With both Peruvian Eduardo Collazos Valle-Guayo of Lima (53, Peru, MSF bio here,  @eduardo_collazos_) and fellow American Steve Walker (57, USA, MSF bio here) on standby for a Friday attempt at the 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel, so stands Steve Leitch (51, USA, MSF bio here, @stevemobyleitch) on the shores of northern Japan.

The forecast, described by Leitch, is perfect with low winds, light currents, 28°C air and 16.5°C water temperatures under the escort of Captain Kawayama.

Leitch’s journey is multi-layered and deeply meaningful to him and his followers at the Rising Tides Ministry. The local NHK television crew met him with his crew today with high expectations of a successful crossing in two days time.

Leitch previously was the protagonist of Beyond The Shoreline: The Channel of Bones, a documentary film about his 45 km crossing of the  Moloka’i Channel in April 2023. The 1 hour 28 minute film showcases how he overcame the challenges of addiction, loss, and crisis of faith to use his gifts to swim and serve others.

Last year, the film was nominated as the Best Documentary Feature at the Cannes World Film Festival. Leitch wrote, “We are humbled and honored to participate with so many talented filmmakers and stories on a worldwide stage.”

Herschel Zahnd wrote and directed the film about Leitch’s journey to and across one of the most beautiful and dangerous ocean swims locations in the world. He captured how Leitch was able to overcome challenges of addiction, loss, and crisis of faith to use his gifts to swim and serve others.

For more information, visit beyondtheshoreline.org.

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