Way back when in the 20th century, some open water swimmers took jars of baby food to eat on their marathon swims or channel crossings.
Some of those swimmers liked banana-flavored baby food. It was sweet and went down quickly, and did not cause (at least for the baby food crowd) any upset stomach issues from one shore to the other.
But some swimmers prefer the texture and taste of eating pieces of a real, raw banana. Ross Edgley was one of those banana-eating swimmers. He ate an average of 4.2 bananas per day when he completed his 157-day Great British Swim. He ate a total of 696 bananas over his 5+ month stage swim.
But ask old-time, old-school mariners about bananas on board a ship.
A nautical superstition that began in the 1700’s had seafarers believing that bananas were bad luck on a boat. Bananas stored on a boat were blamed for everything from bad weather and boating issues to catching no fish to accidents.
But contemporary channel swimmers and marathon swimmers seem to have done very well in debunking that old superstition – especially Ross Edgley.
© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming – “to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shore“