With Steve Leitch from the USA, Bengisu Avci from Turkey, Rob Woodhouse from Australia, and Andreas Waschburger from Germany getting prepared for the upcoming Tsugaru Channel season in northern Japan, the Sado Channel season has started in earnest at a slightly lower latitude in Japan.

On May 28th, 12 people from Team Ocean Navi – many of them first-time channel swimmers – participated in a 40 km relay across the Sado Channel in northwestern Japan. The team started at Akadomari Port on Sado Island 35 minutes after midnight. They finished at Teradomari Port on the mainland of Honshu in Nagaoka City at 12:46 pm, 12 hours 11 minutes after starting.

Expedition leader Masayuki Moriya reported, “Sakae Kataoka, Kimiyo Hokone, Masamichi Taniuchi, Kumiko Koizumi, Utako Hiramatsu, Noriko Kawasaki, Kayo Arihara, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Satoko Murata, Toshimi Ikegame, Hiroyuki Sugie, and Yuki Arai with  observer  Motoko Homma enjoyed good conditions. The sea surface was almost flat throughout the swim. While the water temperature started at 16°C degrees, it increased to around 21°C as we approached Terao.

The wind was relatively calm, with a maximum speed of about 3 meters per second. Along the way, we saw a pod of dolphins swimming alongside us (see hee).

Many members of our team were participating in their first channel crossing, but they all enjoyed the swim and had a great time.”

Three more Ocean Navi Teams will be taking on the Sado Channel later this season next month.

For more information, visit www.ocean-navi.com. To watch clips from the relay, visit here.

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