Sub-aqua divers will hear how their popular pastime can be enjoyed without those bulky tanks of compressed air when a world record holder for free diving addresses the Irish Underwater Council's annual conference in Limerick this weekend.
Ms Tanya Streeter (27), from the Grand Cayman Islands, holds four world free-diving records, one for reaching a depth of 370 feet on one breath at the World Women's No Limits event in May 1998 off Grand Cayman. The "no limits" events involve a descent on a weighted sled and a return to the surface using a lift bag.
In November of that year she beat the male record in the freshwater constant ballast event, descending to 185 feet unassisted and ascending the same way.
The conference is being run by Limerick Sub Aqua Club, the State's third-oldest club which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Among the achievements of its members is the establishment of Limerick Search & Rescue, a dedicated sub-aqua rescue service for the Shannon estuary, which became the model for similar organisations throughout the State.
The club has one of the largest junior (under 16) snorkelling sections which is run by a founder member, Mr Ronnie Hurley.
Ms Streeter will breathe easily at this weekend's conference in the company of other speakers such as Dr Martha Holmes, producer of The Blue Planet, the most expensive documentary series ever produced by the BBC's Natural History Unit.
The other conference guests will include Mr Helmut Debeluis, a writer of marine travel guide books, Mr Dave Courtney, the chief pilot at the Irish Coastguard's helicopter service at Shannon, Mr Gavin Gerrard, a marine mammal rescue co-ordinator, and Mr Gary Momber, a specialist in maritime archaeology.