an inside view of Herbert Nitsch's - 72 m constant ballast record

© Copyright Christian Houdek

A phone call of Herbert started everything. Hallo Dieter, I did like your work as captain / coach for our national team during the World Cup round of Montreaux very much. Do you like to coach me for my constant ballast/freshwater world record? Yes, of course, was my instant answer. Doing several training's together in the past, we already did build up a mutual trust and did get well on each other.

So I waked up this 16 of June 2001 in my small room having slept not well at all. Am I nervous? No, there is no reason to be nervous, I don't have to dive, Herbert has. Holy moly, I am a bit nervous for him. Late last evening I could meet the trimix divers at the local pub and during our talk about the planned double dive of the next day I recognised a mistake in the timetable for the safety scuba divers. Instead having two start windows of 12 minutes, each window was only 7 minutes. Not so important for the first attempt but very important for the second. I take a look out of the window. The weather, like in the last days, is not so nice, the sun somewhere behind the clouds. I go down to Herbert's apartment, where he lived to train for the last two weeks, to meet him at 10:00 a.m. as appointed. Herbert is already in the garden in front of his apartment talking with some friends.

Good morning to everybody. Morning Dieter. Herbert, what's about the tags, did you already decide finally how deep your first dive will be and we have to talk about the start windows. Some minutes later the organisation starts to make the tags and the jury takes the cable to measure it. Herbert's decision was clear. Following the rules of AIDA International he did a qualification dive to
-70m. This allows him to try -73m, but he decided to try -72m at the first attempt. Which, on one side, means that the five other possible tags will go up each meter to -67m, one meter more than the existing record, and on the other side would qualify him to try -75m at the second attempt. Herbert disappeared in his apartment to do some mental preparation, and I headed up to the street where the rope was measure.

The jury signed already the two surface marks on the cable and later they will put on two tags on each depth meter mark. In the meantime it became already 11:00 and I moved back to Herbert. On the way back I met the chief of the safety scuba divers who told me everything is working fine and on time. Arrived at Herbert the first thing he asked: Will we be punctually to dive at 12:00 o'clock as announced and I hope the sun will come out, otherwise I will freeze very soon. I answered him that the safety divers will be ready but as far as I can see it will be a small delay because the rest of the organisation is a little bit late. Herbert looked at me and decided: Let's just suit up slowly and move. So we started to do the routine of putting on the suits. Herbert in the bathroom with a special dry technique for open cell suits and myself outside in the grass doing the traditional shampoo party. Then we walked down to the shore to take on of the small boats to ship to the platform. On the last meters on of the TV teams did catch us and Herbert had to answer important questions like "How do you feel today" and "Why are you trying to brake the record" and "Is freediving dangerous". Finally we where able to enter our boat and to leave. During the boat trip it was quiet and peaceful. Only Herbert's father, who was with us, showed some signs of nervousness. We arrived at the diving platform, which was so full of people that Herbert stared at me and asked: Where is my place? With loud voice, scaring away the people, I proclaimed, here on the left corner. Herbert seated and started the rest of the procedure. Put in the special underwater contact lenses, then flooding the mask, as next the neck weight, the official depth gauge, the monofin and at least he lay down to do some final breathing exercises. This was now the first time I could take away my concentration on him and see what's going on around. Jury here, doctor here, official video here, safety freediver here, on the pontoon behind me the scuba divers, on the platform several people which should not be here, a lot of small and two of the big commercial boats with spectators around the platform.

My look goes back to Herbert, watching his belly, going up and down in slow cycles. After some minutes Herbert awakes, looks at me and says that he wants to enter the water now. His first warm up dive is just to do a small static in 10 meters. The second is a -47m dive. Coming up he tells me to put the scuba divers on standby and 2 minutes later to send them down.
Herbert lies


© Copyright Herbert Frei

on his back in the water to relax and breath proper and I hold him in a constant position preventing him sinking under water during exhaling. I give the signal for the scuba divers but the response is to wait because of some technical equipment problem of the trimix divers. The rest of the scuba divers are already in stand by position. I ask again how long it will take and get a three-minute sign. I tell Herbert that we have to wait a little bit and ask him if he wants to get out for some minutes. He refuses but he wants to know how long it still will take. Then a nice little game starts. I ask with signs the chief of the scuba divers, how long. He is answering with signs, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, every time something different. Herbert asks me - how long. I tell him again and again, soon, only some minutes. I really get nervous, because Herbert is shivering of coldness already but I cannot be nervous, otherwise Herbert would sense it and become nervous too. After about 15 minutes of waiting I take him out of the water. Herbert is shivering very hard and comments, I feel cold, very cold. The platform is so overcrowded that our side is overflowed and Herbert lies in the water. So the first thing I do is sending the people on the other side of the platform to become dry here. As next I fill hot water in his suit, then I cover him up with a big towel, and borrow some jackets to cover him up more. At last the trimix divers are ready and I can press my stopwatch to start the 5 minute countdown till the first start window. At two minutes to start he glides in the water. Herbert is at the rope in an upright position and I hold him from the backside to still contra manoeuvre his deep breathing movements. The water around us is likecooking but very, very cold. I can see each exhaling like on cold winter days. Herbert takes the last deep breath and starts with the carp. This is the signal for me to leave him to give space for the duckdive. I put my face in the water and follow his first meters. Why is he so slow today? After he will tell me that his lenses got out of place and he almost could see anything. I check the time - 1:30 - he must have turned already, 2:20, 2:45 - he should approach now, 3 minutes, where the hell is he, 3:15, ah, thanks god, there he is ) coming face to face with the safety freediver. After braking the surface I watch him very carefully. Herbert is very strong but this was a very long and deep dive. He gives the ok sign and the -72m tag ) to the judges. All the people applause. It is always the same. As long as the athlete does not exit belly up, nobody cares about the jury. I still supervise Herbert's face for some sign of loss of motor control, but luckily there is nothing. He is just exhausted, very exhausted. Then I take a look at the main judge, in this case Mr. Sébastien Nagel, president of AIDA International, and ask, is the attempt valid? No, not at the moment, we will check the video of the exit first. I turn to Herbert who shivering stares at me and says: No more second dive. I take him to the platform and answer: Listen, everything is prepared and ready for a second attempt, so if the attempt is valid you don't have to dive, but if there is some doubt from the jury I send you down again and you just pick up the first tag on -67m which will be enough for a new world record. I start with him the same procedure as before. Hot water in the suit, covering up with towels, nice words for relaxation. I take one more look at the jury and ask again to get the positive answer. Yes, the attempt is valid. I grip Herbert on the shoulders and shake him. You don't have to dive anymore, the attempt is valid, gratulations. Then I cannot hold back a loud and long cry celebrating Herbert's new world record. At the first moment all the people look at me very astonished but then comes the second applause.


During Herbert is already at the beach, giving a lot of interviews, I am still on the platform relaxing in the sun, which showed up finally, to be fit for the big party tonight and to hold Herbert's head for.... but this is another story.