Homo Delphinus, The Dolphin With
Emmanuelle Riker
On 23 November 1976, at 49, he became the first free diver to descend to 100 metres (330 ft),[3][4] and when he was 56 he managed to descend to 105 metres (344 ft). During the scientific research phase of his career, Mayol tried to answer the question of whether man had a hidden aquatic potential that could be evoked by rigorous physiological and psychological training.
Mayol's lifelong passion for diving was based on his love for the ocean, his personal philosophy, and his desire to explore his own limits. During his lifetime, he helped introduce the then-elitist sport of free-diving into the mainstream. His diving philosophy was to reach a state of mind based on relaxation and yoga breathing, with which he could accomplish apnea.[5] He also contributed to technological advances in the field of free-diving, particularly improving assemblies used by no-limits divers. He was also instrumental in the development of scuba diving's octopus regulator, which was invented by Dave Woodward at UNEXSO in 1965 or 1966. Woodward believed that having safety divers carry two second stages would be a safer and more practical approach than buddy breathing in the event of an emergency.[6]
Mayol was already an experienced free diver when he met the Sicilian Enzo Maiorca, who was the first person to dive below 50 metres (160 ft). Mayol reached 60 metres (200 ft) depth.[7] A friendship, as well as rivalry, between the two men ensued. Their most famous records were set in the no-limits category, in which divers are permitted to use weighted sleds to descend and air balloons for a speedy ascent. Between 1966 and 1983, Mayol was the no-limits world champion eight times. In 1981 he set a world record of 61 metres (200 ft) in the constant weight discipline, using fins. In 1976, Mayol broke the 100 metres (330 ft) barrier with a no-limits 101 metres (331 ft) dive off Elba, Italy.[7] Tests showed that during this dive his heart beat decreased from 60 to 27 beats/min, an aspect of the mammalian diving reflex, a reflex more evident in whales, seals, and dolphins. Mayol's last deep dive followed in 1983 when he reached the depth of 105 metres (344 ft), at the age of 56.[7]
Mayol's fascination with dolphins started in 1955 when he was working as a commercial diver at an aquarium in Miami, Florida.[7] There he met a female dolphin called Clown and formed a close bond with her. Imitating Clown, he learned how to hold his breath longer and how to behave and integrate himself underwater. It is the dolphins that became the foundation of Mayol's life philosophy of "Homo Delphinus".[5]
Throughout his book L'Homo Delphinus[5] (2000 published in English as Homo Delphinus: The Dolphin within Man by Idelson Gnocchi Publishers Ltd.) Mayol expounds his theories about man's relationship with the sea, and explores the aquatic ape hypothesis of human origins. He felt man could reawaken his dormant mental and spiritual faculties and the physiological mechanisms from the depths of his psyche and genetic make-up to develop the potential of his aquatic origins, to become a Homo delphinus.
Jacques Mayol predicted that within a couple of generations, some people would be able to dive to 300 metres (980 ft) and hold their breath for up to ten minutes. Today the no-limits record stands at 253 m (Herbert Nitsch, June 2012). Serbian Branko Petrović holds the record for Static Apnea at 11 minutes and 54 seconds (October 2014).[8] Croatian Goran Čolak holds the record for static apnea on pure oxygen at 23 minutes 1 second (June 2014).[9]
The film The Big Blue, directed by Luc Besson in 1988, was inspired by his life story and the life story of the Italian diver Enzo Maiorca and their friendship. Mayol was one of the screenwriters.
On 22 December 2001 Mayol committed suicide by hanging himself at his villa in Elba, Italy after struggling with depression.[1] He was 74 years old. His ashes were spread over the Tuscany coast.[1] Friends have erected a monument to him in the southeast of Elba at 16 metres (52 ft) depth.[citation needed]
Mayol was the first man to dive at 330 feet (100 meter), during a program of experimental and medical research in deep breath hold diving. Diving the way dolphins do, with one breath, defying the predictions of physiologists. When he was 56 years old he plunged 344 feet deep (105 meters). He developed his physical performance with Yoga and an intimate knowledge of oriental philosophies.
Jacques Mayol is a world-famous diver widely acclaimed for his pioneering work in the field of deep breath-hold diving and for his historic, record-setting dive of 100 meters (330 feet) during a program of experimental and medical research in deep breath-hold diving in 1976. He was the first man to reach this remarkable depth, diving the way dolphins do, with one breath!
Even at the age of 74, Mayol continues to swim and dive almost every day. It is not unusual for him to stay underwater for as long as four minutes without taking a breath and free-dive to 40 meters (120 feet).
One day, when Sylias Elliot (nicknamed Bull-Joint) and I were hooking lobsters from the cracks of one of our favorite rocks, a young dolphin suddenly swam toward us and looked like he wanted to play. We were flabbergasted. Of course, I had often seen dolphins, usually in groups, around South Caicos. But never here, even though I had been coming to the area for years. Where in the devil did he come from? What was he doing here? He looked like a male and behaved like a male: powerful and firm, and he looked like he was trying to get attention.
When the sun began to set over the horizon and it was time to return to South Caicos, we decided not to go back via the inner part of the bank, which is faster than going over the high seas. The water level there is so low that sometimes you have to push the boat. If the dolphin had wanted to follow us, he would not have been able to do so. We took the cut that led us out to sea away from the dangerous reef.
A few weeks later we heard that a very similar situation occurred, but much further to the north in a small sheltered bay off North Caicos. Several local divers were trapping lobsters under the water using their hooks. They played with a young wild dolphin for a few hours. This happened again several times at different locations and it became obvious it was the same dolphin.
One fine day I was near the Club with a diver friend who was also an amateur filmmaker. I had made a kind of underwater wing, a small glider, for him out of wood so that he could be towed by a boat along the surface or underwater and have a good look at the sea floor.
During my many boat trips in the archipelago, I sometimes ran into him in the most unexpected places, often a 100 kilometers away from his home around the Club Med. If possible, we would always greet him under the water using our method, but that was all because I have total respect for his freedom.
Of course, I do not want to be hypocritical! Jojo also served as an unpaid actor for several international documentary productions about me, including working for the Japanese who adored him. In fact he has now become very popular in Japan!
He was even a co-star in a French television production on Canal Plus. His behavior surprised us all! There was one scene in which Jojo dived down to 35 meters right beside me, following my 25-kilo weighted line which is a kind of sled with a braking system that slides freely on the way down along a cable guide.
It was not until the early 1990s that I was able to do the impossible: pull together all the permits required by the TCI government, the diving technicians and the filmmakers from Canal Plus to arrange a serious expedition to Providenciales to film at least one descent of myself, pulled by a 25-kilo weighted sled, with Jojo at my side, along a guide-line, to an unspecified depth.
I certainly did not want to scare him or bore him, because he tires quickly of anything new, before the crucial filming episode, scheduled to last no more than three minutes. Before getting into the water on the small platform on the stern, I introduced my sled to Jojo. With his head out of the water, he analyzed it in detail. Then I got into the water, at his side. The sled was inserted onto the cable and held 50 centimeters from the surface.
Jojo and I were floating on our stomachs on the surface. A cameraman had already begun shooting. Two others were spaced along the cable and the last was 35 meters down on the orange finish disk which would suddenly stop the fall of the weight sliding along the cable.
I began to pull myself back up along the cable, moving my flippers from time to time, staring at Jojo all the while, almost until we arrived at the surface. The dive was not even three minutes long, but it was a complete success. The purpose of this very expensive and complicated mission was accomplished. Thanks to Jojo!
As a precautionary measure for the shooting, we wanted to repeat the scene. Nothing doing! Jojo had no intention of doing it over again. Nor was he interested in the sled anymore, despite my insistence. He simply left the plateau and quietly swam toward the coast!
Everyone in the Caicos Islands knows Jojo the dolphin, from the humble lobster fisherman to the American multimillionaire who built his luxury home at the edge of the magnificent beaches along Providenciales and Pine Cay.
He even enjoys popularity among the dogs, including those who do not hesitate to jump into the water from the beach to go and take a closer look at him. There was that white terrier who used to keep Jojo company for hours. Just to play together along the Pine Cay beach or even go far from the coast, swimming alongside each other.
South Caicos was once a major exporter of salt harvested from its extensive salinas. Award-winning Master and Craftsman Photographer James Roy of Paradise Photography (myparadisephoto.com) created this vertical composition by assembling a series of six images captured by a high-definition drone which was a half a mile away from his position.
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