Chris Murray (top), 23 of Chicago, and Felix Hirt, 20 of Germany, jump into the water together. (Victor Texcucano)

There’s something new this year at the East Texas State Fair — professional diving pirates doing death-defying stunts in search of hidden treasure.

In the new act, pirate Sinbad and his high-diving team search for the golden pineapple, a magic object that brings the pirate to his true love. To do so, the team must consult the book of knowledge and search every inch of the “Islands of Tyler.”

The team consists of pirates Chris, Mike, Dan, Claudie and their fictional monkey, and the journey requires fancy dives off platforms between three and ten meters from the surface of a nine-and-a-half-foot-deep round pool.

The team does double and triple somersaults with twists as well as team dives. They jump over and under one another and even time themselves to hit the water at the same time, creating a huge splash.

The grand finale involves a dangerous dive from 80 feet in the air. Gravity takes the diver down at a maximum speed of 55 mph, and, at that speed, the surface tension of the water is just as hard as the concrete underneath the pool, said 54-year-old Dan Poor, of Florida who plays Pirate Dan.

Poor, a 35-year veteran diver, said the trick to the stunt is hitting the water feet-first and then to slide the body away from the bottom of the pool.

“Legs can take a greater impact than the head and shoulders can.”The biggest key then is you have to change direction when your butt hits water,” he said.

The trick should not be attempted by anyone who is not properly trained because serious injuries can occur if not done properly.

The show lasts about 30 minutes and has three performances each weekday of the fair near the back entrance of the Harvey Convention Center. A fourth show is performed on the weekends.

The divers and the show are part of Brown Entertainment, based in Orlando, Fla. and has been performed all over the world, including China, Australia, Canada and the Philippines, Poor said.

The professional divers hail from across the United States, with the exception of 20-year-old Felix Hirt, a trampolinist from southern Germany.

Hirt, who plays the mischievous monkey in the skit, got into diving by practicing his trampoline tricks on a diving board to avoid injury.

“It’s geared toward the family as a whole,” said 23-year-old Chris Murray, of Chicago, who plays Pirate Chris. “The adults enjoy the complexity of the dives, and the kids enjoy the comedy and the costumes.”

The divers said they hope the audience enjoys the show as much as they love putting it on. All agreed the art is too much fun to be considered work.

Poor said he enjoys meeting the audience and taking pictures with the audience after the show.

And in 35 years of performing, he had a first in East Texas. Pour said after the show, a small girl ran up to him and gave him a big hug.

“That is usually reserved for the monkey,” Pour said with a chuckle.

John Sykes, president and CEO of the Park of East Texas and the East Texas State Fair, said this is the first year the performers have been in Tyler, and they were an overwhelming success.

“They are unbelievable athletes, and the show they put together — it almost stops midway” traffic, he said. “People swarm out of the buildings to watch them in the midway. It’s fun. Come out and see it.”

Sykes said the act was so well received that they booked them for next year’s fair. The show will be slightly different but just as impressive, he said.