Allen (The Grouper) Sherrod of South Lake Divers is now the
World Record Holder
for the Longest Salt Water Dive!
A Central
Florida scuba diver Saturday broke the world record
for longest saltwater dive by almost five
minutes
after spending two days under turbulent seas.
A team of
divers helped a weak but spirited Allen Sherrod, 45,
onto land at 10:25 a.m. as powerful waves
rolled
onto shore and the sun broke through an overcast
sky. He was whisked away to his hotel room at the
nearby
Windjammer Resort for a medical check and shower.
Sherrod,
of Groveland, addressed the media showing grayish,
swollen hands and feet, and broken skin on the
back of
his knees. He said he felt "great" and looked
forward to a nap and meal, perhaps the lobster he'd
scooped
up underwater or something sweet, like barbecue, to
offset the taste of saltwater.
"I don't
try to show off, just break the record," he said,
after gingerly shuffling from the hotel room to a
chair in
front of
the beach.
Sherrod
dove in at 10:12 a.m. Thursday morning when the sea
was flat, but that swiftly changed and
conditions deteriorated.
The diver
spent much of his time kneeling on the sea floor to
stabilize himself and prevent seasickness. He
also
clung onto an artificial reef about 250 yards
offshore that stimulates coral growth using
solar-powered
electrical currents. He said he wanted to bring
awareness to that technology.
Strong
currents whipped him around underwater and caused
bruised ribs as well, he said
The
former world record was set in Indonesia in January
2010 by a diver from the United Kingdom,
according
to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea spokesman Steve d'Oliveira.
This was
Sherrod's second attempt to break the record — he
made his first attempt Oct. 25, but water
conditions forced him to surface after 12 hours. The
record-breaking diver, who certifies the famous
mermaid
performers at Weeki Wachee Springs, also holds the
record for longest freshwater
dive —
five days — which he accomplished this year.
Although
Sherrod waved off the new record as "pretty easy,"
Video Achieve's
Here's some of the video achieve that we have
on Allen and his record breaking attempts...
Select from the thumbnail below the picture
the video you want to watch and enjoy!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Allen Sherrod of South Lake Divers is the new
World Record Holder
for the Longest Fresh Water
Dive
Friday, September 16, 2011 - 8:48:10 a.m.
Allen Sherrod receives oxygen after breaking the world record for longest
freshwater dive. He spent more than five days underwater in Groveland's Lake
David, from Sept. 11–16, 2011.
By
Heather
Sorentrue, Reporter - News Channel 13
GROVELAND --
The third time was the charm for diver Allen Sherrod.
At 8:48:10 a.m. Friday, he successfully broke the world
record for the longest freshwater dive, spending more than
five days beneath the surface in Lake David.
Sherrod started his dive Sunday at 8:46 a.m., 10 years to
the minute since the first hijacked plane struck the World
Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
He emerged five days, 14 minutes and 32 seconds later.
It was Sherrod's third attempt to break the record.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Did you ever wonder what to do with yourself on your day off?
Well Allen got this crazy idea to attempt to break the world record for the
longest fresh water dive in Lake David which is located in Groveland, Fl.
Allen took to the water at noon on September 25th, 2010 with the intent to stay 120
plus hours underwater. Well, after 111 hours, 9 hours short of the record
Allen had to come up due to a sudden change in temperature that left him unable
to stay warm and the concern of hyperthermia setting in.
Fast forward to September 11, 2011.
This year our world record dive attempt has
taken on a whole new meaning. Allen will start his week long dive in Lake David
in Groveland on September 11th at 8:46 AM. This is when a plane hit the
first of two Twin Towers in New York City. We are working with David Sirak of
Channel 9 News to bring this event and an event with the H2O Underwater racers
at Weeki Wachee on Oct 7, 8, and 9 as events for the benefit of The Wounded
Warrior Foundation. Our Warriors will be racing in the event at Weeki Wachee.
Like last year we are looking for
sponsors for the world record attempt to help cover needs of our safety
divers and tee shirts that will be sold at the event. If you would like to
donate anything to the event such as drinks, donuts or some of your time it will
be greatly appreciated. A one hundred dollar donation from your business, group.
family or individual will get your name on the back of a tee as a sponsor. We
will have published listings of all participants, however, on different sights
during and after these two events. All tee sales will go to the benefit of our
Wounded Warrior program and any other donations not used during the support of
Allen's dive team will be awarded to the Wounded Warrior Foundation during the
Weeki Wachee race schedule. You can also make any donations to Allen to go
directly to the Wounded Warrior Fund.
Any divers interested in being safety divers
for this event will be provided with all the free air they need and anyone else
interested in diving to go visit Allen at any time can rent a tank for $5 each.
That will also be donated to our Warriors. Allen will have many safety
diver meetings at the shop and if you would like to sign up now as a safety
diver, we
have the sign-up sheet available at the shop. The safety meetings will be
held every Wed. night at 6:30pm. And if have any air tanks you can
loan us during this event, we will give you a voucher for a free yearly
inspection. Remember, there is a high probability that all divers will be
exposed on the news.
Allen's facebook address is Allen Sherrod
and he has an event page there.
We have our SCULS units available for sale
also. This unit allows the user to talk to anyone around him or her under water.
It also has an attachment where you can attach an MP3 player. We will will dedicate a
percentage of all SCULS sales to the Wounded Warrior program. We are also
donating a full unit to their dive program. It helps with their underwater
training and they say they really like the music portion. The units come with
the voice cylinder, tow-piece mask and case. These units are used
for underwater instruction, photography, technical and cave, and family diving.
To see the unit call Allen at
352-702-8676. He has been using the unit more recently to act as underwater
commentator for the H20 races. They will also be used for an underwater news
broadcast about the problem with the lionfish.
Anyone interested on any aspect of these two
events please contact Deb at
352-702-8643. You can also text.
News As Of September 07, 2011
The Groveland City Council has generously waived the fees for
use of the building on Lake David. We will have a nice place to take breaks,
store food, watch an underwater web cam of Allen, and make sure our visitors
from the news media are comfortable. I guess I can tell you now that the news
media loves to talk to the divers.
Thanks to many of you (and Brett S. again), we have plenty of air tanks for our
two record breakers and the safety divers. There is always room for more.
Allen and Nicole are entering the water Sunday morning to start the dive at
8:46. It's a very impressive sight. Divers will escort them to the starting
point and drop to 20ft and stay for 20 minutes making it an official dive. The
divers look like they are truly on some kind of a mission. Allen and Nicole will
then move to an area off of a pontoon boat and stay at 8ft.for the rest of their
allotted time. Nicole will stay for 50 hours and Allen will stay until the
coming Saturday morning and longer if the donations come in.
There will be a safety meeting tonight at 6:30. If you cannot attend we will be
glad to sign you up for a safety position and brief you when you do, at your
convenience.
News As Of September 06, 2011
We are now on the
countdown to the World Record Dive Attempt.
Working with David Sirak and the channel 9 news team we are asking for donations
during the event to go to the Wounded Warriors dive program out of Tampa. These
divers pay their own way for dive training and the benefits to them are
miraculous. You can go to Allen Sherrod's Facebook page and follow the progress
and set up for the event.
We have three outstanding sponsors so far:
Jack's BBQ is sending meals for the safety team Monday morning the 12th. They
served last year and WOW, it was wonderful.
Tim Johnson, Swim Director for the Ironman competitions countrywide provided two
incredible banners to be displayed at the lake. These aren't just any
banners, They were made to and will draw some major attention.
Mary and Phil, owners of Florida From a Kayak, LLC will be on hand with their
kayaks for trips around the lake and to assist divers.
We are also asking for the use of any air tanks for the event. A voucher for a
free visual and fill be
issued for the use.
Allen is setting up an account for the proceeds for the event and his contact #
is 352-702-8676.The account is called Dive For The Wounded Soldiers and is set
up at Center State Bank. We are also asking for donations to the event in the
way of drinks, and goodies for the divers like donuts, sandwich makings, ice and
Ensure for Allen.
Allen will be joined this year by Nicole who will attempt the Women's World
Record break of over 50 hours. She has been training and helping with the
underwater preparations. Did I mention that she is 17 years old. We know she
will succeed.
The dive shop will be open from 10-12 only from Monday Sept the 12th through
Sat. the 17th.
We still have room on the safety diver schedule and you can sign up anytime
during dive shop hours. There will be a safety meeting this Wed night at 6:30.
If you can't make the meeting Deb will brief you during the week. We will also
have divers on hand at the lake to help out new safety divers and anyone wanting
to dove with Allen and Nicole. There are no limits.
Please call 352-702-8643 for any information on this event.
