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Greatest freediver
- Thread starterfpernett
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
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About Yorgos Haggi Stathi he was not something extraordinary. Just a typical spongediver of the dodecanese islands in the early 20th century. He was not the best or the deepest he was just available at that time and place to respond to the Regina Margherita emergency. We can only assume about what his limits could have been or those of the other contemporary spongedivers.
Baur - from what I've learnt of Statti I would have to disagree.
Yorgi's ability to reach extraordinary depths was in part due to the fact that he didn't need to equalise. One of his eardrums had a small hole in it and in his other ear there was no eardrum at all!
In fact if you look at all the deepest autochthonous divers such as the Tahitian pearl divers, Japanese Ama, and even the Greek sponge fishermen, none ever ventured deeper than 30-40 meters. Partly because they didn't need to, but mainly because at around these depths lungs approach residual volume and equalising becomes difficult. Statti is the only reported example of anyone descending past 50m prior to Enzo in 1961, and according to the ship's records "he was able to reach a depth of 110 meters, with the capacity to stay at 30 meters for about 7 minutes."
In fact since he was diving in (a very crude form of) variable weight this "record" wasn't broken until September 1996 by Pelizzari.
In the Dodecanese islands he was almost worshiped as a reincarnation of the Greek God Glaucus - 'The Green Mariner.' (I think he may have even been born on the same island as the god - Simi). All the locals (themself sponge fishermen) were in awe of his abillity and when the crew of La Regina Margherita asked for help everyone turned to Statti.
Anything but typical...
Yorgi's ability to reach extraordinary depths was in part due to the fact that he didn't need to equalise. One of his eardrums had a small hole in it and in his other ear there was no eardrum at all!
In fact if you look at all the deepest autochthonous divers such as the Tahitian pearl divers, Japanese Ama, and even the Greek sponge fishermen, none ever ventured deeper than 30-40 meters. Partly because they didn't need to, but mainly because at around these depths lungs approach residual volume and equalising becomes difficult. Statti is the only reported example of anyone descending past 50m prior to Enzo in 1961, and according to the ship's records "he was able to reach a depth of 110 meters, with the capacity to stay at 30 meters for about 7 minutes."
In fact since he was diving in (a very crude form of) variable weight this "record" wasn't broken until September 1996 by Pelizzari.
In the Dodecanese islands he was almost worshiped as a reincarnation of the Greek God Glaucus - 'The Green Mariner.' (I think he may have even been born on the same island as the god - Simi). All the locals (themself sponge fishermen) were in awe of his abillity and when the crew of La Regina Margherita asked for help everyone turned to Statti.
Anything but typical...
IT IS ....
I am the greatest freediver of all time.
I am the only one, ever, anywhere, who has had the courage,
the skill and the insight required to realize that taking
Paul Kotik down to depth and returning him safely to the surface
was the most stunning freediving achievement of all.
I am the greatest freediver of all time.
I am the only one, ever, anywhere, who has had the courage,
the skill and the insight required to realize that taking
Paul Kotik down to depth and returning him safely to the surface
was the most stunning freediving achievement of all.
You are correct Will. Among spongedivers of the time it was customary to intentionally rupture ones eardrums and maintain them that way by diving without compensating. The manner in which traditional divers descended was by use of a flat marble slab (around 15kg) that they held onto with both hands. You can imagine how easy it is to break your eardrums this way. About the residual volume problem you mention perhaps Yiorgos counteracted that by diving in an upright position. I also note that Yorgos was the one who made the offer to the Italians of the Regina and not the other way around. He requested the right to fish with dynamite freely in exchange for his help. The officials were loath to accept since a diver of the actual crew of the Regina had already been drowned in a previous attempt. That is why the doctors examined him in the first place because the man looked ill and unable to dive. Other than from pulmonary emphesema and a busted eardrum, Yiorgos also suffered from rickets. About those times you should know that the revenue from the sponge trade was what kept the dodecanese economy going. Being a sponge diver was often the only thing you could be in those days that could keep food on the table. The sponge fleets sailed for 6 months a year where the divers had to make numerous dives a day. Divers agreed with captains on the quota of the sponges they would be obligated to bring in beforehand as they received a lump sum downpayment before the trips. So effectively divers were the captains slaves. On the boat there was a "spotter" who with al magnifying ooking glass would spot the spongepatch in the deep. The diver then was obligated to immediately dive naked and holding onto to the marble slab to that depth and collect the sponges. Needless to say the mortality rate was horrendous. 40-50% of the divers crew would be "buried" at sea.
Divers that consistently managed to stay alive year after year earned relative fame by that fact alone. I would be the first to advocate that Yiorgos was a great diver, but his abilities were produced out of the system of necessity I describe above rather than personal initiative and charisma. In this sense I grant you that he was not typical of the ordinary spongediver, but he was most definitely a typical of the elite divers of those times. I mention this because I come from the island of Kalymnos in the dodecanese, an island with a much more rich diving history than Simi and we similarly had our "legendary" divers among which Yiorgos performance might or might not have meant something. The only difference was that Yorgos dives were recorded by the Italian ofiicials. Now about being called "Glafkon" I assure you most islanders of the time had no idea who this God was. These are just romanticisms of the Italians who took Yiorgos to Italy and paraded him at circuses and fairs. It is Glafkos not Glafkon by the way and he was from mainland Boeotia not Simi.
Divers that consistently managed to stay alive year after year earned relative fame by that fact alone. I would be the first to advocate that Yiorgos was a great diver, but his abilities were produced out of the system of necessity I describe above rather than personal initiative and charisma. In this sense I grant you that he was not typical of the ordinary spongediver, but he was most definitely a typical of the elite divers of those times. I mention this because I come from the island of Kalymnos in the dodecanese, an island with a much more rich diving history than Simi and we similarly had our "legendary" divers among which Yiorgos performance might or might not have meant something. The only difference was that Yorgos dives were recorded by the Italian ofiicials. Now about being called "Glafkon" I assure you most islanders of the time had no idea who this God was. These are just romanticisms of the Italians who took Yiorgos to Italy and paraded him at circuses and fairs. It is Glafkos not Glafkon by the way and he was from mainland Boeotia not Simi.
appears to contradict
... unless you have some extremely strict personal definition of extraordinary! Saying "... not typical of the ordinary..." tends to be the meaning of "extraordinary" and "legendary" tends to be a product of "extraordinary" feats. So with your use, you make it sound unfair to call the top freedivers today "extraordinary" as many of us might feel perfectly comfortable using. Not saying that they have abilities that can not be achieved by the average person, but just a plain fact that they currently have achieved that status and the ordinary and even many above ordinary would not do that.
So the history is wonderful, as (in)accurate as your accounts might be. Thanks for the detailed alternate versions! However, I must say that most of your correcting statements do not appear to be correcting anything except the one about where Statti was from. Saying who "approached" who is a very subtle thing, that history will probably say both ways with none of us being the wiser. Who said "Glafkon"? I could not find this reference anywhere?
So, sorry if I am wrong but everything about your posts seems "loaded" to have your opportunity to share your "vast knowledge" putting somebody else on the spot. I think we are more understanding if ideas are shared first without leading them with a "carrot". If it is history, it is definately not knowledge.
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The measure which I use to define the extent of "ordinary" and "extraordinary" is the standard of the divers of that age and time in the dodecanese. Divers that had honed their skills in diving over decades to provide for their livelihood and not for personal leisure or sport. My statement is not made into any other context or of desire to put anybody on the spot but out of mere enthusiasm on the subject. If historical circumstances contributed to producing a diver like Yiorgos Hadjistathis, then they should be taken into account and knowledge of them is valuable. Ultimately, my argument is that the Regina Margherita incident gave us a "snapshot" in time not of a single diver but of the broader "diving culture" of the dodecanese that produced him and others like him.
Spong divers at the dodecanese & Crete (where I am from) are a "diving culture" with very old routes. In Crete they began from Minoan Time.
There is not better place to sit with the old men in a Cafe in my Village and lissen to storys about the past.
Offen they are Myths about big fishes and mermaids but offen
I am thinking that the posability that one of this old men have reach depths more that 50 meters before 10-20 years is very high.
Lambis
There is not better place to sit with the old men in a Cafe in my Village and lissen to storys about the past.
Offen they are Myths about big fishes and mermaids but offen
I am thinking that the posability that one of this old men have reach depths more that 50 meters before 10-20 years is very high.
Lambis
About busted eardrums. On ancient greece the many divers have
Busted by purpose the eardrums for att:
1. dont ever have problem with ears and
2. dont need to lisen what the angry Wife say at home when they came back from a diving trip
Dynamite have stop to use in my village before 10 years.
Many have lost limps some have die from this ilegal way of fishing.
Busted by purpose the eardrums for att:
1. dont ever have problem with ears and
2. dont need to lisen what the angry Wife say at home when they came back from a diving trip
Dynamite have stop to use in my village before 10 years.
Many have lost limps some have die from this ilegal way of fishing.
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For me, Herbert is the best. Not only because we come from the same country - but he is the best allrounder.
All the mentioned freedivers are really great in some disciplines, but Herbert is among the best in all disciplines. He has done WRs in Dynamic (with and without fins), Free Immersion, Unassisted Constant Ballast and Constant Ballast...and in Static, he has already done several attempts >8 min. (8.27´ in training last year). I think he is definitely the most complete freediver of all and besides this - he is always very helpful to "normal" freedivers, helping them to improve their freediving skills and abilities.
Sure, people like Jacques Mayol, Umberto and Pipin have developped freediving to what it is today - and nobody should ever forget that.
They sure are among the "greatest" freedivers, but the "best" is Herbert (to use the distintiction from above). In some years, he will be not only the best, but one of the greatest as well.
All the mentioned freedivers are really great in some disciplines, but Herbert is among the best in all disciplines. He has done WRs in Dynamic (with and without fins), Free Immersion, Unassisted Constant Ballast and Constant Ballast...and in Static, he has already done several attempts >8 min. (8.27´ in training last year). I think he is definitely the most complete freediver of all and besides this - he is always very helpful to "normal" freedivers, helping them to improve their freediving skills and abilities.
Sure, people like Jacques Mayol, Umberto and Pipin have developped freediving to what it is today - and nobody should ever forget that.
They sure are among the "greatest" freedivers, but the "best" is Herbert (to use the distintiction from above). In some years, he will be not only the best, but one of the greatest as well.
hi
Well - I have to say something that I have in my heart -
for me the best one is the one that post at deeperblue
the one that share with others in a humble maner what he knows-- and his freediving experiences--
as is in the case of david lee-- herbert- Martin--effatah-and others
I seing all this felows around deeperblue forum-- wich is the "Mas concurrida "web of freediving world I think so
now my question is Where is Pelizzari does he knows we exist?
does he knows about deeperblue forum?
does he knows that everyday here there are a new beginer freedivers waiting for some to share some techiques?
in conclucion for my the best are the one that not even he or sher know he is .
saludos
Daniel.
Well - I have to say something that I have in my heart -
for me the best one is the one that post at deeperblue
the one that share with others in a humble maner what he knows-- and his freediving experiences--
as is in the case of david lee-- herbert- Martin--effatah-and others
I seing all this felows around deeperblue forum-- wich is the "Mas concurrida "web of freediving world I think so
now my question is Where is Pelizzari does he knows we exist?
does he knows about deeperblue forum?
does he knows that everyday here there are a new beginer freedivers waiting for some to share some techiques?
in conclucion for my the best are the one that not even he or sher know he is .
saludos
Daniel.
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Hey Daniel,
I mentioned the Deeperblue website to Umberto when i met him. He stated that he has been to the website and read the forums but has never registered as a member.
He knows he is most welcome here as i reminded him over 10 times but he still has not let himself be seen.
I will ask him again as i have his email address.
Hasta luego
Shane
I mentioned the Deeperblue website to Umberto when i met him. He stated that he has been to the website and read the forums but has never registered as a member.
He knows he is most welcome here as i reminded him over 10 times but he still has not let himself be seen.
I will ask him again as i have his email address.
Hasta luego
Shane