Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

A 17-member relay of Japanese swimmers is managing its way across the 43 km course in the Sado Channel on the western coast of Japan.

“After 6 hours 30 minutes, the team has finally reached the 17 km point against an increasingly strong wind and unexpectedly strong currents,” reports one of the swimmers Masayuki Moriya.

Postscript: The team’s GPS reported that the team completed the swim in 16 hours 18 minutes over the 27.25-mile (43.85 km) course.

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