Pascal Bernabé. tors behind it. It was also a cave diver like me, it a matter of pushing the was something very new Pascal Bernabé has just frontiers. It was exciting to and different and also held a press conference go places where nobody kind of a dream coming at the Moscow dive show had ever been before. It true because of the cult answering questions from wasn’t out of competitive movie, The Big Blue. Before an enthusiastic audience reasons, in order to be the I went to see that movie, I about his 330 meter record best, go the deepest, or had never dived. But after dive. The soft spoken anything like that. I did it I watched it, I wanted to Frenchman seems relieved just for my own sake. experience the same sen- to slip out of the uncom- sations and kinds of chal- fortable limelight on the For the exploration? lenges. I then got to meet stage. Having escaped Yes, and for fun—although Pipin, and we developed the massive attention for that record dive did not a very good relationship a while, he grabs a chair leave all that much room that has lasted to this day. beside me, and we begin for having fun—and to to converse about the be the only one, besides So, it was a mix of sport meaning of it all. commercial or military and challenge? divers, that has ventured Why do you dive so deep? that deep on scuba. You can say that, and it Is it for seeking adventure, was very different from exploration, or developing But working as a safety cave diving. Once, I was equipment? diver for Pipin Ferraras and also a coal diver in Tunisia. Andrey Mestre is some- So, I have had a lot of dif- Actually, it is about all thing completely different. ferent experiences. But of those good reasons. a core issue has always Above all, I am a cave This goes back a while. been that I never wanted and wreck explorer, and it The deepest free dives at to be a Kamikaze diver was because of the caves that time were Pipin’s and either. I tried to make the that I started diving deep- Mestre’s dives to 170m. deepest parts, where the er and deeper. I also hap- It took place off Cabo diver is subjected to HPNS pened to work as a safety san Lucas in Mexico. But and everything, the safest A talk with Text edited by Peter Symes Photos courtesy of Pascal Bernabé A Cool Teacher Peter Symes and Andrey Bizyukin 41 X-RAY MAG : 23 : 2008 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED Bernabé Who are Franscisco profile “Pipin” Ferreras & there is like a third of a kilometre equipment and plenty Andrey Mestre? back to the surface”? of tanks. It should also be mentioned that I Ferreras was born on the My first sensation was fear. This is keep fit through a lot northern coast of Cuba, and normal experience also on cave of physical exercis- began to practice free-diving dives. I naturally also had some ing like running, biking at the age of five. “Pipin” was stress before the dive, but soon all and swimming. I also use his nickname from childhood. these emotions get replaced by relaxation techniques and Little is known about Ferreras’ concentration. However, when, on visualisations. life in Cuba before his freediv- the bottom, one of my instruments, ing career. From the late 1980s imploded, the fear came rushing It depends Can ‘normal’ recreational and onward, he made a name back, because I became afraid on the type scuba divers and holiday makers for himself in the so-called that I was about to suffer an acci- of dive and learn anything from your insights “no-limits” discipline of freediv- dent. Aside from that, you become what kind of challenges and experiences. Would being ing where he established his very focused on what is at stake. I lie ahead. The year before more fit and eating right give the first known world record of did have a few tremors during the the 330 meter dive was one long average diver a much better div- 112 meters (367 feet) depth in dive, but it wasn’t preparation. One month prior, I ing experience do you think? November 1989. Shortly here- much. went to 150 meters inside a cave, after, he defected to Italy and possible. I brought lots of gas, What do you perceive when which was very challenging, and The idea should always later migrated to Florida, United much more than was really you are down there? Do you How do you while it was a completely different be to make every dive, States. Through the 1990s, he es- necessary. I did rapid descents, feel clear in your head? Do mentally pre- type of dive, it helped in the overall regardless of depth, the tablished a long series of world but very slow ascents. For my you perceive that you are pare to go so mental training. safest and best possible experi- records, often in close rivalry first deep dives, I brought an 330 meters deep? ence by all possible means. Every with Italian Umberto Pelizzari. incredible amount of tanks. down and So, it is essentially all your training dive comes with some level of risk. go, “Oh, and getting acquainted with your So, be fit and use the best pos- In 1996, he met French-born equipment that instills confidence sible equipment you can afford. Mexican-national Audrey before a deep dive? In my case, I applied these prin- Mestre who turned out to be a ciples to move my limits. But, in natural freediver herself. In 1999, I also try to get the best possible essence, there is no difference. they married, and quickly the two became a regular record- breaking couple in the sport of freediving, dividing men and women’s records between them. On 12 October 2002, Mestre died in an attempt to break the no-limits world record (this attempt was a bid to break both the men’s and women’s record) in a setup that was widely criticized within freediv- ing circles. Much of the criti- cism went to Ferreras who had X-RAY MAG’s organized all of his and Mestre’s Russian editor, record attempts for years. ■ Andrey Byzuikin, SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA assists Pascal Bernabe with translations during X-RAY MAG’s publisher the Russian dive Peter Symes with expo Pascal Bernabe 42 X-RAY MAG : 23 : 2008 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED profile Bernabé All dives should be made as safe as but we really don’t have so many occurrences of prob- possible. options to choose from. At a cer- lems and cases of tain depth, you just need so many DCI seemed to spike. What other knowledge do we gain tanks. Also HPNS starts to become from deep dives? Do we learn an issue, which you will then have So, pretty much all the something new about physiology or to find ways to manage. I have also factors, from equip- technology. taken a closer look into dive pro- ment, physiology, men- files and experiences of other deep tal aspects, seem to The circumstances of a dive seem divers such as the late John Bennett, change at that same to change significantly around the Jim Bowden, etc., and from the point? 250 meter mark. Down to this, every- logged stats. It seemed to me, once thing usually feels okay to me. dives went past the 250m mark, the Yes. It does not feel extreme Is there something until like a barrier at that 220-230 particular depth? meters. But And why 250m? after that, you have the At this point, there sensation of is a huge increase pushing limits in in the amount of every aspect and equipment needed. being in a game of What’s HPNS? Even if you dive Russian Roulette. rebreathers, also if High pressure nervous syndrome (HPNS) is you have a double How do you feel after a neurological disturbance that may rebreather, it is my such an experience? ally result fom breathing a high-pressure opinion that you also Do you get the sense not quite mixture of helium and oxygen—such need open circuit. of having achieved or sure myself as as trimix or heliox—under high pressure At these extreme conquered something? to why I wanted to for an extended amount of time, putting depths, the breath- It is funny, because make that dive. It was only much a physiological limit on deep technical dives. ing performance of after all my biggest later that I started appreciating rebreathers can be cave dives, I just felt the dive more, and that was for “Helium tremors” were first described in the early 1960’s by quite poor. happy. During the a number of other reasons, too. It among others, Royal Navy physiologist, Peter B. Bennett, decompression stages, I opened doors for me. It helped in who later founded the Divers Alert Network. The term They get hard to felt elated and relieved getting sponsors, which is not very high pressure nervous syndrome was first used by Brauer breathe? of stress.