The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas took centre stage in the world of competitive diving last week, as two Kuwaiti divers - Reem Aleidan, a certified scuba instructor, and Mubarak Abuhaimad - set world records for the longest shark dives by a female and male respectively.

Diving at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas in western New Providence, Ms Reem broke the world record for longest dive with sharks by a female with a five-hour dive, while Mr Abuhaimad broke the male record with a seven-hour 49 minute shark dive.

On Friday, the pair described the record breaking experience as “a thriller”, insisting that the warm, clear waters of The Bahamas provided the ideal conditions in which to achieve the feat.

The Kuwaiti divers had been working to set four records to bring global attention to the rights and plights of Arab women in the Middle East but their two endurance dives ended in failure. According to their dive coach, Mark McCrum, the pair were beset by issues with their dive suits.

Mr McCrum indicated that the suits used by the divers did not arrive in The Bahamas in time to be tested and inspected prior to the record attempt and, as a result, the divers were not able to become accustomed to them.

“A suit is a very personal, unique piece of equipment,” he said. “Every diver needs to have time to get used to the suit they are going to be using during their dive attempt. In this case, the divers didn’t have that time but based on their skill sets we are confident that once we get all the kinks worked out we can travel back to The Bahamas and attempt that record again.”

The world endurance dive records are 72 hours for males and around 58 hours for females.

Mr Abuhaimad said neither he nor Ms Reem were disappointed by this week’s outcome. He explained that the opportunity to come to The Bahamas and dive alongside Ms Reem had created a massive following for the cause. He added that Arab people watching their attempts now know how important the the rights of Arab women are.

“They all know now. I went from coaching her to diving with her and now together we have done something amazing in hopes of improving the lives of so many others. She is a spectacular woman and I am happy that she asked me to do this with her,” he said.

The divers are expected back in Nassau in September to attempt to break both the endurance records and improve on their shark dive records.