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Christy makes a splash with new record


Hooters greeted the arrival of Kilmaley man Christy Healy to the surface at 4.10pm at Killaloe Marina having completed his mission, to swim 20 kilometres without surfacing – twice the distance he achieved when creating his initial world record in 2011.

Two years ago, Christy set a world record time of six hours for scuba diving 10km. This time around, he shaved 40 minutes off that time, completing the 10km in five hours, 38 minutes and 17 seconds.

Additionally, he is the first in the world to dive and stay underwater for 20km, which he completed in 11 hours, 14 minutes and five seconds.

An application will now be made to the Guinness Book of Records to verify his achievements as a world record.  Video evidence, details of start and finishing times, GPS records and written statements by people on the rescue boats will be forwarded to the relevant authorities to validate his record.

All his underwater feats have been completed to raise awareness and funds for the metabolic unit in Temple Street Hospital and Share a Dream Foundation.

Speaking to The Clare Champion shortly after he surfaced, Christy likened his dive to a “training session” for a similar feat he will attempt in late August in the North Channel. “I will be leaving Scotland from the Mull of Kintyre and it’s about a 22km distance straight across to Antrim but it has very heavy currents, so it will probably be more like 35km of an overall distance. Nobody has ever done this before,” he explained.

As well as being the first to attempt this dive, Christy is also hopeful that the crossing will be considered for another Guinness World Record for the longest dive, which was broken last year in Galway.

“The world record for the longest dive in Ireland was beaten in Galway Bay last year and that was over 13 hours but it was a different kind of dive. I will be underwater for longer, about 20 hours,” he said.

He admitted to being “slightly mad” to undertake such a gruelling ordeal. Donning a Viking hat as he climbed on to a boat, he said the dive is all about bringing awareness to two charities.

“If you do something mad, everyone wants to know about it and see what has happened. I had a groin strain coming in from all the training, which slowed me down and I had acupuncture for three days. It was sore going in. I did a good stretch beforehand. Fatigue as well was a factor.

“Some of our equipment also malfunctioned.  It was dark this morning when we started off so we couldn’t use the system we had. We had to put a diver in the water. Once it brightened up, our signal system worked great.

“The biggest problem is if you have a watch and you are looking at the time, it starts to go slow. Near the end, my contents bar didn’t seem to move at all. I got great support from other divers and rescue operators, who spent a lot of time and money to be here. This dive is a tribute to the 20 or 30 people in the background,” he said.

His niece, Katie (1), who suffers from PKU, a deficiency in protein, is attending the metabolic unit in Temple Street and requires specialised treatment.

Share a Dream Foundation and Temple Street Hospital said of Christy’s feats, “He is an extraordinary man doing extraordinary things for special children. Having broken his own world record, his courage, determination and strength completely identifies with the children we work with who are battling with illness every day of their lives.”

Christy set off from Mountshannon Harbour at 4am on Saturday night. Up to 12 safety divers from Burren Club, Ennis Club, Killaloe Search and Rescue, Lough Derg and Tech Mara Sub Aqua Diving, Inagh were there to intervene, if necessary.

His brother, Michael, said Christy was being monitored underwater and over water using cameras and observations by trained divers.

“If anything every happened, we could have had a diver in the water within 30 seconds. We had four sets of eyes on him at all times,” he added.

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