Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

The Japan to Taiwan Ocean Swim Challenge (>日台黒潮泳断チャレンジ) was a 6-person, non-stop relay of 150 kilometers from Okinawa, Japan to Suou, Taiwan in September.

The 6 swimmers braved the strong Kuroshio current, sharks, jellyfish and rough conditions for over 52 hours to successfully complete this unprecedented swim.

The swimmers included Kazuya Suzuki, Atsushi Suzuki, Masaya Shimizu, Kenta Ishii, Haruki Yamamoto and Kouhei Yamada who swam to honor the support of the Taiwanese people who came to the financial and operational aid of the victims and survivors of the disastrous 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011.

This courageous and humble team has raised US$92,458 – where every bit of money counts for the survivors where entire towns were destroyed by the largest earthquake and tsunami in recent times.

Copyright © 2011 by World Open Water Swimming Association