Nuno Gomes - the road to the depths

Freedom is the fundamental factor of existence. Man, as an absolutely free being, creates his own values and norms, sets his own limits and restrictions. This is probably the basis of the uniqueness of human beings, that they cannot agree with the existing situation, they want constant development, improvement and never have enough. Even the satisfaction from crossing another border is temporary, lasts for a moment and immediately changes into a hunger to reach for what is still undiscovered, unattained and arousing curiosity.

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Nuno Gomes was born in 1951, in Lisbon. Since childhood he spent his days hunting with a crossbow in the Atlantic Ocean. You could say that he fell in love with the sea and spent all his days in it. Therefore, it must have been extremely difficult for him when, at the age of 14, he and his family left Portugal and emigrated to South Africa, settling in Pretoria, located inland.

The following years, Nuno, devoted himself to his education and starting a family. After finishing school, he married Liz and became the father of two children. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in geology and then went to work at WITS University, where he obtained a master’s degree in civil engineering. Soon after, destiny claimed him. He joined the WITS Underwater Club, where he was able to develop his skills as a diver.

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As it is well over 500km from Pretoria to the nearest coast, cave diving became the natural progression. Perfecting himself over the years, young Nuno took part in many pioneering expeditions, diving in every conceivable cave system in South Africa and Nabibia. As time passed, he got better and better and dived deeper and deeper. Boesmansgat, the deepest cave in the world, was a great place to take on further challenges. It was there, in 1988, that Nuno Gomes established his first cave dive. It was there, in 1988, that Nuno Gomes set an African record with a depth of 123m.

1993 was a very special year for Nuno, when deep-sea diving legend Sheck Exley came to Boesmansgat. Nuno finally met his idol in person and the time spent together was a valuable experience and allowed him to develop as a diver. Exley passed on his knowledge of using trimix decompression tables, the discipline of diving, making sure you have enough gas, working as a team, and strictly observing decompression times.

The experience paid off quickly. Already in 1994, Nuno gathered the right people around him and first improved his personal best to 230m and then to 253m. He paid for his last descent with a decompression sickness in his inner ear, but it was just another experience that allowed him to become an even better diver.

In April 1994 the news of Sheck Exley’s death shook the whole community. Trying to dive below 300m for the first time, the legend of deep diving and his companion Jim Bowden plunged into the Mexican Zacaton cave system. Sheck failed to swim from a depth of 276m, while Bowden, miraculously avoiding death, set a world depth record of 281.9m.

Shortly afterwards, Deon Dreyer went missing in Boesmansgat. Nuno was approached by an experienced police diver, Theo van Eeden, with a request for help. Despite Gomes’ pleas, he refused, needing time to think things over. Eventually he agreed, saying “Ok, this will be a world record dive”. The dive was 282.6m and the bottom of the Boesmansgat cave. The decompression itself took almost 12 hours. It was worth it, his record in cave diving remains unbeaten to this day.

In underwater hockey circles too, Nuno Gomes is a true legend. In his successful career, he won, among other things, two gold medals and a silver medal at the World Underwater Hockey Championships. Although already an amateur, he still practices the sport today and considers it a great way to keep fit.

In 2001 a new depth record was set in Puerto Galera, Philippines, by John Bennett, who went over the 300m mark and came back with 308m. This was the signal for Nuno and his team to start preparing to recover the lost record. A site was chosen – Dahab, a partnership was established with the local Planet Divers base and sponsors were found. It was a natural process that could not be stopped.

Just two weeks after his first dive in the Red Sea, Nuno Gomes said he was ready to make the attempt. The target was 315m. Due to technical problems, the dive had to be aborted after reaching 270m, which almost ended in tragedy.

But someone who has come this far cannot be stopped by equipment failure. After cooling down, Nuno gave himself one last chance. The second attempt, less than six months after the failed first attempt, was successful with a record depth of 318.25m!

The goal has been achieved, man has once again pushed the boundaries. By making a superhuman effort, he climbed to the top of his ability and showed that nothing can stop him. Although for Nuno Gomes this was the last attempt, such a deep descent, there are many who have not rested in their search for the ultimate limit of human capabilities. After them will come others and others, and so the eternal human journey for freedom and the seemingly unattainable will continue.

Source: www.nunogomes.co.za
Photo: Sean French