Yesterday after my short swim Lauren diagnosed that I had an ear infection. She started to treat me and I used that day of rough weather to recoup and keep my ear dry for a day.
I didn’t see the time passed, I spent most of it sleeping in my bunk or in the galley being tossed left and right by the waves.
Ben
This morning on deck I put on my swim gear for the last time. I can see the shore, the buildings and Queens Beach where I will make landfall. The last piece of equipment are my fins, I wrote on them a message in memory of my close friend Gino. I slowly slide in the … Continued
Before I worked on this project I was no stranger to filming ocean expeditions. I have been a part of teams that explored newly discovered coral reefs at the mouth of the Amazon, conducted the first manned submersible dives in Antarctica, and hunted the depths of the Humboldt current looking for cannibal squids. Despite all … Continued
As we got closer to Hawaii, a plane form the US Coast Guard flew toward us, circled the boat twice, then went back to where it came from and disappeared at the horizon. They probably had been following us for a while and conducted a customary fly by surveillance. We waited for a call on … Continued
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 … Continued
Each day of The Swim the crew cast a net off the side of the boat, not in the hopes of catching fish but to collect microplastics. When plastic enters our oceans, it doesn’t break down but rather breaks up into smaller fragments from the combination of exposure to the sun and waves. They’re a … Continued
Education, spreading awareness and collecting scientific data, sounds like 3 things completely related. And they are. But, as I experienced during The Swim when you want to reach the three of them at the same time, there are some difficulties or at least some differences to keep in mind. Focused on plastic pollution in the … Continued
My attitude towards plastic has drastically shifted during my time on The Swim. I joined the expedition not knowing much about ocean plastic aside from rumors that there’s a great Pacific garbage patch somewhere. Every Captain and mate laughed and told me that they had never seen a “plastic patch” crossing the Pacific or other … Continued
For the past few days, our focus has been on collecting samples and data, doing observation and progressing toward Hawaii. We still encountered squalls and had to change sails back and forth. Those squalls brought with them winds and rain with such intensity that it felt like the rain was horizontal and painful when it … Continued
Today is one of my saddest days ever. Gino, one of my closest friends died. I met him through this project 7 years ago when he asked me if he could meet me on a beach in Alabama to take some footage of my training. Like many others, Gino volunteered his time and expertise, he … Continued
Day 174-175 In the first two days, we experienced big swells coming from a huge low pressure system north of us that had travelled hundreds of miles to get to our location. But that didn’t affect us much. However, we frequently had to make sail changes because of squalls. They were coming and passing bringing … Continued
It has been 100 days since we left Yokohama the last time, this means that we have been at sea and not been on land for that long. It is a little odd to me because it doesn’t seem that long. I have lost all references of time, every day looks the same. There is … Continued
On day 169, we passed the dateline it was on November 19, and the following day it was still November 19th, we lived the same day twice. I spend my days at the helm, from sunrise to sunset. All day long I can only skim the surface of the ocean since I don’t swim and … Continued
Get in touch with the team! We'd love to hear from you; Whether you have a question, want to schedule an interview, or become involved in the project.
We are proud to have the support of our strategic partner
Bonne chance et espérons que la récupération se fera rapidement. Je suis avec fascination votre nage à travers le Pacifique et votre étude de l’océan et pollution.
Francaise qui habite aux USA depuis plusieurs années.
Bravo et quel courage!
Christine
Hello Ben,
Thanks for keeping us updated and hoping that your ear infection will clear up in no time.