Courtesy of Adherbal de Oliveira, Travessia do Leme ao Pontal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
On November 15th, the Relay Friends of the Sea completed the Travessia do Leme ao Pontal in 9 hours 29 minutes finishing on the sands of Pontal Beach.
The neoprene relay included Túlio Ricardo dos Santos Silva, Marlus Porciúncula Ribeiro, Joana Texeira Jahara and Paulo Roberto Santos Costa.
Looking for the best currents and avoiding the strong winds that were forecasted for the following afternoon, the quartet started swimming earlier than planned. They purposefully increased their night time swimming by starting at 11:37 pm in the 16°C – 19°C water.
Adherbal de Oliveira described their efforts, “The swimmers are passionate about open water swimming and trained for six months, balancing their training with their work and family responsibilities. This effort required a lot of planning, discipline and special attention to food and rest to avoid any risk of injury.
But all their efforts were compensated by the beautiful dawn and the natural beauty that they enjoyed from the escort boat along the coastal swim in Rio de Janeiro.”
Captain Paulo Costa said, “It was a special crossing that will be eternalized in the memory of us all.“
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