In June of 1911 the "Regina Margherita", the flagship of the Italian Navy lost its anchor in a heavy storm. For days and days vain efforts were made to retrieve the anchor since it would have been a disgrace for the captain to return to his home port without it. A Greek fisherman offered his help. For 5 Pound Sterling and permission to fish with dynamite he would retrieve the anchor.

He claimed to be able to dive to a depth of 100 meters and that he could hold his breath for over 7 minutes. The ships doctor examined the man with the following result: Normal Vitality Capacity, thorax circumference 92 centimeters, inhalation circumference 98, exhalation circumference 80 centimeters. Respiration 20 - 22 per minute. Weight 60kg. Height 1.75m. Further it was established that he suffered from a lung emphysema. Due to the rather shaky health of the man the doctor recommended that the captain should not allow him to dive. The fisherman brushed all these warnings aside. He succeeded in persuading the captain to withdraw all his reservations.

On the very same day, weighted with a stone, he dived down to 77 meters where he found the anchor after his third attempt. He applied a rope and the crew could easily haul up the anchor. This exceptional feat is still prominently registered in the archives of the Italian Navy and it also was the beginning of modern freediving.

Christian Redl and Harald Lautner followed the fisherman's route in commemoration of his unique historic diving feat. Accompanied by a German camera crew Chriostian Redl, clad only in swimming trunks, dived down to 50 meters. Harald Lautner assisted him as a safety diver and camera-man. The story of the two Austrian freedivers on the footsteps of thr Greek fisherman was part of a TV series which conveyed freediving to a large body of viewers.

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1.ConstantWeight  The diver must dive and surface under his own power. The bodyweight of the diver must not be altered and needs to remain constant throughout the dive.

Constant Weight is an integral part of most competitions.

2. Variable Weight in this case the diver is allowed to use weights up to 35kg. The weight consisting of a diving sledge brings the diver down to great depths from which he re-surfaces under his own power. Either scaling the rope or using one's own fins is permissible. Variable Weight is not a competition in its own right, but world record lists are compiled.