I was back being paced by the RHIB with Jo and Maks, the problem had been solved, our two batteries were fully charged. It was an uneventful day, no dolphins, no ships just a lonely fish that decided to swim right below me for the last 3 hours.
During my last feeding breaks, I kept little pieces of bread with me and as I resumed swimming released them hoping my lonely friend would find them and not be afraid of me. It did stay with me until my last stroke of the day.
It had been a very nice day, I got some information about the weather and tomorrow wasn’t going to be the same, strong winds were forecasted.
Ben
Start: 036°03’464N 143°34.923E
Finish: 036° 10.495N 144° 17.177E
MILES SWAM: 162 NM
HOURS SWAM: 66 HRS
MILES TO GO: 4838
View the trailer below for the upcoming Discovery Plus documentary about Ben’s epic expedition across the Pacific Ocean to discover the effects of pollution on ocean health. The documentary will premiere exclusively on Discovery Plus on April 15. To learn more about the documentary, view the following articles: Discovery Plus Releases Trailer for ‘The Swim,’ … Continued
I will keep on swimming even though I reached my goal of 300nm – our mission isn’t over and the perspective I get from under the water is too important to stop. Adam has been a little worried about my low body fat percentage and has done a great job at making sure I have … Continued
We reached the doldrums today. This is an area in the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage without any wind. Also, there are no currents shown on any of the maps we regularly get from land in this area. But for the past few days, storms passing south of us and going toward Hawaii have … Continued
Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day. Yoav shared the dinghy responsibilities with Josh and nothing really stood out. Maybe we are becoming numb to the quantity of plastic we encounter… We had 10 eggs left from the 90 given to us by the Transporter’s chef. I wish we had taken the 180 he originally offered. … Continued
The winds shifted back – they were coming from the north today.This morning we arrived on the north side of the anticyclonic eddy. With calm seas, I started my swim with Heather and David on the dinghy. We had planned to end the day with a photo session of the crew in the water with … Continued
I started my day yesterday with a phone call with Jared from Nomadica Films, the production company from last year’s expedition. We talked about the differences between this expedition and last year’s and how I was in a different mindset. Last year I focused on my performance a lot and every day I pushed myself … Continued
As of today, we have been at sea for 50 days and I have swum 265 nautical miles, but we still have about a month before we will see land.We have planned to spend another week in a new location at the core of the garbage patch. After we will start sailing north to the … Continued
We started the day with a couple of net tows around The Ocean Cleanup device, and once we were finished we said our goodbyes to the Transporter and TOC and sailed off. We have to retrieve a drifter west of us and we expect to get to the area in about two days.There was a … Continued
Last night, I went for a night swim. I put on a second layer of wetsuit on my torso with a hoodie and slide into a dark world. It was surreal, all my usual reference points were distorted. I felt as if I was flying over my swim line, the space between me and the … Continued
Last night the crew shined a light on the water. They wanted to collect lantern fish. During the process a couple of squids came up to get the fish at the surface. This gave me an idea, what if I swim at night with light shining around me, what would I be able to see? … Continued
We have settled on a new plan and route after leaving our rendezvous with captain Charles Moore. We have decided to travel about 200 nm west-south-west to get to drifter F. We will still be in the core of the patch. After reaching this new location, we will move north in the direction of the … Continued
Josh and Adam were up early in the dinghy with the drone and our net was deployed to synchronize our activities with the satellite fight over. Those footage will be used by Nikolai, the scientist working on refining his ocean current model. David and Hannah on the dinghy, spotted a turtle in my first hour … Continued
Lonely Fish Day – Love it. Uneventful days are the best for accomplishing the goal. ?
Ben, i think of you every day when I swim my laps. Wish i could swim with you for a day!
Yes, wouldn’t it be great if we could swim along here and there with Ben and his crew, just like that lonely little fish! My thoughts often go to what must be a tiny spec of humanity making their way ever forward across the great blue expanse of Pacific Ocean. “Fortune favours the brave”!
Hi Ben & team,
Thank you so much for your imperessive action!
I hope,the waves are smaller now and you could use the non-swimming time for relaxing. Go on bravely!
Ben, is sea-sickness a daily issue during your long swims? How can your sense of balance cope with the waves such.a long time a day?
Best wishes Brigitte
Hello Brigitte, thank you for your comment! We’ve been blessed with some better weather after a few storms. Sea sickness has struck a few members on board, but it’s only the rough days that get us. The best solution for sea sickness is getting in the ocean!
Hello Wave-fighter and ocean-savers,
Thanks for replying!
You are tough&creative. You are in my thoughts during my own smaller open water swims in the Baltic sea. (Tony waves compared to yours). I spread your action widely in my community. Ben,
Is your snorkel a special product designed or upcycled for you? Seems larger than normal ones ?
Greetings from Kiel
Brigitte
Thank you for your notes. Great to hear the technical issues got resolved. And I love the visual of the Lonely Fish…
Blessed be your journey!!!