The professional diver will document the biodiversity of the Marine Protected Area overlooked by the Municipalities of Spotorno, Bergeggi, Noli and Vezzi Portio, challenging human limits. A huge audience is expected and will be able to participate in the bioblitz and collateral initiatives.
In 2013 he set an international record: 24 hours underwater with simple recreational equipment. 11 years later, Paolo Cappucciati gets back into the game. Appointment Saturday 20 July at 16, at the Sirio Baths di Spotorno in the province of Savona, for 24 hours of immersion, an undertaking that combines sporting, scientific and tourist aspects.
Originally from Piacenza but from Savona by adoption, 68-year-old Paolo Cappucciati, professional diver, competitive freediving underwater fisherman and former coach of the Italian national team FIPSAS, will be supported on land and at sea by a team of 70 people, who will replace each other throughout the 24 hours. A team of doctors will study his physical behavior in the water, measuring the main parameters (body temperature, blood pressure, up to blood samples) to verify the body's response to such a demanding test.
There will also be a staff of scientific researchers expert in hyperbaric underwater medicine to perform tests on the cardiorespiratory system, oxidative stress and the decline in cognitive functions over time and hours. “There are two main difficulties: the water temperature, which in this summer was anomalously slightly lower than average, standing at 22 degrees, with the risk of hypothermia. And the tiredness. Especially in the last hours, fatigue makes itself felt, staying focused is complex,” says Cappucciati.
PASTA WITH PESTO UNDER WATER AND A BIOBLITZ FOR EVERYONE
Cappucciati will be free to move underwater, in what in jargon is called SCUBA diving (acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, or "autonomous underwater breathing apparatus"). The "base" will be a dome supplied by the specialized company of Genoa Ocean Reef, the same as those that form the Nemo's Garden in Noli, the underwater garden where hydroponic agriculture is experimented, and will be positioned at 6 meters deep, approximately 40 meters from the shore.
In the dome there will be vegetation (from basil to strawberries) and the possibility of communicating via telephone, to stay connected 24 hours a day. At least two people will come to assist you every hour for any need. In the space, with a 24m circumference, Cappucciati will be able to drink and eat, not only with supplements, but also with a nice plate of pasta with pesto, grown hydroponically.
The initiative will not only be an important sporting moment, but thescientific aspect, as he explains Alex Chiabra, co-organizer of the event: “Staying underwater for 24 hours allows prolonged observation of the seabed. Through the iNaturalist research app, Cappucciati will upload photos and annotations, which will be verified by a team of biologists and naturalists, to become research material. Not only that, all the people in the area, up to Savona, in and out of the water, will be able to give their contribution to the bioblitz, as it is called in jargon, which will affect the entire Marine Protected Area of Bergeggi Island, a territory of extraordinary richness faunal. One piece of data is enough to prove it: here in 2023 in three days, on the occasion of the Italian underwater safari championship, we detected 114 different species, a true record".
The images of the seabed will be broadcast live in the Spotorno Tourist Office, chosen as the land base, where they will be able to gather, as well as at the Bagni Sirio, curious and passionate people, who are expected to be numerous. “In 2013, when I returned to land, there were 3000 people waiting for me,” recalls Cappucciati. Numbers that could be repeated this year, also thanks to a calendar of collateral initiatives, currently being defined, open to all.
The event is made possible thanks to: Municipality of Spotorno, Municipality of Bergeggi, Marine Protected Area of Bergeggi Island, Port Authority / Coast Guard of Savona, APS Centro Nautico Vadese, Il Golfo dell'Isola, Anton Dohrn Genoa Zoological Station, Bagni Marini Spotorno Association, Hoteliers Association Spotorno, Pro Loco of Bergeggi, National Rescue Society, White Cross of Spotorno, Quarto Tempo Savona Project with the contribution of the San Paolo Foundation, Menkab Association, Bagni Sirio, Mares, Balbi Nautica, Vico Group, Ocean Reef, Nemo's Garden, Gulf Guides, Hotel Miramare, Latiaxis, Salto nel Blu Association.
© photo: GIAN LUCA GIUDICE
