Spildra, Norday: Gliding stealthily through Norway's frigid Arctic waters, world champion freediver Arthur Guerin-Boeri defies the glacial temperatures and darkness to rub shoulders with one of the most fearsome sea predators - killer whales.
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A fin emerges from the gloomy depths off the island of Spildra in the Scandinavian country's far north. The glimpse is all Guerin-Boeri was waiting for.
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The Frenchman is a holder of multiple world records in freediving under ice, but he hopes to push the perception of freediving beyond sport and performance.
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The Frenchman takes a deep breath and plunges more than 15 metres (49 feet) through the icy waters of Kvaenangen Fjord to watch the whales, which come to the area to hunt herring.
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"I'm in the water next to two super-predators that accept me. It's majestic," the 38-year-old told AFP after his first such dive with the mammals. "They move in a synchronised way, in a kind of ballet. I'd like to follow them but it's impossible, they move too fast and rapidly leave me behind," he added.
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Guerin-Boeri prepares for his dives beside a fire as he shelters from the unforgiving weather in a traditional Norwegian hut made from wood and covered with earth and grass.
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Guerin-Boeri, a five-time world champion in the dynamic apnea category of competitive freediving, can swim more than 100 metres underwater and hold his breath for several minutes.
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On this dive, his main goal was simply to contemplate an awe-inspiring creature and pursue "the excitement of making a discovery". The dives, he said, are "about 30 seconds, no more."
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He spent a week diving from snowy Spildra, a tiny island above the Arctic Circle, but a violent storm delayed his quest to meet the killer whales by several days.
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Despite the poor visibility and the Arctic winds that push the temperature of the sea water below freezing, Guerin-Boeri said the dives were an "unforgettable memory".
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"In this environment, you forget the fatigue, the cold, the apprehension. And when I reach the surface to breathe again, there are ice-covered cliffs around me... you're surrounded by beauty," he said.
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"I want to return to the essence of freediving: the exploration of the undersea world, making discoveries, and I have been given a treat," he enthused - so much so that he is already planning to return to Spildra next winter.
Image Credit: AFP
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