William Trubridge is getting ready to smash his own freedive record.
William Trubridge is getting ready to smash his own freedive record.
As William Trubridge attempts to break his own record for an unassisted freedive this morning, his father, Havelock North furniture designer David Trubridge, has full confidence in him.
Steinlager Pure will broadcast the attempt live from the Caribbean to New Zealand at 8am today via the Breakfast show on TVOne, as William tries to beat his unassisted freedive world record of 101m by reaching 102m.
Based in the Bahamas, the former Havelock North High School student lives near a massive underwater sinkhole called Dean's Blue Hole, a 200m-deep cavern in which he will make his record attempt.
An unassisted freedive means William will try to go the distance under his own steam, without using flippers.
William's father, renowned designer David Trubridge, said he hadn't spoken to his son yesterday, as it was important not to distract him during his final preparations in the lead-up to the dive.
"The boys were brought up on a yacht, the sea was their garden. They were always spear-fishing or snorkelling."
As a young boy, William and his brother Sam would jump off the family yacht and bring up stones from the ocean floor, measuring how far they could dive, MrTrubridge said.
The lifestyle had left a lasting impression on William, now aged 34.
"He's like us, we've never rested on our laurels, we've kept moving.
"We showed him that you can basically do what you want in life."
Mr Trubridge said he wasn't concerned about his son's safety this morning - it was a matter of whether the finer details of the dive aligned in his favour so he could successfully beat his record.
