Jacques Mayol free dived to 105 meters when he was 56, but the depth was hardly the point. The man I met was Finnish, and Finland isnt in the Caribbean (go ahead, check your atlas, Ill wait).
See? Mr. Finn was not born to this. Still, Id bet a months beer money theres not one member in a thousand on SB who could duplicate what he was doing.
But thats still not the point. The point is that he was a free spirit, a man gone walkabout, experiencing the magic of the sea with the minimal mechanical assistance. He was a vagabond, traveling whichever way the winds blew in search of the perfect snorkeling site. Kinda like that 60s surfing movie, Endless Summer, only he was living to experience what was under the waves..
He wasnt trying to set a record or to show up the guys on Eden reef or to entice tourists to toss him their loose change. He was doing it because there was something in his soul told him he had to.
Rarely do we meet anyone in any walk of life who has answered to that small, still voice inside themself and is living with such purity of purpose.
But whats the point. If I have to explain it, its unlikely youll ever get it.