Underwater Secrets – Grim Reminders of The Deep

Marker dedicated to Cyril Isoardi - free diver

In the waters just beyond the Cap de Nice at a depth of 27 meters (88 feet), there lies a large stone marker dedicated to a late 80′s and early 90′s freediving prodigy named Cyril Isoardi. A friend and I happened to stumble upon this marker by complete accident. Whereas my friend knew who it was, and was familiar with the story of the diver and the marker, it was completely new to me. It was a really special discovery, but at the same time, a sobering reminder of the dangers of freediving.

We picked a dive spot at random and started exploring. After a couple dives to about 17 meters or so, my partner noted that he thought he saw a stone marker at depth. I dove in the same area and confirmed that there was a statue there. By my estimate, I thought it was at about 20 meters, so we prepped to dive a bit deeper. When I dove again, I pressed to the bottom, and began taking photos. I noted that there didn’t seem to be much light, and glanced down at my watch and saw that I was at 27 meters! After realizing how deep I was, I booked it to the surface. At about 12 meters, my partner met me to escort me to the surface. The whole thing passed without event, but I was certainly glad to have a.) a good partner and b.) oxygen in my lungs.

Cyril Isoardi was well recognized as an up-an-coming force in the free diving world, and had made over 50 dives to depths of 100 (330 feet) meters or more using the free diving No-Limits Technique. The story goes that he began training intensively, and in the ten days before his death had made rapid progress with numerous dives. It was in this span that he progressed from about 112 meters max to 122 meters. Then, on March 29th, 1994, he took his sled down to 128 meters. Several minutes later the sled resurfaced, but he did not. His body was never recovered. No one knows what happened to him, and why he never resurfaced. He was 24 years old. According to what I have heard, his death (as well as the death of a notable Italian free diver at about the same time) sent a lot of waves across the free diving world and raised many questions about safety and security within the discipline.

Some time after his death, the stone marked was sunk near the place where he lost his life. I never met him, but I am grateful I got to discover his legacy – especially in the way I did. I can’t think of anything more fitting.

Free diver with Castagnoles

Marker dedicated to Cyril Isoardi - free diver

Some bottle divers swimming above

Waving hello

EDIT: I added a geotag in Flickr so those who want to locate this marker can use the map as a guide. View it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/azur-diving/6113627158/map/