Francisco Ferreras (free-diver)
Encyclopedia
Francisco Rodriguez, better known as Francisco 'Pipin' Ferreras (born January 18, 1962) is a Cuba
n free-diver
renowned for his achievements in deep freediving.
, on the northern coast of Cuba, and began to practice free-diving at the age of 5. "Pipin" was his nickname from childhood, and years later he added Ferreras.
Not much is known for certain about Ferreras' life in Cuba before his freediving career. From the late 1980s and onward he made a name of himself in the so-called "No-Limits"' discipline of freediving where he established his first known world record of 112 meters (367 ft) depth in November 1989. Shortly thereafter he defected to Italy
and later migrated to Florida
, United States
. Through the 1990s he established a long series of World Records, often in close rivalry with Italian
Umberto Pelizzari
. During this phase, Ferreras' last logged record dive reached a depth of 162 meters (531 ft) in January 2000, 12 meters deeper than Pelizzari's deepest record.
The rivalry of Ferreras and Pelizzari became the focus of the 2001 IMAX
production Ocean Men: Extreme Dive, directed by renowned under water photographer Bob Talbot
.
In 1996, Ferreras established the sports association International Association of Freedivers (IAFD) in direct opposition to the organization AIDA
, but this had limited sportive success and closed in 2004. All of Ferreras' record dives of this era were conducted within the ambit of IAFD.
-born Mexican
-national Audrey Mestre
who turned out to be a natural freediver herself. In 1999 they married, and quickly the two became a regular record-breaking couple in the sport of freediving, dividing men and women's records between them.
On October 12, 2002 Mestre died in a scandalized attempt to break the no-limits world record (this attempt trying for both men and women's record) in a setup that was widely criticized within freediving circuits. Much of the critique went to Ferreras who had organized all of his and Mestre's record attempts for years. In a no-limits freedive, the standard diving method is holding on to a weighted sled to the target depth, and there open a pressurized air tank that fills a large inflatable balloon which carries the freediver back to the surface. On Mestre's fatal dive, this air tank was empty when Mestre reached her target depth of 171 meters (561 ft). Mestre was not recovered to the surface until nine minutes into her dive, and at that point it was too late to revive her. It was Ferreras who departed from the surface in SCUBA gear
and salvaged Mestre's passed out body.
A year after her death, Ferreras completed a no-limits dive to match Mestre's depth of 171 meters.
Francisco Rodriguez, better known as Francisco 'Pipin' Ferreras (born January 18, 1962) is a Cuba
n free-diver
renowned for his achievements in deep freediving.
, on the northern coast of Cuba, and began to practice free-diving at the age of 5. "Pipin" was his nickname from childhood, and years later he added Ferreras.
Not much is known for certain about Ferreras' life in Cuba before his freediving career. From the late 1980s and onward he made a name of himself in the so-called "No-Limits"' discipline of freediving where he established his first known world record of 112 meters (367 ft) depth in November 1989. Shortly thereafter he defected to Italy
and later migrated to Florida
, United States
. Through the 1990s he established a long series of World Records, often in close rivalry with Italian
Umberto Pelizzari
. During this phase, Ferreras' last logged record dive reached a depth of 162 meters (531 ft) in January 2000, 12 meters deeper than Pelizzari's deepest record.
The rivalry of Ferreras and Pelizzari became the focus of the 2001 IMAX
production Ocean Men: Extreme Dive, directed by renowned under water photographer Bob Talbot
.
In 1996, Ferreras established the sports association International Association of Freedivers (IAFD) in direct opposition to the organization AIDA
, but this had limited sportive success and closed in 2004. All of Ferreras' record dives of this era were conducted within the ambit of IAFD.
-born Mexican
-national Audrey Mestre
who turned out to be a natural freediver herself. In 1999 they married, and quickly the two became a regular record-breaking couple in the sport of freediving, dividing men and women's records between them.
On October 12, 2002 Mestre died in a scandalized attempt to break the no-limits world record (this attempt trying for both men and women's record) in a setup that was widely criticized within freediving circuits. Much of the critique went to Ferreras who had organized all of his and Mestre's record attempts for years. In a no-limits freedive, the standard diving method is holding on to a weighted sled to the target depth, and there open a pressurized air tank that fills a large inflatable balloon which carries the freediver back to the surface. On Mestre's fatal dive, this air tank was empty when Mestre reached her target depth of 171 meters (561 ft). Mestre was not recovered to the surface until nine minutes into her dive, and at that point it was too late to revive her. It was Ferreras who departed from the surface in SCUBA gear
and salvaged Mestre's passed out body.
A year after her death, Ferreras completed a no-limits dive to match Mestre's depth of 171 meters.
Francisco Rodriguez, better known as Francisco 'Pipin' Ferreras (born January 18, 1962) is a Cuba
n free-diver
renowned for his achievements in deep freediving.
, on the northern coast of Cuba, and began to practice free-diving at the age of 5. "Pipin" was his nickname from childhood, and years later he added Ferreras.
Not much is known for certain about Ferreras' life in Cuba before his freediving career. From the late 1980s and onward he made a name of himself in the so-called "No-Limits"' discipline of freediving where he established his first known world record of 112 meters (367 ft) depth in November 1989. Shortly thereafter he defected to Italy
and later migrated to Florida
, United States
. Through the 1990s he established a long series of World Records, often in close rivalry with Italian
Umberto Pelizzari
. During this phase, Ferreras' last logged record dive reached a depth of 162 meters (531 ft) in January 2000, 12 meters deeper than Pelizzari's deepest record.
The rivalry of Ferreras and Pelizzari became the focus of the 2001 IMAX
production Ocean Men: Extreme Dive, directed by renowned under water photographer Bob Talbot
.
In 1996, Ferreras established the sports association International Association of Freedivers (IAFD) in direct opposition to the organization AIDA
, but this had limited sportive success and closed in 2004. All of Ferreras' record dives of this era were conducted within the ambit of IAFD.
-born Mexican
-national Audrey Mestre
who turned out to be a natural freediver herself. In 1999 they married, and quickly the two became a regular record-breaking couple in the sport of freediving, dividing men and women's records between them.
On October 12, 2002 Mestre died in a scandalized attempt to break the no-limits world record (this attempt trying for both men and women's record) in a setup that was widely criticized within freediving circuits. Much of the critique went to Ferreras who had organized all of his and Mestre's record attempts for years. In a no-limits freedive, the standard diving method is holding on to a weighted sled to the target depth, and there open a pressurized air tank that fills a large inflatable balloon which carries the freediver back to the surface. On Mestre's fatal dive, this air tank was empty when Mestre reached her target depth of 171 meters (561 ft). Mestre was not recovered to the surface until nine minutes into her dive, and at that point it was too late to revive her. It was Ferreras who departed from the surface in SCUBA gear
and salvaged Mestre's passed out body.
A year after her death, Ferreras completed a no-limits dive to match Mestre's depth of 171 meters.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n free-diver
Free-diving
Freediving is any of various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold underwater diving. Examples include breathhold spear fishing, freedive photography, apnea competitions and, to a degree, snorkeling...
renowned for his achievements in deep freediving.
Life
Ferreras was born in MatanzasMatanzas
Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. It is famed for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore.It is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas , east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero.Matanzas is called the...
, on the northern coast of Cuba, and began to practice free-diving at the age of 5. "Pipin" was his nickname from childhood, and years later he added Ferreras.
Not much is known for certain about Ferreras' life in Cuba before his freediving career. From the late 1980s and onward he made a name of himself in the so-called "No-Limits"' discipline of freediving where he established his first known world record of 112 meters (367 ft) depth in November 1989. Shortly thereafter he defected to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and later migrated to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Through the 1990s he established a long series of World Records, often in close rivalry with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Umberto Pelizzari
Umberto Pelizzari
Umberto Pelizzari is an Italian freediver, widely considered among the best of all times. Of his era, he is the sole to have established world records in all the then existing disciplines of freediving.- Early life :...
. During this phase, Ferreras' last logged record dive reached a depth of 162 meters (531 ft) in January 2000, 12 meters deeper than Pelizzari's deepest record.
The rivalry of Ferreras and Pelizzari became the focus of the 2001 IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
production Ocean Men: Extreme Dive, directed by renowned under water photographer Bob Talbot
Bob Talbot
Robert Dale Talbot is a retired American professional baseball player, an outfielder in the Major Leagues from to for the Chicago Cubs. Talbot joined the Cubs from their Pacific Coast League team, the Los Angeles Angels....
.
In 1996, Ferreras established the sports association International Association of Freedivers (IAFD) in direct opposition to the organization AIDA
AIDA International
The International Association for Development of Apnea is the world wide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath holding events . It aims to set standards for safety, comparability of Official World Record attempts and freedive education...
, but this had limited sportive success and closed in 2004. All of Ferreras' record dives of this era were conducted within the ambit of IAFD.
Relationship with Audrey Mestre
Ferreras had two defunct marriages behind him when in 1996, he met FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-born Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-national Audrey Mestre
Audrey Mestre
Audrey Mestre was a French world record-setting freediver.- Early life :Born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, to a family of snorkeling and scuba diving enthusiasts, at age two she was already swimming and by age thirteen was a seasoned scuba diver...
who turned out to be a natural freediver herself. In 1999 they married, and quickly the two became a regular record-breaking couple in the sport of freediving, dividing men and women's records between them.
On October 12, 2002 Mestre died in a scandalized attempt to break the no-limits world record (this attempt trying for both men and women's record) in a setup that was widely criticized within freediving circuits. Much of the critique went to Ferreras who had organized all of his and Mestre's record attempts for years. In a no-limits freedive, the standard diving method is holding on to a weighted sled to the target depth, and there open a pressurized air tank that fills a large inflatable balloon which carries the freediver back to the surface. On Mestre's fatal dive, this air tank was empty when Mestre reached her target depth of 171 meters (561 ft). Mestre was not recovered to the surface until nine minutes into her dive, and at that point it was too late to revive her. It was Ferreras who departed from the surface in SCUBA gear
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
and salvaged Mestre's passed out body.
A year after her death, Ferreras completed a no-limits dive to match Mestre's depth of 171 meters.
Francisco Rodriguez, better known as Francisco 'Pipin' Ferreras (born January 18, 1962) is a Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n free-diver
Free-diving
Freediving is any of various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold underwater diving. Examples include breathhold spear fishing, freedive photography, apnea competitions and, to a degree, snorkeling...
renowned for his achievements in deep freediving.
Life
Ferreras was born in MatanzasMatanzas
Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. It is famed for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore.It is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas , east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero.Matanzas is called the...
, on the northern coast of Cuba, and began to practice free-diving at the age of 5. "Pipin" was his nickname from childhood, and years later he added Ferreras.
Not much is known for certain about Ferreras' life in Cuba before his freediving career. From the late 1980s and onward he made a name of himself in the so-called "No-Limits"' discipline of freediving where he established his first known world record of 112 meters (367 ft) depth in November 1989. Shortly thereafter he defected to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and later migrated to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Through the 1990s he established a long series of World Records, often in close rivalry with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Umberto Pelizzari
Umberto Pelizzari
Umberto Pelizzari is an Italian freediver, widely considered among the best of all times. Of his era, he is the sole to have established world records in all the then existing disciplines of freediving.- Early life :...
. During this phase, Ferreras' last logged record dive reached a depth of 162 meters (531 ft) in January 2000, 12 meters deeper than Pelizzari's deepest record.
The rivalry of Ferreras and Pelizzari became the focus of the 2001 IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
production Ocean Men: Extreme Dive, directed by renowned under water photographer Bob Talbot
Bob Talbot
Robert Dale Talbot is a retired American professional baseball player, an outfielder in the Major Leagues from to for the Chicago Cubs. Talbot joined the Cubs from their Pacific Coast League team, the Los Angeles Angels....
.
In 1996, Ferreras established the sports association International Association of Freedivers (IAFD) in direct opposition to the organization AIDA
AIDA International
The International Association for Development of Apnea is the world wide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath holding events . It aims to set standards for safety, comparability of Official World Record attempts and freedive education...
, but this had limited sportive success and closed in 2004. All of Ferreras' record dives of this era were conducted within the ambit of IAFD.
Relationship with Audrey Mestre
Ferreras had two defunct marriages behind him when in 1996, he met FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-born Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-national Audrey Mestre
Audrey Mestre
Audrey Mestre was a French world record-setting freediver.- Early life :Born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, to a family of snorkeling and scuba diving enthusiasts, at age two she was already swimming and by age thirteen was a seasoned scuba diver...
who turned out to be a natural freediver herself. In 1999 they married, and quickly the two became a regular record-breaking couple in the sport of freediving, dividing men and women's records between them.
On October 12, 2002 Mestre died in a scandalized attempt to break the no-limits world record (this attempt trying for both men and women's record) in a setup that was widely criticized within freediving circuits. Much of the critique went to Ferreras who had organized all of his and Mestre's record attempts for years. In a no-limits freedive, the standard diving method is holding on to a weighted sled to the target depth, and there open a pressurized air tank that fills a large inflatable balloon which carries the freediver back to the surface. On Mestre's fatal dive, this air tank was empty when Mestre reached her target depth of 171 meters (561 ft). Mestre was not recovered to the surface until nine minutes into her dive, and at that point it was too late to revive her. It was Ferreras who departed from the surface in SCUBA gear
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
and salvaged Mestre's passed out body.
A year after her death, Ferreras completed a no-limits dive to match Mestre's depth of 171 meters.
Francisco Rodriguez, better known as Francisco 'Pipin' Ferreras (born January 18, 1962) is a Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n free-diver
Free-diving
Freediving is any of various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold underwater diving. Examples include breathhold spear fishing, freedive photography, apnea competitions and, to a degree, snorkeling...
renowned for his achievements in deep freediving.
Life
Ferreras was born in MatanzasMatanzas
Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. It is famed for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore.It is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas , east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero.Matanzas is called the...
, on the northern coast of Cuba, and began to practice free-diving at the age of 5. "Pipin" was his nickname from childhood, and years later he added Ferreras.
Not much is known for certain about Ferreras' life in Cuba before his freediving career. From the late 1980s and onward he made a name of himself in the so-called "No-Limits"' discipline of freediving where he established his first known world record of 112 meters (367 ft) depth in November 1989. Shortly thereafter he defected to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and later migrated to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Through the 1990s he established a long series of World Records, often in close rivalry with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Umberto Pelizzari
Umberto Pelizzari
Umberto Pelizzari is an Italian freediver, widely considered among the best of all times. Of his era, he is the sole to have established world records in all the then existing disciplines of freediving.- Early life :...
. During this phase, Ferreras' last logged record dive reached a depth of 162 meters (531 ft) in January 2000, 12 meters deeper than Pelizzari's deepest record.
The rivalry of Ferreras and Pelizzari became the focus of the 2001 IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
production Ocean Men: Extreme Dive, directed by renowned under water photographer Bob Talbot
Bob Talbot
Robert Dale Talbot is a retired American professional baseball player, an outfielder in the Major Leagues from to for the Chicago Cubs. Talbot joined the Cubs from their Pacific Coast League team, the Los Angeles Angels....
.
In 1996, Ferreras established the sports association International Association of Freedivers (IAFD) in direct opposition to the organization AIDA
AIDA International
The International Association for Development of Apnea is the world wide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath holding events . It aims to set standards for safety, comparability of Official World Record attempts and freedive education...
, but this had limited sportive success and closed in 2004. All of Ferreras' record dives of this era were conducted within the ambit of IAFD.
Relationship with Audrey Mestre
Ferreras had two defunct marriages behind him when in 1996, he met FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-born Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-national Audrey Mestre
Audrey Mestre
Audrey Mestre was a French world record-setting freediver.- Early life :Born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, to a family of snorkeling and scuba diving enthusiasts, at age two she was already swimming and by age thirteen was a seasoned scuba diver...
who turned out to be a natural freediver herself. In 1999 they married, and quickly the two became a regular record-breaking couple in the sport of freediving, dividing men and women's records between them.
On October 12, 2002 Mestre died in a scandalized attempt to break the no-limits world record (this attempt trying for both men and women's record) in a setup that was widely criticized within freediving circuits. Much of the critique went to Ferreras who had organized all of his and Mestre's record attempts for years. In a no-limits freedive, the standard diving method is holding on to a weighted sled to the target depth, and there open a pressurized air tank that fills a large inflatable balloon which carries the freediver back to the surface. On Mestre's fatal dive, this air tank was empty when Mestre reached her target depth of 171 meters (561 ft). Mestre was not recovered to the surface until nine minutes into her dive, and at that point it was too late to revive her. It was Ferreras who departed from the surface in SCUBA gear
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
and salvaged Mestre's passed out body.
A year after her death, Ferreras completed a no-limits dive to match Mestre's depth of 171 meters.
External links
- Current Freediving World Records
- APNEA MANIA, massive freedive info
- Deeperblue.net, a popular website for discussion and news
- Website about The Last Attempt, a book by Carlos Serra
- Article about Serra's book
- Youtube clip with Ferreras
- Youtube clip with Mestre and Ferreras
- Sports Illustrated cover story, 'The Deadly Dive', about Audrey Mestre's death