Skandalopetra diving

Skandalopetra diving (Greek: σκανταλόπετρα) dates from ancient Greece, when it was used by sponge fishermen, and has been re-discovered in recent years as a freediving discipline.^[1] It was in this discipline that the first world record in freediving was registered, when the Greek sponge fisherman Stathis Chantzis dived to a depth of 83 m (272 ft) in July 1913.^[2] It consists of a variable ballast dive using a skandalopetra tied to a rope. A companion on a boat recovers the diver by pulling the rope up after the descent, and keeps a watch on the diver from the surface.