The weekend of May 7th, nature took its course, and unfortunately, the conditions did not allow for the descent to 300 meters. Nevertheless, we find happy divers in Imotski: Frédéric Swierczynski is indeed the first man to reach the bottom of the third widest sinkhole in the world. The exploration of the Red Lake is above all a beautiful human adventure for the entire French-Croatian team. The Marseille speleologist shares with us this incredible experience:Ultimately the dive to 300 meters wasn’t possible, why is that?The level of the lake varies depending on snowmelt, and unfortunately, it has never been so low. I descended along the cable and reached the bottom at 205 meters, I searched the lower part of the lake which finally led me to « only » 240 meters.Are you not too disappointed?The primary objective of this descent was to be able to take samples from the bottom of the lake, which I did. As for the personal ambition to break this record, it wasn’t fulfilled this time, but it’s not the end goal. I am very happy with the outcome of these eight months of effort and preparation with all the French and Croatian teams and the parallel work with the scientists for whom we conducted the samplings.
Do you have other dives planned in the Red Lake of Imotski?Yes, we want to continue the explorations, in part of the lake there is a one-kilometer long hole into which we would like to go. We also found the natural seawater exit from the Red Lake. We should see how far we could go by following the water towards this exit: another extremely technical speleo dive!Do you keep in mind the idea of retrying a 300-meter deep dive someday?We would need to find the site to do it, also find a good excuse to motivate the teams around me, an exciting project that keeps everyone on edge. The real subject is the progress in technique, the configuration, the tools that are continuously evolving to enrich and push explorations further and further. It’s the exploration more than the record itself that drives and motivates me.
Interview by Margot Harty
Find the interview with Frédéric Swierczynski about his preparation and the mindset he was in a few days before this spectacular dive in the Red Lake.Opening photo © Florian Launette.Save
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