by Peter Wurschy

It is Sunday evening November 27th 2005, in about an hour and a half Sanne Buurma (from team SharkBait) and myself (Peter Wurschy from Apnea Amsterdam) will voluntary do something that is in the top ten of peoples worst nightmares : being locked up in a small car on the bottom of a 3 meters deep swimming pool.

The car is already prepared and sits happily in the middle of the swimming pool, waiting for things to come and plastered with stickers of the TV-show. Unaccustomed I am looking around looking for a known face.
Are you the one that will take place in the car someone asks me? Euh yes,I think so.
The car has been stripped entirely and has been prepared for the stunt. I hear that a new construction has been developed, which makes it impossible for the car to roll over. Looking into the car, a claustrophobic feeling overcomes me. Jezus this car is really small inside. I hope I will fit in there, with my almost 2 meters in length…

Meanwhile Sanne and Jorg (safety) have arrived. After four minutes static in the warm swimming pool I am mentally and physically ready. Two kilos of lead weights for the buoyancy and a duckdive later I am sitting in the car. Within a second my head is flattened against the roof and my mental rest changes into a slight panic. However I try, it seems just sitting normally does not succeed. I try to lean over so that I can relax myself. This is better I think, but at that moment a scuba diver is pointing out all the different cameras in the car to me. With this position of my body it was not possible to film me correctly. I try to sit nortmal once again , but within 15 seconds the first contraction starts.

PANIC !!!

I look at my watch ; 1 minute and 6 seconds, I have to relax myself... 30 seconds later I swim like a rocket back to the surface. Lead !! , I need more lead , NOW !!!
Six kilos of extra leads are carried in. Those kilos still not make me sit normal in the car. I continue to float and my head continues to touch undesirably the roof of the car. I think “more kilos NOW!!”
At that moment my coach Gonnie interferes. Stop asking for kilos and CONCENTRATE. Lose those kilos, this way they never get the car up. I tried to focus myself on those four minutes. After 5 minutes I duck dive again and sat in the car. This time went better, but the three minutes which I accomplished this time would not be sufficient for the final stunt.

“One hour before final countdown” , Jorg told us. On the poolside of the warm pool, I try to recover my mental rest. In the other swimming pool the last preparations are made. Large lamps are assembled in the car. Sandra Remer (show master) meanwhile arrived. I agreed with Sanne that we will do a static again 15 minutes before official top. Still a half hour for final countdown... Scuba divers with TV-cameras prepare themselves. During our static preparation we are filmed. Jorg finishes the agreed schedule. This gives some rest. After five minutes of static I feel mentally ready.

I walk slowly to the edge of the swimming pool and try to focus myself. Large lamps illuminate the swimming pool and the car. Sandra Remer is looking tense. “ 5 minutes”, Jorg shouts.

Sanne and I slide into the swimming pool and wish each other success. Sanne is floating above the car on a body board. I can just stand on the roof of the car with extended toes.

Two minutes..... Sandra Remer shouts ;"Are you ready?.....all freedivers burst out loud “Yessss !!!”. Still one minute to go..... my breathing is right ....5,4,3,2,1... A duck dive and I am in the car. Immediately I am fixing my head against the roof of the car, this result in a relaxing of my legs and body. I feel that the door is slammed shut and a bit later also the second door. ”Relax yourself” , I say against myself. 15 seconds later I am mentally gone, gone far in my dreamland.. The car start to move slightly. At that moment I got my first soft contraction. I try to ignore it. Just 30 seconds later I feel the car is almost rolling over. I get pressed against the door. I slowly open my eyes and look down on the freedivers who are blowing air into the airpockets attaxhed to the frame that holds the car. This gives me some mental diversion and the contractions seem to feel less strong. Some moment later and the upper part of the car fills itself with air. Three breaths later Sanne and I are shouting with joy. We succeeded!!!

!!!!!! Now check out the full spectacular video with underwater footage of this event down below !!!!!

or download a high resolution version (70MB)

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