Press Release         May 2008

World Record Wreck Dive
On May 10th Alessandro Scuotto (Italy), Mario Marconi (Italy) and Pim van der Horst (The Netherlands) accomplished a World Record Dive in Lake Maggiore (Italy) during and inside the DDE Dynamic Dive Exhibition (the new Dive Show Format, www.ddexhibition.org), which was held from 9 until 11 May at Lake Maggiore. 

Team objectives
 • Obtaining video footage of the wreck using human cameramen
 • Working as an International closed circuit rebreather Team taking advantage of the experience of some of the most  famous, expert extreme rebreather divers active these days in the world
 • Making a “record dive” on a wreck in open water. The maximum depth reached by divers in a similar environment has been 205 meters of water

The Dive, the Record
The dive was a team dive to the wreck of the Milano 236 mtrs deep (241 mtrs when compensated for the altitude of Lake Maggiore).
The deep divers used Ouroboros Closed Circuit Rebreathers. 
Fabio Manganelli (Dive Marshall, www.uwmadness.it) organized and coordinated surface/in water support (from 90 mtrs and up) and logistics. 
In total over 60 people assisted in making this extraordinary dive a success. 
Support Divers also used  Rebreathers, Inspiration and Megalodon.
Just near the surface it was used OC.
The last stage of the decompression (from - 21) was done in a diving bell (by Palumbarus company, www.palumbarus.it). 
The total runtime of the dive was almost 8 hours (a little more than planned), of which around 4.5 hours in the bell. The real time on the wreck was 4 minutes. 
During the dive the deep divers were “accompanied” by a ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) from VVF (the Italian fire department, in assistance with many divers also), that indicated, in completely dark water, the bottom target at the end of the line, also the ascent point. 
The ROV lightened the wreck and took wandeful footage (there was good visibility) of the deep divers in action, also useless for Record Certification. The deep divers also had video equipment with them, so we have also from them descent, bottom and ascent footage. 
During all the time Nuno Gomes (World Depth Recordman) was there, as witness for "World Guiness of Records". 
A list of official record dives can be found on: www.nunogomes.co.za/rec.htm 

The risks
The major potential physical risks of this dive were hypothermia (because of the very low temperature of the water and very long duration of the dive), oxygen toxicity (because of the high partial pressure of oxygen and long time breathing it), hypercapnia (because of the use of rebreathers), high pressure nervous syndrome (because of the depth of the dive and the massive use of helium), and decompression sickness (because of the depth and very long duration of the dive). 
Other risks comprise equipment failure, loss of gasses and loss of ascent line, and more.
All risks have been covered in the Standard Operating Procedures (www.ddexhibition.org/Other.html).

The Media
The dive had a large media exposure (television, press) from Italy, Europe, Russia, VS and South-Africa.
Documentation and further information of the preparation and execution of the dive can be found on:
www.ddexhibition.org/DVD_Videos.html, www.ddexhibition.org/Photos.html.
Footage of wreck discovery (by ROV of VVF), wreck history and general informations: www.ddexhibition.org/WorldRecord.html
DDE Sponsors, Supporters, Partners: www.ddexhibition.org/SponsorUK.html, www.ddexhibition.org/SupportersUK.html, www.ddexhibition.org/PartnersUK.html

About Pim van der Horst
Pim started diving in 1983 at the University of Tilburg (The Netherlands). He came in contact with technical diving when nitrox was introduced in The Netherlands in the early nineties. A next step was rebreather diving. He had to seek technical training abroad (UK and the US). Technical diving and especially rebreather diving got the interest of Pim and he continued his technical training. He started up his own technical diving school in The Netherlands: Pim’s Tekdiving (PTD). PTD has several facilities in The Netherlands and instructors abroad. Pim is Tri-Mix Instructor Trainer Closed Circuit (more then 10 different rebreathers) and Open Circuit for several agencies (DIRrebreather, ANDI, IANTD, PADI, PTA/CMAS and WOSD). Pim trained over a 1000 divers. Pim publishes on a regular basis in Dutch and Russian diving magazines. He is the author of several books on technical diving and rebreathers. Contacts: +31647940668, pim@tekdiving.nl, www.tekdiving.nl

About Mario Marconi
Mario began his diving activities in 1993. In 1997 he has accomplished his first diving training with IANTD. In 2001 he became a PSA Advanced Deep Air Instructor and then started with his deep caves explorations, with open circuit first and then moving to closed circuit. He is also using and studying the advantages of Heliox diluents for closed circuit deep cave exploration. In 2002 he co-developed and tested the SCR Passive addiction EDI2002 specially projected for cave dives in extreme conditions. Mario is a P.T.A./C.M.A.S Extended Technical Instructor, Full Cave and Ouroboros Rebreather Instructor Trainer. Contacts: +393473027647, mar.marconi@libero.it 
About Alessandro Scuotto
Alessandro had his first dive at 6 years old, and his first scuba certification at 12. At 18 years old he already was a recreational diving instructor. In 1996 he had his military underwater certification with "Com.Sub.In" from the Italian Navy. In 1997 he achieved his first technical Instructor certification. Using Rebreather from the very beginning, he experienced lots of houres on different machines. Next to that Alessandro is an OTS (Commercial Diver), Hyperbaric Chambre Operator, R.O.V. pilot, UW submarine pilot. Now he is the vice chief of  Napoli's section of the underwater team of the Italian Police. He is also the chief executive officer of Deep Sea Technology (commercial diving company). Alessandro is Instructor Trainer for PTA/CMAS, NASE and PSA. Contacts: +393355646355, info@deepseatechnology.com, www.deepseatechnology.com  About World Record and Dynamic Dive Exhibition: Project & General Organization Marco Braga, marcobraga@ddexhibition.org