If you sometimes feel the need to zip around a big wreck or reef in a hurry, diver-propelled vehicles (DPVs) can meet that need – but how best to define scooter speed?
A world record for the longest distance travelled under water on one breath in open seas was claimed on 15 July by one Alex Khan, although the accolade should probably go to the scooter from which he was hanging, because to cover 250m he needed to hold his breath only for a manageable 1min 21sec.
The distance, covered from a standing start, is the equivalent of travelling from one end of the Thistlegorm to the other and back again – or almost the full length of the Titanic.
The DPV was the carbon-fibre AquaDart Pro 770 Extreme, made by Guangdong-based iAqua Shenzhen and, with its claimed 25kph (15.5mph) top speed, described by the manufacturer as the world’s fastest sea scooter.
The motor offers maximum power of 5.2kW (7bhp) and runs through no fewer than seven gears. Water is channelled through an underside duct to drive an anti-cavitation propeller that delivers 770 newtons (71kg) of thrust. Maximum operating depth is 45m.
Khan’s achievement, averaging just over 11kph over the distance, is a record that an independent body such as Guinness World Records has yet to recognise, and is the result of what iAqua describes as its own “Ultimate Power Test”, designed to demonstrate the potential of its top-of-the-range AquaDart Pro 770 Extreme model.
“We did invite Guinness when attempting this record, but they did not have a pre-defined category and time was too short for them to attend the event,” iAqua co-founder and managing director Danish Syed Mohammed explained to Divernet. “So as of now it stands alone in the category.”
Mohammed also issued an invitation for other freedivers to try to improve on Khan’s 250m distance using the iAqua scooter.
Standard usage from the AquaDart Pro 770 Extreme’s battery depending on demand is up to 140min, with claimed scuba-diving usage of up to 3hr 50m (including 30min of stops). Charge time to 100% is four hours, though an optional ultra-fast charger is available offering up to 80% charge in 100min.
The controls consist of two buttons and two triggers and, unusually, twin 1700-lumen lights are fitted. The entire 115 x 60 x 40cm DPV weighs 37kg, and the model retails for 12,490 euros (£10,520).
Scuba divers should beware of using a scooter with this sort of power at full tilt because of the danger of involuntary purging of their second-stage, or loss of a mask or mouthpiece to the force of onrushing water. More information from iAqua, which has its UK base in Cheltenham.
Also on Divernet: HOW CAVE-DIVER STRETCHED WORLD DEPTH RECORD TO 308M, THE MILLION-DOLLAR DIVE, DIVERS STUDY EFFECTS OF SCOOTING IN MPA, SHARKS ON A SCOOTER
