LAURENT BALLESTA FIND THE COELACANTHE

“Long before I met him, Gombessa nourished me with hopes and dreams. "I only believe what I see" some say, but with the coelacanth you had to believe it to see it. JLB Smith, despite his 1939 publication, searched for it for 14 years of his life before proving he was right in 1952. Hans Fricke spent years and fortunes building the submarine leading him to him in 1986.
Peter Timm sold his farm, moved and dived for almost three years only to finally see it through his mask in 2000. Go tell them there's no point in believing it. ”

WHY RETURN?

We could have stopped there. After all, we had taken up the diver's challenge, and brought back the images. My comrades and I were happy. The 2010 expedition was a success. Our adventure would soon be published in Paris Match, National Geographic
USA, and would spend 6 months later in Ushuaia Nature, the show of Nicolas Hulot.

What more did we bring to the scientific knowledge of the most mythical of fish? Not much in reality, barely a few new individuals added to the South African Coelacanths' trombinoscope, a catalog that had less than 30 before 2010. It seemed necessary to add a scientific dimension for my dream to be complete.

Engaged dives

“Before going down, we turn and return, trying to understand what the general structure of the bottom looks like. The image on the screen gives us in fragments abstract cross sections of the rock faces of the canyon. These designs in three colors give free rein to all interpretations. The more time passes and the more everyone sees in the artificial images everything they want to see… When, naively, a certainty comes to us, we record our position. Then begins a timed drift exercise with the boat to estimate the current, a current that is sometimes very strong since it can easily exceed 2 knots. This calculation is very important to estimate our drift and not miss the descent to the edge of the canyon that we had taken so long to locate. ”

“The decompression stops are getting longer the closer you get to the surface. And finally half of the dives take place between 12 m and the surface, long hours, rather painful, sometimes uncomfortable when the swell gets involved. Our situation is absurd, so close to the surface but without having the right to join it. In truth, we are not really 6m deep, we are more like 2 hours into the open air. ”

Where are you staying?

“So we're east of Africa, or west of the Indian Ocean, depending on where you look. Never has a region, though natural and unspoiled, been so unfavorable to the pleasure of going diving. ”

“For hundreds of kilometers to the north or south, it is useless to look for a port, a breakwater, or a simple dyke, there is none. Here, the men manage as best they can. In Sodwana, there is an old fossil reef that protects a portion of the beach, just enough to put our boat in the water between two breaking waves. And to think that we will have to start this ride every day… ”

WHY SODWANA BAY?

“In the rare other regions of the world where we know of the existence of coelacanths, they live beyond 200 m. Here, in South Africa, they are exceptionally shallower, “barely” 120 m as if each was making the effort to meet the other. And it is through this effort, this risky approach, that of the physical face-to-face with him, that the coelacanth suddenly takes on another value in our eyes: he ceases to belong to another world. ”

WAS YOU NUMEROUS TO MOVE?

“No less than 13 people, in addition to the 5 divers, also made the trip from France: researchers, doctor, logistician, film crew, to which are added the South African teams of researchers, and even a carrier ship. robot and its crew that I had to charter for the occasion. ”

“We had scientific experiments to succeed, a 90-minute film to make for Arte, audacious sponsors who deserve to be satisfied. And we only have 40 days. The pressure is great, barely less than 120 m deep. ”

THE GIRAFFE CAMERA

“The giraffe camera is first and foremost the result of reflection. That of researchers from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, more particularly from the laboratory specializing in vertebrate motor skills. They are used to filming all kinds of vertebrates using many high-speed synchronized cameras, in order to model and break down the precise movements of the skeletons. ”

“The challenge this time will be simply to do the same thing no longer in a laboratory but at the bottom of an underwater canyon. Divers must therefore also put their two cents in the development of the system. You have to make it realistic in the face of the constraints of deep diving.
Finally, the Swiss waterproof case manufacturer Subspace gets to work and materializes our idea. ”

AND THEN?

“So many questions remain unanswered. After all, what do we know about the coelacanth? Almost nothing except that it exists! During the last mission, we executed a whole series of scientific protocols, complex and daring given the depth in which it all happened. ”

“The results are being counted and our impatience is great. This animal still has a lot to teach us about it, its unchanging journey through time, the great keys to evolution, the passage from fish to terrestrial vertebrates. This inhabitant of darkness can shed light on our own origins! You might find this last idea too romantic or too lyrical, yet there is some truth to it. The flights are awkward when you only know how to sink. ”

THE BOOK

We had the chance to discover this book of nearly 250 pages in preview. Throughout the book, you will of course discover the expedition but also Laurent's doubts and certainties. You will meet the star, the coelacanth, thanks to the texts written by Laurent but also a multitude of breathtaking images.
Whether for yourself or as a gift, it's a must have in any self-respecting diver's library. Besides, take advantage of them, Laurent will be signing them on his stand at the Show.

THE SUMMARY :

• PREFACE

• INTRODUCTION

• WHERE HISTORY IS PLAYED

• THE FISH THAT WAS BELIEVED FOSSIL

• FROM DIVING

• THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE DESCENT

• LAST MINUTE ON EARTH

• LANDING ON ANOTHER PLANET

• THE ENCOUNTER

• AN IMMENSE CANYON, TINNY CAVES

• THE MEMORY IN THE SKIN

• THE COLOCATORS OF THE WORLD CREPUSCULAR

• SMALL TRACAS AND GREAT SURPRISES

• DESCEND TO UNDERSTAND

• ASCENSION TO ACE SURF

• THE INTERMINABLE WAIT

• MEMORIES AND THE FUTURE

• SERIOUS COMARADES ...

• … THAT DON'T TAKE IT SERIOUS

• THANKS

• BIOGRAPHY

      A big thank you to Laurent for his availability, to Marie GUILLOT for his efficiency and to Manuel LEFEVRE for his enthusiasm which made this article possible. All the videos presented in this article were shot during the GOMBESSA expedition by Manuel LEFEVRE. You can discover much more on the official website of this one: www.coelacanthe-projet-gombessa.com
NB: On several occasions on these videos, Laurent announces the diffusion of the documentary on fine arte 2013. In the meantime there have been some changes and this one will be well diffused on arte but during the spring 2014.

LAURENT BALLESTA SPONSOR OF THE 2014 DIVING FAIR

Present throughout the event Laurent will share his experiences and anecdotes with you not only during the conferences he hosts but also within his exhibition and will dedicate his latest book, all “hot from the printing press”.Gombessa, meeting with the Coelacanth".

THE STALL

ANDROMEDE OCEANOLOGY: STAND B36

THE EXHIBITION

For the duration of the Show, discover Laurent Ballesta's new exhibition on ... the coelacanth in the exhibition area.

CONFERENCES

• Friday 10 January from 16 to 17 hours in the screening room.

• Saturday 11 January from 16 to 17 hours in the screening room.

• Sunday 12 January from 14 to 15 hours in the screening room.

DIVE WITH COELACANTHE YOU ALSO

For the 16ème Salon de la Plongee in Paris, Andromeda Oceanology et Suboceana offer you a dive using the “Oculus Rift®” virtual reality mask which will be released at the end of 2014. Come and observe the coelacanth on the Suboceana stand (C49)by plunging you directly through 120m background as seen from Laurent Ballesta's eyes.

A great first! From the images shot by the Gombessa expedition (Laurent Ballesta - Andromède Océanologie) with heavy video resources, Suboceana® reconstructed the natural environment of the Coelacanth in 3D. With the Oculus Rift® virtual diving mask, the team offers stand C49 a dive that most of us will never be able to do, without risk and without a decompression stop ...