What:

Freediving 15 metres down to an airliner fuselage at the bottom of a flooded quarry and swimming through it, before returning to the surface.

Why:

Raising money for an amazing independent mental health charity that offers immediate help for people with suicidal wishes.

When:

6th September 2024.

Where:

Flooded quarry, Vobster Quay, in Somerset.

The Challenge:

On one lungful of air I will descend nearly 50 feet to an aeroplane fuselage deep in a flooded quarry, the depth varies on rainfall, of which there has been plenty. Once down I will then swim into the dark fuselage section, then through the plane trying to avoid getting snagged on the sharp metal structure, before heading back to the surface.

Due to the pressure once below the surface, it is not possible to take on any supplementary air. If anything goes wrong I will be relying on my ‘buddy’ to bring me back up and get things sorted. I have estimated I will need to be able to hold my breath and swim underwater for up to 90 seconds.

The event will be filmed by divers which hopefully will give a good perspective of how far from the surface I need to get.

I am doing land based CO2 tolerance sessions a number of times a week, done various training sessions in the quarry and will be doing more water based safety work ahead of the challenge.The training days at Vobster Quay in Somerset and challenge itself are entirely self-funded so every penny of sponsorship will go to the charity.

Diving down and back I will be swimming more than 1/2 the height of Nelsons Column (Trafalgar Square, London) on one breath. This is very much out of my comfort zone, let alone swimming through the dark aeroplane wreck once down there, which is why I am hoping that it will attract attention and generous sponsorship for this amazing lifesaving charity.

The Charity:

Bigmoose Charity was started by a long term friend of mine, Jeff Smith, following the untimely death of his close friend and fellow professional Ice Hockey player Gary ‘Moose’ Cloonan.

Bigmoose is a small, efficient life saving charity run by father and daughter team Jeff and Chloe. It provides free, unconditional and swift help to people on the cusp of suicide. Currently it takes on average 34 days to get mental help therapy through the NHS, through Bigmoose professional contact is made 24 hours and the first session delivered within a week. By the end of June 2024 there were 55 ‘graduates’ from the programme that openly say they would’ve taken their lives without Bigmoose.

Motivation to raise funds has been catalysed further by a friend from school sadly taking his own life in November 2023 aged 48, leaving behind his wife and two children.

Bigmoose has two fund raising wings - one ‘overheads and promotion’ department which relies on corporate donors to keep keep the lights on, pay for event promotion / fundraising costs. The second, which is what I am diving for, 100 pence in the Pound goes to providing therapy for people that need it.