Day One of Swim Shōdoshima（スイム小豆島) started out under ominous skies as Typhoon Mekkhala brought heavy rain along the Pacific coast with Typhoon Higos right in its wake.

“We heard thunder with many lightning strikes throughout last evening,” recalled Steven Munatones (63, USA, MSF bio here, @steven.munatones). “We did not receive the OK to go until after eating breakfast. But there was a short window of opportunity and we decided to swim instead of waiting for a better day in the future.”

The decision ultimately proved to be good, but while swimming between the two typhoons brought calm seas and relatively flat water, it also brought heavy rainfall. There was so much rain at times that escort kayaker Chris Morgan was constantly bailing water out of his Oru Kayak after the start at the famed Angel Road sandbar.

At one point, paddle boarder Skyler Munatones on a Bark Paddleboard and standup paddler Jessie Salas (@coachjsalas) almost made the call to get Morgan back onshore with his sinking kayak while one of them carried onto the finish with Munatones. But Morgan has kayaked 54 hours straight for Ross Edgley in the Yukon River in Canada, three SCAR Swims in Arizona as well as marathon swims on Oahu and along the Palos Verdes Peninsula. He is resourceful and was bailing water as he was paddling during the thick of the rainfall.“

Ultimately, Day One saw the the human-powered flotilla escort Munatones a total of 15.23 km in 3 hours 48 minutes. He recalled, “On nearly every stroke, my hands was swiping against the tops of moon jellyfish. Thousands and thousands of their white bells were visible under the surface. Numerous times during the swim, I would swim right smack into some of the larger ones that floated up to the surface. Those gelatinous encounters certainly startled me, but no venom was exchanged so feeling and swimming into all those jellyfish were more of a nuisance than a real issue. But I felt really bad for Chris, Skyler, and Jessie. I was already wet, but they got soaked through and through, especially in the middle hour of Day One.”

Day One Course

See visual Strava flyover here.

At times, the tidal flows were with them and other times, they headed straight into unfavorable currents. Munatones continued, “We predicted the first 2 days would be tough and unpredictable. We were spot on. As predicted, we have no good choices for Day Two. Neither the winds nor tides are in our favor. We know it was be slow-going against the winds and tidal flows tomorrow, but it is enjoyable to see the incredible landscapes and various uninhabited islands that we pass. It makes the time go by quickly, especially seeing so many waterfalls from the hills flowing into the sea.”

Day Two Course

The elder and younger Munatones (father and son), Morgan, and Salas will start Day Two tomorrow at 10:00 am from the 24 Eyes Movie Studio [shown below on left] and will swim around Ōkado Hana Lighthouse to the Kibō-no-michi sandbar [shown below on right] along the eastern seaboard of Shōdoshima, if possible.

Day Two Forecast

Day 2 is predicted to be the toughest day of Swim Shōdoshima. The course will be at least 12 km, but possibly up to 16 km. Due to the layout of the land and peninsulas, the elder Munatones, Morgan, Salas, and the younger Munatones will go against the direction of the forecasted winds and prevailing currents. Munatones explains, “We do not know exactly where we will land, but there are 3 different possibilities.”

Swimming around the rugged, southern tip of Shodoshima is going to be tricky as we will be sloshed around on a very bumpy ride. Even getting to this remote location is difficult by car as you have to navigate very narrow, winding roads toward the lower end of the peninsula [shown below]. But it was good that I did months of daily training in the surf and against the currents in my hometown of Huntington Beach. It has really helped prepare me for this swim. If we can get past today’s winds, currents, and rain, then I expect much nicer conditions the rest of the swim.

When the sun is out here in Shōdoshima, the water is so clear and blue. Not quite tropical, but close. I saw so many jellyfish on Day One, but they were fortunately floating under me going in the opposite direction. I also ran into a lot of seaweed, getting tangled up frequently. I always viewed the swim as an adventure and it has fit that description. Especially today when he do not know exactly where or when will be finish and we have no idea of the conditions.”

Typhoon Update

The Japan Meteorological Agency announced risks of landslides, swollen rivers, violent winds, and continued heavy rainfall while hundreds of thousands of people in areas to the west and south of Shōdoshima were evacuated due to the rain. Road closures were caused by heavy rain in many places and prevented the camera crew from Nishinippon Broadcasting to reach the island in time for their planned live telecast of the stage swim around Shōdoshima Island in Japan.

Shōdoshima

Shōdoshima is an island located in the Seto Inland Sea within hours of Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto by car and/or train, and ferry.

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