Update - Jim broke the British No Limits Freediving record by 24m on 28 August with a dive to 101m making him Britain's deepest ever freediver.
Hello and thank you for visiting my Just Giving page.
Over the next few weeks I will attempt to break the British No Limits freediving record and, if I am successful, become the deepest British freediver in history and the first to break the magic 100m barrier on a single breath of air. I am doing this to raise money for Sparks, the children's medical research charity and to test some new elements of Taming Tigers. I'll explain more about the challenge below, but first, why don't you take a moment to support the vital work that Sparks does and help us reach our target of £7,500 to help alleviate the suffering and distress caused through childhood illnesses. You can donate by clicking the "Donate Now" button.
Thank you!
You can visit Sparks website here to learn more.
You can keep up to date with events in Sharm El Sheikh and hear about how the Ten Rules survive being tested in a new environment through signing up to my blog at www.tamingtigers.com/blog. You can also follow events on Twitter and Facebook.
So why am I doing this?
In 2007 a seed of an idea was planted in my head by South African freediver Helen Garner over a mango juice in a bar in Dahab after a morning freediving in the Blue Hole. She was asking me what challenge I would attempt after the racing year. I said that I wasn't sure. She replied: "Why not break the British No Limits Freediving Record?"
Well, there are a number of good reasons why not:
It involves a dive to at least 92 metres beneath the surface of the sea. That's about the height of Big Ben.
You get to take one breath of air before you go and that has to last you the whole way there and back
It involves being underwater for around 3 minutes.
It is the only freediving discipline that has reported fatalities in competition (don't worry, we have lots of safety precautions for my dive)
I'm well over 40, live in London, have a full time job and have no deep water to train in.
Helen thought that that sounded like the Tiger talking. Perhaps she was right! But it took further events to convince me to commit to it:
Also in 2007, a friend of mine made a successful expedition to the South Pole in aid of a number of charities and introduced me to Sparks. Sparks is one of the leading charities in the field of research into childhood illnesses. Having learned more about their work and been moved by the stories they shared of the lives they had touched, I decided to donate 25% of my royalties from Taming Tigers to Sparks and the Taming Tigers team has supported them since 2008.
(Go on, please make a donation to Sparks!)
In January this year, my 13 year old daughter, Maddie, became, without any warning, seriously ill. She is now recovering brilliantly and we all pray that that will continue and that she will be able to resume school in September. This reminded me of what SPARKS (and others) do and not to take them for granted. So what better way to support them than to make the attempt on the No Limits Record that Helen and I had spoken about over a Mango Juice at the Blue Hole in Dahab in 2007.
It has been a very real challenge to train physically and mentally for the dive whilst working full time in the UK, far away from suitable training waters. But I have been given great coaching from the team at Only One Apnea and great support and encouragement from Debs Metcalfe and all the team at Blue Eye FX (both in Sharm El Sheikh). My thanks to them and also to the Taming Tigers Team and to our understanding clients who have put up with my trips to Egypt for deep water training and with the scratchy Skype conversations that have served as meetings on occasion. Thanks to Jon Pitts, sports scientist extraordinaire, who sat me down in Pizza Express in Barnes in January and told me it was possible. And thanks also to Helen Garner - who not only came up with the idea but has kept up the encouragement from South Africa (whilst getting married and becoming a mum in the intervening years!).
Finally, Virgin will be publishing the second edition of Taming Tigers in January 2012. I have been using this adventure to pressure test some of the ideas that will appear in the new book.
(Surely you have donated by now? Please?)
You can keep up to date with events in Sharm El Sheikh and hear about how the Ten Rules survive being tested in a new environment through signing up to my blog at www.tamingtigers.com/blog. You can also follow events on Twitter and Facebook.
Now please do donate to Sparks by clicking on "Donate Now" and help them to carry on their vital work.
Over to you - (or is that me this time?)
Jim
