It was a mid-June morning when I arrived in Lindos on the island of Rhodes, Greece. A bit
later, I met with the Italians Alesandro and Rosarita. They gave me a stone and 100
meters (328 feet) of rope. I could still not understand their immense enthusiasm for
diving without a mask, or wetsuit, or rules! I could not understand why I was not allowed
to use my nice neoprene and trusty mask! Some ancient Greeks, thousands of years ago,
used to dive this way. This was not because they preferred it, but because there was no
other way-- but why us?  I felt like I was taking ancient Greek language lessons in high
school...but a big surprise was waiting.
About a month before, I received a strange email, as always, from Herbert Nitsch. He was
thinking of participating in a ‘skandalopetra’ competition in Greece, and wanted me to
find out more about it. ‘Skandalopetra’ translates to ‘naughty stone’.  "Maybe that’s
what triggered Herbert", I thought!

I started asking about it, and the answer was always a very enthusiastic, "you grab a big
stone and jump!" Talking with the organizer, Mr.Trikilis, I was told that Umberto
Pelizari set the world record at 100 meters (328 feet). Then I remembered Umberto,
talking with excitement about a dive six years ago at a seminar. Knowing how Herbert’s
mind works, I asked Mr. Trikilis if he would allow and be able to certify a new record
attempt. He was positive about it. After some more days, Herbert, with me as his coach,
were officially invited to the island by the municipality of Lindos! Not far behind us
was a professional film crew that, as it seems, will follow Herbert’s actions for the
next year.


Two people make the particular dive: The diver and the ‘kolauzeris’. The diver jumps from
the boat, head first with the stone in top front. The ‘kolauzeris’ then feeds the rope
into the water up to the agreed depth. When the diver reaches the maximum depth, he takes
a new position on the rock, which takes about 4 seconds. Afterwards, the ‘kolauzeris’
must pull, as fast as possible, the diver back to the surface. The allowable equipment
list could not be simpler: a rope with the rock attached and a nose clip.

Our initial idea for training was simple. Every afternoon we were spearfishing the depths
with variable weights. While in the morning, we would train with the stone. After 3 days,
we realized that it was not that simple.  Diving with the skandalopetra was a big shock
at 22 meters (72 feet) depth because of the thermo cline. The temperature changed from 24
to 18 degrees Celsius (75 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit). We could not pass 26 meters (85
feet), and to my surprise, I was the deepest! On the other hand, we found a big school of
Pig Groupers, and we kept busy every afternoon catching fish for all of the organizers.

Soon we realized the first secret of this diving method. The wetsuits we used every
afternoon for spearfishing did not allow the body to get used to the cold water. So,
regretfully to the organizers and us we left the Groupers in peace and grabbed the stone.


On the fifth day, I was still in the lead with 29.6 meters (97 feet), when the Austrian
engine revved... 40 meters, 60 meters and right after 70 meters  (130, 195 and 230 feet)
and the first deco with O2. Now things started to get serious and Herbert got into world
record mode. That translates to no beer, no nightlife and no night ‘fishing‘.  Instead,
his days were filled with two dive sessions and two hours of dry training every day. He
also said that he would like to try for a record attempt, and was wondering why all of
the locals were talking about a world record since he arrived. "Who gave them this idea?"
he was wondering.

After 8 days, he was ready for his first dive attempt of over 100 meters (328 feet), but
the essential platform was not ready. All of this time we were training from a small boat
which was donated by an enthusiastic local. However, it was very difficult to keep your
balance standing on that little boat. Not to mention that if somebody is packing air up
to the fading limit like Herbert. A fishing line measured the depth! Things were starting
to get dangerous!

However, we were in luck. As it turns out, the French film crew had rented a small ship.
The ship had a perfect ramp on its bow. In addition, a leading local spearfisher, Sotiris
Vogiatzis, was out on his boat that day to test his new sonar! Sotiris found a nice 170
meter (550 feet) deep area for us and marked its center in my handheld GPS. I was to be
the ‘kolauzeris‘, but from our trials I knew that I could only manage a speed of 1.1
meters per second (3.6 feet/second) for about 50 meters (160 feet). An organizational
crewmember, Theodor Limberakis, continued after me. In case of emergency, a professional
deep scuba diver was waiting on the surface to shoot down. His name was Bill Mantikos,
famous in Greece for finding three ancient shipwrecks! We also had safety freedivers from
the Salonika freediving club, and Internet coverage from the Italian "apnea evolution".


Theo and Bill were the two people that really saved the event. With a small 5 meter (16
feet) boat and a 30 hp engine, they where able to transport platforms and loads of
people, and anchor at 100+ meters (328+ feet) depths every day.

The dive was to 107 meters (351 feet), took 3 minutes, 58 seconds, and was a breeze! On
Herbert’s return to the surface, he left the stone at 10 meters (32 feet) and swam
another 20 meters (64 feet) horizontally to the point where the film crew was waiting for
him with their oversized 3D camera system.

The following days we went fishing and had a bit more fun. The news of Herbert’s success
quickly spread around the village of Lindos, and we were getting free drinks, food and
information about prized fishing spots everywhere.

The organization of the actual competition was a bit of a mess, but it almost seemed to
fit the style of the ‘naughty stone’.  On the other hand, the excessive friendship and
kindness offered by the locals quickly dissolved any problems. The dreamy views, in and
out of the water, with constant 30+ meter (100 feet) visibility, were winning everybody
over. An Italian athlete, after waiting 2 days on that platform for only six dives, said
that he could not wait until next year to come again! Another tiny 16-year-old girl,
Alicia, recorded a very respectable 52 meters (170 feet), earning a spot amongst the best
participants!

So what about ‘skandalopetra’ diving? It earned our absolute respect. The lack of all
accessories like wetsuits, masks etc., gets the diver much closer to the feeling of free
diving. The dive from the boat is fantastic, as it minimizes the weights needed for
reaching the negative buoyancy depth. Using less weight results in a more controlled and
comfortable freefall into the deep. Lack of sight in combination with the ‘hypnotic’
numbing from the cold, increases the divers ability to relax and focus on equalization.
It is possible that the cold water beyond the thermo cline is advantageous to the diver
too! How else could Herbert do a dive very close to the levels he usually does with only
8 days of training? It is possible that we will use the ‘stone’ dive for training in
future attempts!



Other advantages are that the dive from a dry start and the participation of the
‘kolauzeris’ offers a greater spectacle and tension for the audience than other
freediving disciplines.  I noticed much more local media coverage of this dive than of
the 214 meter (700 feet) no limits dive two years ago!

Besides the dive depth, there is a lot of room to play around with the speed, both in the
downward and upward directions!

The film director, despite transferring 500 kg (1100 pounds) of equipment for only four
days of filming, was delighted! Undoubtedly, the skandalopetra method is addictive and
its rebirth as a discipline is ingenious.

For videos and more information, visit:
www.skandalopetra.com
www.evolutionchannel.tv