DURBAN’S Beth Neale, African Continental Record Holder, has defied the odds by breaking her own existing freediving record – and taking the South African Freediving Championship for the fourth time – all in the name of ocean conservation.
On Sunday, 25 August, the master instructor broke her 47-meter ‘no fins’ freediving record in Bermuda by a further three metres using nothing but a nose clip. Beth set the previous ‘no fins’ freediving record in Sodwana Bay last April.
Her latest daring attempt is raising funds for ocean education programmes which teach the next generation of ‘Ocean Guardians’ about the importance of conservation. This is being done through corporate donations and her GoFundMe campaign, the largest freediving GoFundMe campaign in history.
Commenting on the latest dive, Beth said: “Conditions couldn’t have been better! I had a 20-person support team out on the water with me 12 miles offshore of Bermuda. This was the most relaxed performance of my career, despite having a wardrobe malfunction at 50 meters!”
She explained that the velcro band on her leg, which holds the bottom tag she needs to present to judges on completion, slipped right off her leg because of the compression at depth.
“I had then tucked the tag in my wetsuit – which fell out again at 40 meters. According to my dive computer, these incidents added 15 seconds to the dive, which was a total of 2 minutes 50 seconds.”
Miles Cloutier, event organiser and Beth’s coach and partner, said: “Beth has tremendous athletic talent and ability that she is only just beginning to explore. One of the things I most admire about her is the energy she puts into conservation, with athletics coming a distant second. The dive event was three months of preparation and we had more than 50 donors, supporters and friends out on the water with us.”
Her freediving journey started a decade back in London when, during a particularly low point in her life, Beth happened to watch the film, The Big Blue, and immediately started searching for freediving courses. Two weeks later, she started on what would become her underwater journey.
Beth follows the CNF – constant weight no fins – diving discipline whereby she swims breaststroke for both descent and ascent, using no equipment. Commenting on her preferred diving technique, Beth said: “I think it’s the purest form of diving and I absolutely love it!”
At these depths, the pressure makes wearing a mask challenging and Beth has to rely on a blur of lines and her dive watch to assist her in reaching her target depth. After 21 metres, her lungs are compressed and her body goes into freefall and, after the 60-second point, she begins her ascent.
Asked why she decided to attempt this record now, Beth said it was a combination of needing to improve herself as an athlete while raising awareness of the work she’s doing: “Competitive freediving is far from my ‘mission’ in life, but it is a talent and discipline I have worked to develop. I have never been sponsored as an athlete or competed professionally – my focus is simply to use my athletic accomplishments to develop conservation initiatives in Africa and abroad.”
Beth has dedicated the last five years of her life to ocean conservation in South Africa, Mozambique and Bermuda. Through her work as a master instructor, she has taught more than 500 adults the art of freediving, as well as more than 3 000 children – all of whom are instructed in ocean conservation as well.
The Kids on the Reef programme, a two-day programme run in partnership with the Bermuda Zoological Society, teaches children how to snorkel and freedive while empowering them with ocean conservation awareness. She also runs freediving camps, a five-day programme for children aged eight to 15 years.
“I love changing the perceptions of children who are fearful of the water, as well as being able to identify children that are gifted or interested in a future of conservation and may develop themselves to become ocean guardians,” said Beth.
Contributions to the GoFundMe campaign are still welcome at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-beth-break-freedive-record-for-bermuda-kids.
To follow Beth’s journey, see @onebreathbeth on Instagram or visit: www.aquasouls.com.
