In 1998, Ben Lecomte became the
first man to swim across the Atlantic
without any flotation devices. After he
finished, he said “never again”. But
in spring next year, he will attempt to
swim 8,800 kilometres from Tokyo to
San Francisco. What has changed?
“I think when you go through
challenges with difficulty and pain,
you think ‘never again’! But once
you have had some time to distance
yourself from it, you remember
everything about the experience that
was rewarding,” he shares.
His swim across the Atlantic
aimed to raise cancer awareness,
following the death of his father.
The motivation behind the Pacific
swim is to bring attention to the
human impact on the environment.
“The swim is a way to bring attention
to an important issue – for people to
understand that it’s important what
we do on land, as that has a big
influence on our oceans,” he says.
“Many people don’t really know what’s
going on. They have no idea about
microplastic and its effect on fish.”
“The Longest Swim” will take him
through the Great Pacific Garbage
Patch – a vast area of floating waste –
with support from their vessel,
Discoverer. Lecomte and his crew will
assist eight research projects, one of
which looks at how the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch affects ocean life.
They will also be measuring levels of
contaminants from the Fukushima
disaster, and recording pH levels
to examine how human activity is
changing the properties of the Pacific.
They have involved NGOs like the
Climate Group and the Ocean Project
to “help us engage people to use less
plastic and recycle”.
BenoÎt Lecomte
Swimming acroSS the PacificLecomte will use the latest
technology during the swim: He will
be able to communicate with the
Discoverer through a waterproof
microphone and earpiece. This allows
him to take calls and give interviews
while he swims. He will also wear a
bracelet that creates a magnetic field
to keep sharks at bay.
That’s not to say that the sharks
will be completely absent. During his
Atlantic swim, one shark followed him
for five days. “When I climbed out of
the water, I could see that same fin
circling the boat,” he recalls.There’s still a lot of work to do
before the Discoverer gets to Tokyo.
“I’m like a tiger in a cage!” laughs
Lecomte, who trains for three hours a
day, running, cycling, but doing very
little swimming, to keep it “fresh”.
“I know that we are not going to
change the world, but I want to do
something to make a positive impact,”
he says humbly.
All the people onboard the
Discoverer are volunteers, so “The
Longest Swim” continues to look for
support. For more information, visit
http://www.thelongestswim.com.“I know that we are not going to change
the world, but I want to do something to
make a positive impact”
BenoÎt LecomteIMAGE COURTESY OF BENOÎT LECOMTEenvironment