“Unbelievable.”
That was the phrase that Dan Metcalfe, from Grantham in Lincolnshire within the UK, used to explain his journey as a paraplegic scuba diver striving to succeed in new depths. Left with no muscle use from his chest downwards after a June 2014 bike accident, he now believes he has set three Guinness World Information.
In late September, Metcalfe and his assist crew took on three contemporary open water scuba information in Metcalfe’s incapacity class—Muscle Paralysis 2 (MP2)—at Stoneycove Diving Centre in Leicestershire. The diver swam 17,211 ft underwater with out surfacing, which he believes is the best distance tried in open water by a paraplegic diver. To take action, he dove to a depth of 19 to 26 toes and swam propelled by solely his arms. He took water and power gels at intervals and swapped air cylinders, all whereas staying under 19 toes. He accomplished the course in 5 hr 32 minutes, effectively forward of his projected 6 hr 30 min.
Throughout the identical voyage, Metcalfe additionally tried two different open water MP2 scuba information: quickest one-mile swim and quickest one-mile swim with a swimming band. Per Guinness guidelines, the band was secured round Metcalfe’s legs to make sure no motion.
The latter two report makes an attempt confronted challenges when the waterproof casing for the digicam filming the problem flooded. With out correct documentation, the Guinness World Information may not acknowledge the try.
“It was a somewhat traumatic second,” Metcalfe mentioned. “It was sorted by the wonderful crew. All of them labored collectively as one crew for a standard purpose and that was to get a load of GoPro cameras into the water.”
He and his crew should watch for affirmation from Guinness World Information to see if he’s achieved his targets. Affirmation might take as much as 12 weeks, the corporate mentioned.
“It’s going to be a tremendous feeling to say that I have never simply bought one, I’ve bought three Guinness World Information.”
Metcalfe hopes his achievements will enhance consciousness of scuba diving with a incapacity and increase £5,000, to be break up between the MAGPAS Air Ambulance—which responded to his life-changing bike accident in 2014 and which he credit along with his survival— andThe Scuba Belief, which helps Metcalfe and different divers with disabilities, and Stoney Cove Dive Heart, to construct new altering services for disabled divers. In describing his journey, he mentioned, “I’ve met a number of the most wonderful those that I’ll ever have the privilege to work with.”