Jim238
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Not sure if this is the right category for this post. If it isn't, could a Mod move it?
Here's a link to an Orlando Sentinel article of a guy who is planning to do a 7 day shallow dive in attempt to set a record.
Groveland: Scuba diver will try to break world record - OrlandoSentinel.com
GROVELAND — Allen Sherrod remembers diving into Lake David as a boy when the water was so clear you could see fish swimming several feet below.
Today, algae have taken over the south Lake County lake, clouding the water and forming a thick carpet of green goo on the bottom fed mostly by nutrient-rich rainwater flowing in from nearby roads. There is also lots of trash, including gnarled meshes of entangled fishing lines, rusted cans and old car parts.
Like Lake David, almost all of Central Florida's lakes have become spoiled by garbage and poor treatment of stormwater runoff, said Sherrod, 44.
To draw attention to the issue, Sherrod plans to hoist on his scuba gear at noon Sundayand slip below the surface of Lake David, where he will stay underwater for a week. The Groveland resident will eat, drink and listen to music while submerged as he tries to break the Guinness World Records mark for the longest scuba dive in open freshwater without resurfacing.
If he steps back on dry land at noon a week later, he will have surpassed the old record by two days set by Jerry Hall in a Tennessee lake in 2004. Sherrod is Central Florida's version of David Blaine, famous for performing several high-profile feats of endurance, including encasing himself in a block of ice and being submerged in a water-filled sphere.
Sherrod, who is running for Groveland mayor in the November election, will have to send witness statements, video footage, photos and log books of the record attempt to Guinness officials in London.
"I'm ready to go," Sherrod said. "To me, this is such an important issue not only for myself but for the entire community. Because if you improve the quality of the lake, you make it a better place to live. … I'm ready to go."
While underwater, Sherrod will make his home in a 16-foot pontoon boat he submerged about 50 yards from the shore of Lake David Park. He will be able to communicate with his team of nearly three dozen volunteers — including several experienced divers — with a microphone he rigged inside his full-face mask connected to a sound system in the park's parking lot.
Meanwhile, his support crew will float on the surface in a separate pontoon boat, refilling oxygen tanks, feeding Sherrod food through a tube and small bags, and making sure he's doing well. Sherrod plans to have safety divers, including his 20-year-old son, Cody, by his side the entire time.
Sherrod will start by diving 20 feet at one end of the lake, then make his way to the submerged pontoon boat 10 feet below the surface. At 5 a.m., seven days later, he will begin a slow seven-hour ascent back to the surface, if all goes according to plan. The slow rise is to purge the excess nitrogen in his system that will have formed during the dive.
Groveland fire Chief Willie Morgan said his department's dive team will be there.
"He's [Sherrod] an experienced diver, and he's got experienced divers with him all the time," Morgan said. "We don't expect any problems. … But we'll be out there and help him if he needs it."
In fact, Sherrod trained Morgan how to scuba dive several years ago.
David Lawrence, 40, who has been helping Sherrod prepare for his record-breaking attempt, said his friend is doing it for a good cause because few people are actually aware of the pollution in area lakes.
"Unless you dive, you never see this stuff," he said. "When you're on land you see the brown water, but when you get underneath you see that something needs to be done."
Sherrod said there needs to be better treatment of rainfall runoff from roads and lawns. Too many lakes are being used as stormwater-retention ponds, he said.
"As a lifetime resident, I have seen our lakes just deteriorate," he said. "And it's really a shame."
Here's a link to an Orlando Sentinel article of a guy who is planning to do a 7 day shallow dive in attempt to set a record.
Groveland: Scuba diver will try to break world record - OrlandoSentinel.com
GROVELAND — Allen Sherrod remembers diving into Lake David as a boy when the water was so clear you could see fish swimming several feet below.
Today, algae have taken over the south Lake County lake, clouding the water and forming a thick carpet of green goo on the bottom fed mostly by nutrient-rich rainwater flowing in from nearby roads. There is also lots of trash, including gnarled meshes of entangled fishing lines, rusted cans and old car parts.
Like Lake David, almost all of Central Florida's lakes have become spoiled by garbage and poor treatment of stormwater runoff, said Sherrod, 44.
To draw attention to the issue, Sherrod plans to hoist on his scuba gear at noon Sundayand slip below the surface of Lake David, where he will stay underwater for a week. The Groveland resident will eat, drink and listen to music while submerged as he tries to break the Guinness World Records mark for the longest scuba dive in open freshwater without resurfacing.
If he steps back on dry land at noon a week later, he will have surpassed the old record by two days set by Jerry Hall in a Tennessee lake in 2004. Sherrod is Central Florida's version of David Blaine, famous for performing several high-profile feats of endurance, including encasing himself in a block of ice and being submerged in a water-filled sphere.
Sherrod, who is running for Groveland mayor in the November election, will have to send witness statements, video footage, photos and log books of the record attempt to Guinness officials in London.
"I'm ready to go," Sherrod said. "To me, this is such an important issue not only for myself but for the entire community. Because if you improve the quality of the lake, you make it a better place to live. … I'm ready to go."
While underwater, Sherrod will make his home in a 16-foot pontoon boat he submerged about 50 yards from the shore of Lake David Park. He will be able to communicate with his team of nearly three dozen volunteers — including several experienced divers — with a microphone he rigged inside his full-face mask connected to a sound system in the park's parking lot.
Meanwhile, his support crew will float on the surface in a separate pontoon boat, refilling oxygen tanks, feeding Sherrod food through a tube and small bags, and making sure he's doing well. Sherrod plans to have safety divers, including his 20-year-old son, Cody, by his side the entire time.
Sherrod will start by diving 20 feet at one end of the lake, then make his way to the submerged pontoon boat 10 feet below the surface. At 5 a.m., seven days later, he will begin a slow seven-hour ascent back to the surface, if all goes according to plan. The slow rise is to purge the excess nitrogen in his system that will have formed during the dive.
Groveland fire Chief Willie Morgan said his department's dive team will be there.
"He's [Sherrod] an experienced diver, and he's got experienced divers with him all the time," Morgan said. "We don't expect any problems. … But we'll be out there and help him if he needs it."
In fact, Sherrod trained Morgan how to scuba dive several years ago.
David Lawrence, 40, who has been helping Sherrod prepare for his record-breaking attempt, said his friend is doing it for a good cause because few people are actually aware of the pollution in area lakes.
"Unless you dive, you never see this stuff," he said. "When you're on land you see the brown water, but when you get underneath you see that something needs to be done."
Sherrod said there needs to be better treatment of rainfall runoff from roads and lawns. Too many lakes are being used as stormwater-retention ponds, he said.
"As a lifetime resident, I have seen our lakes just deteriorate," he said. "And it's really a shame."
