Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Five South African men are in search of new extreme swims. They are headed to do three extremely cold-water swims in a short time frame: the Beagle Channel, the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn.

Ryan Stramrood (37 years), Kieron Palframan (36), Toks Viviers (47), Ram Barkai (53) and Andrew Chin (41), all members of the International Ice Swimming Association who have proven themselves from Alaska to Antarctica, were inspired by Lynne Cox’s book, Swimming to Antarctica.

Admittedly difficult, excruciatingly painful and certifiably crazy, the 5 men will attempt 3 ice-channel swims in 2 weeks in a series they are calling the Patagonia Extreme Cold Swim Challenge.

Next month, the swimmers from Cape Town will warm up to an unprecedented mile swim around Cape Horn – the southernmost part of South America – in a risky ocean swim where the temperature is expected to be between 3°C to 6°C. In preparation, they will swim across the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel – all within ten days.

Remote? Check.

Dangerous? Check.

Freezing? Check.

No wetsuit? Check.

Sounds like a great challenge to us.

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