Diver preparedness, planning, and discipline along with our uniquely designed ArrowCat deck, played a major role in the safety and success of this mission.' - Rob Harty, Vice President and Co-Owner of ArrowCat Power Catamarans
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) June 24, 2014
At 8 a.m. on June 7, 2014 at the old Sand Point Naval Air Station in Seattle, WA, an ArrowCat 30RS power catamaran carried teams of Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) divers to dive a sequence of seven technical dives using mixed gases to seven sunken World War II airplane relics from one boat in one day, a feat not previously accomplished. The goal was to complete the mission in 14 hours, but it was completed in eight and a half hours dock to dock.
GUE and ArrowCat Power Catamarans teamed up for this arduous dive mission to set a world record because ArrowCat wanted to showcase the performance and dive platform capabilities of their ArrowCat Power Catamarans, but needed capable divers, and GUE wanted to promote aquatic exploration and highlight the intense training and planning that goes into safely executing such a sequence of dives, but needed a capable boat.
“Without access to ArrowCat’s gorgeous and mind-blowingly fast boat, this mission would have been impossible,” said Koos du Preez, President of GUE-Seattle.
GUE divers volunteering their time for the event were diver Margaret Christopher as dive and dock coordinator and divers Dan Bachmeier, Dave Mercer, Kathryn Arant, Kees Beemster, Jeremy Freestone, Ryland Bryant, Adrian Collier, Teresa Luther, Joe Radosevic, and Steven Ratfcliffe.
Ratcliffe, diving with Radosevic, dove the deepest to a F4F-4 Wildcat at 190' that was involved in a mid-air collision during training. Collier and Freestone completed the dive sequence by making an incredible video posted on Vimeo of the PBM-5 Mariner. The dives also included a Lockheed (Vega) PV-2 Harpoon at a depth of 135', a SNV-2 Valiant at a depth of 116', a wrecked PB4Y-2 Privateer at a depth of 150', a TBF-1 Avenger at a depth of 175', and a FG-1D Corsair at a depth 110'.
“Diver preparedness, planning, and discipline along with our uniquely designed ArrowCat deck, played a major role in the safety and success of this mission,” said Rob Harty, Vice President and Co-Owner of ArrowCat Power Catamarans.
Divers were using various mixes of gas based on dive depth, which ranged from 32% oxygen enriched gas (nitrox) to 18% oxygen mixed with 45% helium gas (18/45 trimix). Teams also used 50% and 100% oxygen gas mixes for decompression purposes.
Run times ranged between 30 to 90 minutes with staged decompression stops, which allowed dissolved nitrogen and helium to safely escape the blood stream.
This event has been submitted to the Guinness World Records for consideration. The application is pending.
About Global Underwater Explorers (GUE); GUE is an international diving organization whose mission is to explore and protect the underwater world and improve the quality of aquatic education. GUE does this by developing safe, skilled, and knowledgeable divers, by promoting underwater research, by actively pursuing global underwater exploration, and by providing comprehensive aquatic resources to the public. GUE is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. For more information, visit http://www.globalunderwaterexplorers.com.
About ArrowCat Power Catamarans; Since 2007, ArrowCat Power Catamarans has been a leading NMMA certified builder of power catamaran boats in CE category B, coveted for near offshore and rough water capability. Highly fuel-efficient, ArrowCats are hand crafted by ArrowCat Marine and have been proven on seven seas and four oceans. ArrowCat U.S. Base of Operations is located at 2525 Broadway, Suite 3302, Everett, WA 98201. For more information, visit http://www.ArrowCat.com or call (877) 277-6999.
###
