if you always have this dream of diving deep, but have this uncontrollable fear of the wild ocean (we totally understand why), then here’s a good news for you. you can now scuba or free dive down to 40 meters (about 131 feet) deep, knowing you are safe from the natural (and sometime ferocious) inhabitants of the deep. and the place to do so is a facility known as Y-40, The Deep Joy, located within a 4-star Hotel Terme Millepini in Montegrotto Terme, Italy. the Y-40, so named with reference to the y-axis (aka the vertical axis) in Mathematics and the number -40 (negative 40) is reference to its depth of 40 meters. at this depth, Y-40 is now officially the deepest pool in the world. presumably, by saying “deepest pool in the world”, the company is referring to man-made commercial pool, ousting the Nemo 33 in Belgium by a good 5 meters (16 feet).
so what’s good about a pool this deep? well, you can scuba or free dive in a pool with 4,300 cubic meters (151,853 cu. ft.) of thermal spa water maintained at a constant temperature between 32 and 34 degree Celsius (89.6 and 93.2 Fahrenheit), which the company says you don’t even need a wet suit to do so. the pool has a surface area of 21 by 18 meters (68.9′ by 59′) and features several intermedia depths and caves for technical scuba diving. nearer to surface, there is even a transparent tunnel like those you find in some aquariums that let others admire what you are doing in the blue. the website also listed several other activities available, including watsu, hydro-kinesi therapy, aqua fitness and aqua activities for pregnant women, as well as for kids.
though, at the time our visit to the website, descriptions were lacking, so we are not quite sure if those activities are in fact ready. of course, there is a price to pay if you want to get a fix for your love for the deep in an indoor pool. however, we are not sure if the price offered, €2,000 per 100 entries (about US$2,570), is still valid since the ad on the website indicates the offer is available “through 31 January 2014.” anywho, you can always connect with the good folks over at Y-40 for more details. keep going for a couple of live pics and a video of two UK dudes making the dive.
