Ram Barkai of South Africa and Dr. Michal Starosolski of Poland safely led a large group of ice swimmers on the Antarctica Peninsula on the IISA Antarctica Ice Swimming Adventure at 68.00° S 18.00° E.
The Antarctica Ice Swimming Adventure was an ice swimming expedition with opportunities for the members of the expedition to challenge themselves in various distances from 50m to an Ice Kilometer.
Barkai wrote about the unexpected orca encounter, “[It] was a very very special day in frozen Antarctica. First, all swimmers completed their 1000 meters in 1°C water in the amazing Port Lockroy. And than, an hour later out of the frozen deeps, a pod of dozen majestic Orcas just popped up around us for over an hour. All around us (we were on ship) playing, planning, getting a poor seal, breaching and just being orcas. Two calves, a big family. For me, seeing this is a dream come true: seeing these epic majestic mammals, up close and personal in Antarctica.”
1000m Expedition Members
- Carlos Franco, Mexico, 49
- Conor O Connor, Ireland, 61
- Elizabeth Almond, USA, 50
- Filip Jicha, Czech Republic, 19
- Guillaume Le Loher, France, 25
- Joshua Ackerman, South Africa, 25
- Lynton Mortensen, Australia, 59
- Marion Joffle, France, 24
- Ranie Pearce, USA, 63
- Samantha Whelpton, South Africa, 38 [shown above]
- Stève Stievenart, France, 46
- Thomas Baldwin, South Africa, 25
500m Expedition Members
- Diane Lee, Great Britain, 60
- Ellery McGowan, Australia, 77
- Filip Jicha Sr., Czech Republic, 54
- Martin Jamieson, Great Britain , 63
250m Expedition Members
- Jack Van Wyk, South Africa, 48
- Karen Markin, New Zealand, 59
- Louise Hyder-Darlington, USA, 63
50m Expedition Member
- Hugh HyderDarlington, USA 67
For more information on the Antarctica Ice Swimming Adventure, read the IISA brochure here.
Photos courtesy of International Ice Swimming Association founder and expedition leader Ram Barkai.
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