The Swim
The Swim

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Ben Lecomte / The Swim

Battling a northern current, Lecomte passes 1,000 nautical miles

Date: October 09, 2018
Approximate GPS Location: (33.92°N, 161.80°E)

Lecomte's team had predicted rough seas in late September, and their data proved accurate. Lecomte was forced to take a few days off to ride out high winds and big waves. He returned to the water on September 20, day 107 of his quest to swim the Pacific.

As part of the expedition's mandate to examine ocean health, Lecomte has been wearing a Rad-Band while swimming away from Japan in the Kuroshio current. The band captures radioactive cesium readings in the water. These will help scientists to ascertain the extent of the damage caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. However, the current has recently caused some issues. Lecomte's route along the south edge of the Kuroshio has been made tougher by strong eddies pulling him further south. Then, on day 114, he reached a major bend in the current. The Kuroshio snakes north, then east, before eventually turning south again. To stick with the current would add a few hundred miles to his swim, and thus fighting against the pull in order to maintain an easterly course would be essential.

Lecomte was increasingly forced to swim for longer periods, and at faster speeds. This eventually took him to his latest milestone, 1,000 nautical miles from the coast of Japan.

The exertion to get to this milestone seems to have taken a toll. Lecomte reports that he has noticed some changes to his body. He calculates that on average he is spending less than 30 minutes standing each day, and walks less than 850 feet. This means that walking down stairs now causes his legs to shake, and he has lost a good deal of muscle mass.

( 4 ) USER RATING
( 8.1 ) CRITIC RATING

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1 comment

  1. eddy de wilde October 23, 2018

    What a super human idea and mind blowing fact that Ben is already past 1000 miles. Ben congratulations and God speed

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