Why am I doing this?

Another 487 nautical mile to land. Although quite far when you think about it, land feels very close these days, with an increasing amount of albatrosses, petrels and whales around us. And, now that we escaped the ferocious gales in the North, you might even spot a pair of tropical birds on these more Southern lattitudes. To Hawaii we are heading, unfortunately, since we had to stop Ben in his world record attempt due to severe deterioration of the mainsail. A very frustrating reason to stop, especially because Ben could have swam more. He never reached his physical, nor his mental limits and I have no doubt that, if he was the only variable, he would have made it to San Fransisco. Unfortunatly he isn’t. And as bizarre as this may sound, the conclusion might be that this man is stronger than the 50 ton steel boat who supports him.

Cold facted one might say that the expedition failed. But success is more than the simple accomplishment of expectations. It’s about chasing dreams, your dreams. Determination, dedication and discipline. Ben lives by those standards and I feel privilaged to work with somebody like that.  By following Ben on his path towards his dream, I (like a lot of other people) got inspired in a subject which I was ignorant of, and in that fact lies the true success of The Swim.

Fact: No matter where you go drag a net in the North Pacific Ocean, you will always find multiple pieces of plastic that can even have carcinogenic effects. So why would you care about it? I could explain to you that those pieces accumulate in fish and that by poisioning the ocean, ultimately you might poisoning yourself, but instead: Take a moment to see the ocean next time you’re on the beach. The beautiful color, the waves, the sound, the life in it. It was there way before us and will be there way after us. Why would you pollute it? Why?

The tide is with us, European countries like France and the Netherlands banned several single use plastics and announced more bans in the future. Let’s avoid take-a-way cups, straws and chopped up apple in plastic bags (yes, it exists). Also, let’s put enviromental policies high in the equation when we elect our local and national government. By doing so, we will make the difference.

Maks