Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Ben Hooper plans to start his Swim The Big Blue across the Atlantic Ocean, starting from Dakar, Sénégal on February 10th.
He will come across all kinds of currents, eddies, and possibly even the doldrums during his transoceanic swim. A chart of the possible currents is above.
Hooper will be in Africa by end of January. “The [escort] boat should be there shortly after,” he explained. “Weather is delaying the boat leaving the UK.
His progress across the Atlantic will be made public on his website so his progress and calculations can be seen as he swims from east to west, from Dakar to Natal, Brazil, a distance of at least 1,731 miles (2,786 km).
Hooper sums up his adventure, “Ever since childhood I have dreamed of swimming across the giant Atlantic monster we call an Ocean. Her depths, mystery and sheer power are all consuming of not only my vivid imagination but our weather, our lives and the lives of those who live in and sail upon her.
As a child I have played, dreamed, watched her horse’s race up to our shores and when angry, punish the United Kingdom coastline. I have witnessed and heard stories of sharks, jelly fish, and waves as tall as a cruise ship, mysterious lights and fish that leap out of the sea to greet you. As an adult I have dived beneath her watery body and recreationally swum among her beautiful crests, the most dangerous of territories that is both unpredictable and awesome in appearance.
The dream of swimming with her, free and so insignificant in the aquatic hands of Poseidon, conquering the unknown, is frightening, inspiring, exciting and now.”
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association