07 December,2011 10:27 AM IST | | Agencies
A scuba driver in Florida, US set a new world record for the longest saltwater dive when he stayed under water for two whole days, breaking the old record by five minutes.
Allen Sherrod spent most of his 48 hours, eight minutes and seven seconds under the sea by kneeling on the seabed floor off at Lauderdale-by-the-sea, Florida, to stablise himself.
Rough seas a day into the attempt meant he was buffered by currents and suffered bruised ribs, the Daily Mail reported.
The water temperature was consistently about 77 degrees, but when Sherrod's temperature appeared to drop, his team of divers massaged him and helped him swim laps to bring it back up.
Throughout the two nights, his team also hauled air tanks to replenish his supply every two hours, said lead safety diver Jose Mijares.
During the 48 hours spent underwater, he tried to sleep and communicated with the safety divers by using a magnetic drawing board while drinking chocolate milk and sports drinks.
This dive was in preparation for Sherrod's upcoming attempt at breaking the world record for longest distance dive for which he plans to swim from Lake Worth to Bimini in the Bahamas.
