‘Freediving’ and ‘Truk Lagoon’ are not normally two subjects that you would expect to see used together, but in a ground-breaking expedition at the beginning of 2017, a team of elite freedivers from Performance Freediving International ventured to the legendary Micronesian wreck-diving destination with a support squad of technical divers equipped with closed-circuit rebreathers and set about exploring the World War Two Japanese shipwrecks on breath hold.
Truk Lagoon has long been a bucket-list site for experienced recreational and technical divers, with land-based operations and a select group of luxury liveaboards – such as the Truk Odyssey (www.trukodyssey.com) – perfectly set-up to give those lucky divers who make the long trek out to the location the wreck-diving holiday of a lifetime.
However, it has not normally been a destination targeted by freedivers. On this trip, PFI founder Kirk Krack and his team utilised diver propulsion vehicles and ‘technical freediving’ – which involves the use of enriched air to reduce fatigue and increase breath hold capabilities – to enable them to venture deep in and around these incredible shipwrecks.
For the incredible full story of the freedivers who took on Truk Lagoon, see the freediving section in the March issue of Scuba Diver.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bill Coltart/www.pacificprodive.com
