SCUBAPRO
We’ve done it again!
Setting up the rig.
On Saturday the 31st August 2002 at 15h13, SCUBAPRO again made diving history. Together with our Record Dive Team we set the new World Record for the number of divers breathing simultaneously from one 1st stage regulator! The previous record was held in the UK with 50 divers breathing from a SCUBAPRO Mk20.
How did we do it?
75 SCUBAPRO R190 octos were rigged up through an elaborate hose and manifold system and connected to a single SCUBAPRO Mk25 1st stage. The entire regulator system was fed by a 50l 300bar cylinder courtesy of BAUER Compressors.
Everyone descended together and it must be said that the initial air consumption was horrific as divers found their places, got comfortable, and some how managed to synchronise their breathing so that everyone was inhaling and exhaling at exactly the same instant! All of the divers were submerged at a depth of between 5ft and 6ft. The water was crystal clean but clocked a chilly 17 degrees Celsius.
Due to the extremely high flow, ice formed all over the cylinder valve, 1st stage and even on the low pressure hoses. The Mk25 however didn’t stop delivering air and things began to settle down nicely. During the initial chaos, one diver did surface, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We completely exhausted the air supply and called time at 10 minutes and 9 seconds. Whew, made it by the skin of our teeth! If diver number 22 hadn’t surfaced early, we may not have had enough air to reach the 10 minute requirement.
Gear used to break the record:
1 50 litre
300 bar BAUER cylinder
1 Mk25 1st stage
75 R190 octopus regulators
115m of low pressure hose
20 low pressure manifolds
362 O-rings
And a staggering 15 000 litres of compressed air!
What the critics said:
Many people were convinced that it would never work, 75 divers breathing from one first stage sounded impossible. For starters, how could the first stage even begin to have enough flow to feed so many divers. Secondly, the fact that the first stage would freeze up and fail completely under such extreme conditions seemed almost inevitable.
What the critics say now:
Err...
That’s very nice, but what does it actually mean?
Well, for starters it’s the equivalent of one diver breathing at a depth of 730 metres. Want to deep dive? This is the reg for you.
It also explains why when coupled to our S600 second stage, this is the easiest breathing regulator on earth, requiring only 20% of the European Norm breathing effort!
Of more relevance is the pure fact that the Mk25 proved to be the ultimate in reliability under extreme conditions. The actual Mk25 has not been touched and will be displayed at future shows. You are of course welcome to come and breathe from it, even after the ordeal it is behaving impeccably.
Congratulations to all of those who assisted with this fantastic event and a huge thank you to Larry Sim of BAUER / HP Systems who provided 15 000 litres of the Purest Breathing Air available. Thanks also go to our official time keepers Peter Driessel, Danny Martin and Gary van der Velde and to Jack Selesnick for the underwater footage.
Well done to the SCUBAPRO Mk25 first stage,
More air than you’ll ever need, deeper than you’ll ever go!
Don’t forget, all SCUBAPRO regulators come with a Limited Lifetime Warranty.
Going…
Gone.
75 divers and some heavy breathing.
Oops, we lost one.
Divers chilling out after a few minutes
.A little chilly after a few more minutes!
15 000 litres of air.
10 minutes 9 seconds later.
We've done it, a new World record!
