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Displaying items by tag: Fergus Callagy

#DIVING - An Irish free diver has told the Irish Examiner how he plunged the equivalent of a 15-storey building beneath the surface of the Red Sea on a single held breath.

Fergus Callagy's breathtaking feat is a highlight of a radio documentary about his extraordinary pastime, Fire and Water, which is available to listen on the RTÉ Radio 1 website.

The Sligo man - who says he can hold his breath for more than five minutes at a time - also recounts how he stunned experts at Sligo General Hospital by slowing his heart rate to an incredible 25 beats per minute - less than half the normal resting heart rate.

"It has been described as the most relaxing extreme sport," says Callagy of free diving, of which he is a leading light in Ireland. "When I got into [it] I started to admire what the human body can do."

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving

About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is undoubtedly one of the greatest ocean adventures on the planet, also regarded as one of its toughest endurance challenges. Taking almost a year to complete, it consists of eleven teams competing against each other on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts.

The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in 1968-69. His aim was to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to embrace the thrill of ocean racing; it is the only event of its kind for amateur sailors. Around 40 per cent of crew are novices and have never sailed before starting a comprehensive training programme ahead of their adventure.

This unique challenge brings together everyone from chief executives to train drivers, nurses and firefighters, farmers, airline pilots and students, from age 18 upwards, to take on Mother Nature’s toughest and most remote conditions. There is no upper age limit, the oldest competitor to date is 76.

Now in its twelfth edition, the Clipper 2019-20 Race started from London, UK, on 02 September 2019.