What Did Dr. Mariam Saleh Binladen, Andy Donaldson, Fatema Al Mahmeed, and Abdulla Attiya Experience Around Bahrain?

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The disparate relay team of Dr. Mariam Saleh Binladen (@mariamsalehbinladen) of Saudi Arabia, Andy Donaldson (Scotland, 34, MSF bio here, @andy.swimming), 2016 Olympian Fatema Al Mahmeed (26, Bahrain, World Aquatic bio here), and Red Bull professional triathlete Abdulla Attiya (26, Bahrain) completed their unprecedented 170 km circumnavigation swim of Bahrain in the 24°C water over 59 hours 59 minutes.

Their support crew included the Bahraini Coast Guard and handlers Jay Prchal, Eric Watson, and Volodymyr Tkachenko while the swimmers are dealing with a variety of marine life including sea snakes.

Donaldson explains their experiences on the sea, “Everyone got stung by jellyfish, some worse than others. Abdulla Attiya took a bad one to the face midway through night two. It is jellyfish season in Bahrain. In about a month, they’ll start to disappear.

Throughout the swim, we stuck to our planned routine: swim, dry down, change, fuel, and hydrate straight away. There was an excellent team of physios on board providing treatment. [During the nine hours we were off], we then rested as much as possible [until our next 3-hour leg]. There was a room for the female swimmers, one for the males, and one for the coaches on the escort boats. The primary support boat was well equipped with food, drinks, and anything else we needed.

The coaches had a schedule of 6 hours on and 12 hours off.

Aside from Day Two, swim three, we largely stuck to the schedule. I was taken out after 2 hours during swim three, and then rested before being put in for another hour during a technical section near the Aluminium Factory where the currents were strong and the water was shallow.

We had around 20 escort pilots who rotated around the IRB’s. There were even more people supporting [in] the other vessels that included the Bahrain Coast Guard and Royal Navy and His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa‘s office.

While on the boat, I was eating mostly the meals that I’m used to. I didn’t stray far from the tried and tested foods. At the hotel after the swim was completed, I’ve been enjoying the hummus, tahini, fatteh, and other local dishes.

We encountered a fair bit of marine life including ⁠lots of jellyfish. ⁠I spotted barracudas during my first night shift swim as well as sea snakes, stingrays, needlefish (a few of us were prodded by them), and crabs.

There were strong currents and very shallow waters at times. This meant that we had to move further offshore. Dealing with the heat was tricky, so we made sure that we hydrated well and stayed out the sun as much as possible throughout the day.

Fortunately, the winds were manageable, even when we were swimming head-on into the winds. But when the winds die down, the water became beautiful and glassy. It was the currents and tides that presented the real challenge.

The toughest section was passing the causeway where currents were upwards of 5 kilometer per hour. I was near the end of my fifth swim; 2 hours 50 minutes into my 3-hour shift with about 10 minutes from the changeover when we hit the causeway. It took us about an hour to cover 500 metres to get past it. We had to change strategy, swimming closer to the rocks to break through the current.“