French cave explorer Frederic Swierczynski has set a new world record after descending to a staggering 308m during an epic seven-hour dive in the Font Estramar system in the Eastern Pyrenees.
The 50 year old, from Marseille, is a mechanical engineer and a well-known trimix, cave and rebreather instructor, who has been diving since the age of 12. He made his first solo trimix dive to 120m at the age of 18, and began using rebreathers in 2000.
Font Estramar (or Rigole’s Spring) takes its name from ‘Font Extrema’, in reference to its location at the extreme limit of the territory of the commune of Salses-le-Château (Oriental Pyrenees). It springs out at the foot of a small cliff, at the edge of the highway.
Photos credit: Laurent Miroult
