| Boesmansgat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Daniëlskuil, Northern Cape |
| Coordinates | 27°55′18″S 23°38′30″E / 27.92167°S 23.64167°E |
| Depth | 283 m (928 ft) |
| Elevation | 1500 metres |
  Boesmansgat (South Africa)  Boesmansgat (Northern Cape) | |
Boesmansgat (or Bushmansgat), also known in English as "Bushman's Hole", is a deep submerged freshwater cave (or sinkhole) in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, which has been dived to a depth of 282.6 metres (927 ft).
Boesmansgat was believed to have first been explored by amateur diver Mike Rathbourne, in 1977.[citation needed] The greatest depth attained was by Nuno Gomes in 1996, diving to a depth of 282.6 metres (927 ft). Its altitude of over 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) makes this a particularly challenging dive, requiring a decompression schedule equivalent for a dive to 339 metres (1,112 ft) at sea level.[1] Gomes' dive was a close call, as he got stuck in the mud on the bottom of Bushman's Hole for two minutes before escaping.[2]
On 24 November 2004, Verna van Schaik set the Guinness Woman's World Record for the deepest dive by diving down to a depth of 221 metres (725 ft).[3]
In October 2022 Karen van den Oever broke her own Guinness World Record[4] as the world’s deepest diving woman when she descended to 246.65 metres (809.2 ft) using open-circuit equipment.[5]
- ^ Farr, Martyn (8 February 2007). "South Africa – Bushmansgat". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ Zimmermann, Tim (August 1, 2005). "Raising the Dead". Outside Magazine.
- ^ "Deepest scuba dive (female)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Deepest scuba dive (female)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "New cave diving record for Karen van den Oever". 28 October 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.