Ben Hooper - Swim across Atlantic Ocean

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Comments

  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member
    edited November 2016

    @rlm
    Thanks for your "respectful" reply
    :)

    However... ;)

    "ridiculous";
    "mocks the sport";
    "pretense of legitimacy";
    "imitate"

    Ridiculous to challenge what is perceived as impossible?
    Endeavor to push boundaries.

    I don't think he's mocking by attempting.
    He's claiming he'll swim 2000 miles to account for the full distance.
    If he doesn't, and he still claims the record or having swum it, then that's mocking.
    And, if he takes a year to do it, I wouldn't think that's so special.
    Some people do that in training every year.
    Granted he's in the open Atlantic, but I did 2/3 that in the coastal Pacific last year.

    I don't think there was any pretense.
    The intention was to swim very significant amounts daily for months.
    That's legit.

    So, I just don't think dismissing or discrediting even the idea is fair.
    However, dismissing and discrediting what actually transpires is.

    Robyn8VLM
  • andissandiss Senior Member
    edited November 2016

    20th of Nov - 3h swim -6km

    21st - 7km

    22nd 1h swim

    23rd 15min swim

    24th unclear if swum

    The only thing that comes to mind, I actually would love to drift across the Atlantic in a decent (luxury) boat and jump in and swim at will. It actually sounds REALLY nice. Almost feel a bit jealous here from my office desk! Specially with the weather outside!

    loneswimmerMvGKellie
  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member
    edited November 2016

    andiss said:
    20th of Nov - 3h swim -6km

    21st - 7km

    22nd 1h swim

    23rd 15min swim

    24th unclear if swum

    @andiss,

    This is what I mean when I say it's disingenuous and a disservice to post incomplete or misleading info.

    (I realize you were simply adding to update swim record, but being a stand alone post and not referencing the prior swimming, along with your comment, which I don't disagree with :) it reads as if he's done much less than he has, apparently).

    A summary of what's been posted on this thread referencing his swim days:

    @evmo

    11/13: 6.5hrs

    >
    11/14: 2hr
    >

    11/15: 2hr

    >
    11/15: 1.5hr (2nd dip)

    @EOD

    "6mi day 4";

    >

    "37mi of swimming completed"

    Others' posts:

    11/20: "Day 8, 3hr, 6k (adverse currents)

    >

    11/21: 18k , (conflicts with your "7k" above)

    >

    11/22: 1hr

    >

    I agree that's still very minimal amount of distance per day to make up the "full distance" to swim.

    But, it's significantly different than what you posted as his only having swum 3-4 times.

    loneswimmer
  • andissandiss Senior Member

    DanSimonelli said:
    But, it's significantly different than what you posted as his only having swum 3-4 times.

    Im not saying he has only swum 3-4 times - above was just the last FB updates for the last week.

    loneswimmer
  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member
    edited November 2016

    andiss said:

    DanSimonelli said:
    But, it's significantly different than what you posted as his only having swum 3-4 times.


    Im not saying he has only swum 3-4 times - above was just the last FB updates for the last week.

    Your reply post beat my edit!
    ;)

    I realized that after reading it, but given it's a stand alone post, perhaps preface it by adding "update" or ?

  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member

    From FB post today:

    "27 November
    Day 15.

    5 hours of old salty sea doggy paddle today and I swam through 100km!"

  • @DanSimonelli this latest post means he swam 8 miles on the 27th if the distances swum in the rest of his posts are accurate. He is going to have to significantly increase the daily mileage to get anywhere near his four month target. I won't even mention how my spreadsheet extrapolates his current rate of progress.

    KatieBunloneswimmerDanSimonelliJSwimSylvia
  • MvGMvG MauritiusCharter Member
    edited November 2016

    I consider myself a reasonably solid long distance swimmer. But I once swam for 14 hours straight, and virtually lost the will to live in the last three hours. Twice I did 10.5 hour swims. In all three cases I could barely get out of bed the next day and swore that that had been my last such swim. And then do that for 90-120 days straight?!

    So I never really believed a swim of such proportions can be done by somebody whose longest swim by his own acount is 14 kms. NEVERTHELESS I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt - miracles do happen after all, and there are so many swimmers so much more talented, better trained, and with more experience (and perhaps a tad younger) than I. Perhaps Ben Hooper was one of them.

    But now, and with all due and sincere respect for Hooper's defenders here, I am pretty confident that we're approaching DN and Darren Jaundrill (him of the accidental December 2012 North Channel crossing claim) territory. There are far too many warning lights flashing:

    • significant commercial stakes combined with anecdotal indications of previous indiscretions with sponsor money, and untraceable elements in the man's CV;
    • poor communication and flimsy updates on the swim with unaccounted-for gaps in the track , with an allegedly poorly functioning tracker (without a spare?!);
    • and perhaps most importantly: absolutely nothing in his swim CV indicating the superhuman qualities needed for a swim of this magnitude, with an announced TWELVE hours of swimming a day.

    Twelve hours a day? Yes. It is written black on white in the FAQs on his website that Hooper will swim twelve hours a day:

    Q. A human being cannot swim alone 24 hours per day across The Atlantic, how is this addressed?
    A. Ben will follow a support boat where he will sleep and eat, he will swim twelve of the fourteen of daylight hours per day ... 6 hours swimming, 2 hours rest, 6 hours swimming. During the night the boat will be kept in position ensuring that it does not drift in Ben’s favour while asleep. Any drift will be accounted for and made up towards the end of the expedition.

    As discussed by others in previous posts, Ben Hooper is not even remotely close to swimming twelve hours a day. And that's only for the twelve hours a day claim, which now seems more of a marketing ploy than anything else.

    I have no doubt that he will end up in Brasil, and that he will have had a nice dip in the Atlantic every day of the journey. It even makes me keen to take a 4-month break from my more mundane everyday pursuits myself and do the same with a few fun-loving members of this forum.

    But I wonder if we should not avoid having this forum being seen as a bunch of after-the-fact haters and instead publicize "Questions to Ben Hooper" much earlier in the process than we did for DN?

    suziedodsevmoKatieBunslknightcaptainhaddockloneswimmerdavid_barraJSwimSylviarlmmjstaplesSidMottjellyfishIronMikeEODDeborah
  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member

    captainhaddock said:
    I won't even mention how my spreadsheet extrapolates his current rate of progress.

    >
    How much farther?!
    #-o

  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member

    @MvG
    >
    All good points.

    But, "Hoopers defenders" plays the 'Us vs Them' game, and that's really not accurate here or productive.

    To your last point, like that of Donal @loneswimmer, I agree.
    And that's been my main point all along.

  • DanSimonelli said: How much farther?!

    >

    Based on the average miles per day covered so far it will take him a further 439 days. Or looking another way he has to average 17.7miles per day for the rest of the swim to reach his target of four months. Both unlikely as with unswimmable days running at over 50% so far he needs to do 35 miles per day on the swimmable days. I guess that chances of him having supplies for much more than an extra month are quite slim.

    DanSimonelliloneswimmerSidMottKatieBun
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited November 2016

    @MvG's comments ==> so on point.

    If/when Ben lands in Brazil, and he says, "Look, folks, I didn't do what I set out to do (swim every mile of the Atlantic), but I did swim approximately X miles on Y swimmable days over Z months, and it was an amazing adventure, and I have some epic stories to tell about it" -- then I'll be among the first to praise him for his honesty and integrity.

    Having observed this sport (and other endurance/adventure activities) for a few years, I'd imagine that the sponsorship and media attention will exert some pressure to make certain claims that... aren't quite backed by facts and reality.

    It seems implausible at this point, that Ben is going to "swim every mile of the Atlantic."

    If anything, it's more clear cut with Ben, compared to DN at a similar point, that what is being achieved is not what was planned/claimed in advance. Any discrepancies are fair game to point out -- at least until Ben and his team publicly "adjust" the claims/plans on his website and the various media accounts.

    captainhaddockSylviarlmDanSimonelliMvGKatieBunIronMike
  • malinakamalinaka Seattle, WACharter Member

    By another measure, he's 24% across in 15ish days. 713 of 3,000 km, 47.5 km/day bulk average, covering 2.0 km every hour. (Yes, I've read everything above, so you don't have to tell me he isn't swimming 24/7 or that this math oversimplifies things.)

    evmocaptainhaddockSylviarlmDanSimonelliMvGKatieBunIronMike

    I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.

  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member

    evmo said:

    If anything, it's more clear cut with Ben, compared to DN at a similar point, that what is being achieved is not what was planned/claimed in advance. Any discrepancies are fair game to point out -- at least until Ben and his team publicly "adjust" the claims/plans on his website and the various media accounts.

    .
    Exactly.

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited November 2016

    DanSimonelli said: Exactly

    I'm confused ...

    I edited my previous comment here -- "confused" is the wrong word. I think I understand the perspective you're expressing here, and perhaps this event is going to defy simple interpretations. Since you've interacted with him personally, perhaps you're more attuned to the human complexities. We benefit from this perspective.

    The facts thus far appear to fit a familiar pattern. Perhaps this event will diverge from this pattern - or not. It remains to be seen. We await with interest further clarification about what is being claimed.

    MvGcaptainhaddocksuziedods
  • I think if Ben had said,

    "Hey guys I've spent £400,000 on a catamaran ( his words not mine)
    I'm going to take a load of locals from Dakar on a trip of a lifetime and deposit them in Brazil. During my sailing trip I'm going to have a little beer and a little swim each day or on the days when it's calm enough, then tell you all about my adventure at the end"

    Then, I would've had more respect for him.
    I just feel he's being disrespectful to all those who have succeeded, failed and even lost their lives trying to achieve their challenges in an honest way

    KatieBunsuziedodsjellyfishcurly
  • MvGMvG MauritiusCharter Member

    DanSimonelli said:

    But, "Hoopers defenders" plays the 'Us vs Them' game, and that's really not accurate here or productive.

    @DanSimonelli No worries about Us vs Them on my part - my respect for all members of this forum is sincere.

    Just to prove my inclination to always assume the best in people I would point out that I used to be, to my mild embarrassment today, one of the early defenders of DN (one thread on her swim was even split by this forum's administrators so as not to hurt my feelings at the time :-) ). But then again, I also defended Lance Armstrong almost until he came clean with Oprah. Come to think of it, I also predicted a solid defeat for Trump and was sure Brexit would not happen....

    So, also at my wife's behest who was getting tired of her starry-eyed do-gooder spouse, I have decided to clean up my act, shed the gullibility and act on warning signs when I spot them.

    loneswimmerrlmevmocaptainhaddockJustSwimDanSimonelliKatieBunIronMikelecumminsVLM
  • JSwimJSwim western Maryland, USSenior Member

    MvG said:

    _Q. A human being cannot swim alone 24 hours per day across The Atlantic, how is this addressed?
    A. Ben will follow a support boat where he will sleep and eat, he will swim twelve of the fourteen of daylight hours per day ... 6 hours swimming, 2 hours rest, 6 hours swimming.

    “His day-to-day schedule will be swim about eight hours a day, then eat and sleep on the main boat.”

    From the Nov 26, 2016 article in the Herald-Star that @captainhaddock linked to.

    Which illustrates nicely a trend that is obvious in Ben’s old blog posts and interviews: Ben will have an ambitious plan, it doesn’t work out, he quietly abandons that plan and replaces it with another (without calling attention to the fact that something has changed) or he just abandons the plan and never mentions it again.

    He just stopped talking about his long training swims (that never happened): Key West to Miami, swim around the Keys, Rome to Sardinia, Hudson 8 Bridges, 120 mile staged swim, Menorca to Minorca and back. Some of those he mentioned in interviews but not in print, (that I can find).

    captainhaddockMvGevmoKatieBunloneswimmersuziedodsJustSwim

    Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. --Neale Donald Walsch

  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member
    edited November 2016

    I'm reading Sean Conway's "Cycling The World", at the moment. There's a marked difference in the approach to an extreme endurance event and its projected time scale. Throughout his trip, right from Day 1, Sean keeps a careful tally of his mileage and adjusts his daily target accordingly.

    Ben may have unswimmable days, which can't be helped, but the distances on swimmable days have fallen far short of what followers were led to expect and there appears to be no mention of catching up or adjustment of his ultimate goal..... as yet. When Sean was hit by a car in South America, he was unable to cycle for 2 weeks and lost his opportunity to go for the world record. Upsetting though this was, he set himself a different goal and publicised it, contacting sponsors and organisers in the process. It was clear and open.

    Be it accidental or a result of inexperience, transparency is an issue with this swim and its massively publicised claims, which continue to shout from every page.

    I may have been premature in my earlier criticism and have been trying to keep an open mind, but Ben sure is making it difficult to do that.

    captainhaddockMvGloneswimmersuziedodsDanSimonellijellyfishIronMike
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    I don't think it is right or fair to mock someone who is making a legitimate attempt to achieve a goal. However I'm afraid that Ben Hooper is making a mockery of a very difficult sport. This is the headline on his website.

    FIRST PERSON TO SWIM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, EVERY MILE, AFRICA TO BRAZIL

    What do people think when someone like Chloe McCardel says, "I swam from Bermuda to Florida" and Ben Hooper pipes in with "Whatever. I'm going to swim across the entire Atlantic." It completely diminishes the actual achievement. What's next, a claim to swim across the Mississippi underwater. "Well, except for when I need to come up for a breath." I mean really...

    captainhaddockKatieBunevmoslknightsuziedodsrlmSylviajellyfishrosemarymintIronMikeMvGJustSwimmalinaka
  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member

    Re: Transparency and more regular, detailed updating,

    I found another couple emails from my early correspondence with Ben, et.al., and sent another email with same suggestion, and gave the link to this thread for their reading pleasure...or displeasure ;)

    Hope it helps...

    captainhaddockKatieBungregocsuziedodsSidMottandissMvG
  • @curly ?
    BINGO.

    MvG
  • andissandiss Senior Member

    Well - im delighted - my first posting that got over 100 comments. Most be doing something right!

    loneswimmerMvGcaptainhaddockssthomassuziedodsrlm
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    I was thinking about this a bit further. For some of these swims where people are raising a large amount of money, perhaps a completion bond might be a good requirement for the process. I know I would not be too happy if I funded a sizable amount only to find out that it was just a joy ride.

    david_barracaptainhaddockpavlicovsuziedodsrlmjellyfishIronMike
  • edited December 2016

    This is on Ben's FB page:
    PRESS RELEASE
    BEN HOOPER – ATLANTIC SWIMMER
    19:00 UTC 30TH NOVEMBER 2016
    19° 35’.865 N 022° 06’.347 W

    It has been brought to my notice that certain sections of social media networks have been casting aspersions as to the integrity of my trans-Atlantic swim.

    To address the concerns of those who endeavour to scupper my World record making feat of human endurance, I make the following statement of the facts:

    1. ALCOHOL – The support vessel S/Y “Big Blue” is a dry boat; we do not and cannot partake of alcohol and I have not taken alcohol during the four years of preparation for this challenge.
    2. HOT-TUBS – We are able to lower a cargo net into the water between the aft hulls of our support vessel upon which the crew are able to enter the ocean in safety without the fear of been lost at sea.
    3. TRACKER – The two SPOT trackers on-board require charging from an electrical source and do not give a message indicating low battery. Additionally, they stop transmitting when our speed is low – which it often is when I am swimming. We do transmit our position via the VHF radio AIS system which is permanently switched on for safety and good seamanship reasons and can be monitored at any time by other vessels and by shore stations.
    4. BATTERY LOW – Our generator failed soon after leaving Dakar meaning that our only means of charging batteries is our solar panels which do not produce electricity during the 12 hours of equatorial night. Electricity is limited to 12 volt batteries and prioritised as follows:
      a. Water maker – without potable water we are all dead
      b. VHF radio – for emergency GMDSS use, efficient and safe watch keeping and AIS
      c. Navigation charts – to fix our position by GPS whenever Ben is in the water and hourly when out of the water
      d. Satellite ‘phone – to pass messages to our UK Land Support team, to issue daily light-hearted blogs reflecting the mental capacity of a long distance swimmer, to send swim observation records to WOWSA for ratification and to receive regular weather reports and forecasts
      e. Navigation lights – as required by maritime regulations
      f. Swim watch – for post swim use of data to ratify the WOWSA observation sheets and ship’s logbook
      g. Computers – to complete the ship’s log and transcription of WOWSA record sheets and convert into a format suitable for transmission via a satellite ‘phone with very limited band width
      h. Cameras – for the documentary film
      i. SPOT trackers – we don’t know when they are working
      j. Personal tablets, computers, MP3 players and ‘phones
    5. OBSERVER – The medical officer on-board the support vessel is independent of the expedition hierarchy and as such has the approval of WOWSA and Guinness world records to make factual and impartial records of the swim as agreed pre-swim with both WOWSA and Guinness. As an expedition with charitable aims, all personnel on the expedition are voluntary and unpaid. Observations are sent to WOWSA every few days in txt format and are backed up by the ship’s logbook each week and my swim watch post expedition.
    6. MILES SWUM – These are recorded for each swim session on the WOWSA observation form and submitted every few days for ratification. As at 29th November 2016, I had completed 124 km = 67 nautical Miles = 4.11% of the total trans-Atlantic distance of 1,635 nautical Miles. As originally stated, I remain on target to cross in 120 to 140 days. My swim sessions only occur when conditions are safe for me to enter the water, be in the water and get back on the support vessel from the water. All decisions regarding safe swim conditions are recorded on the WOWSA observation sheets and ship’s logbook.
    7. HOW I’M FEELING – Yes, this is far tougher than envisaged. I had expected the ocean to be more rolling and less choppy. I am regularly turned upside-down by freak waves and have currents all over the place during each session despite swimming in one direction. Jelly fish sting me repeatedly every day and we have now seen sharks on two confirmed occasions. The support vessel requires constant maintenance and repair meaning the crew get little rest during the day and fight the elements to main contact with me when I am swimming. Emotionally this is frustrating as the first few days have been far slower than anticipated and I am really missing regular contact my family and friends as the satellite communications have not proven to be as robust and reliable as promised. Physically I am taking a battering and needing regular attention from the expedition medical officer.
    8. DIET – Military grade ration packs are our sole source of nourishment. They are convenient and high in calories, but we all miss “real” food. Swimming on an unfamiliar diet is not easy and I regularly vomit during swim sessions. We had hoped to be followed by a supply vessel with pasta, rice and other “normal” provisions but they returned to Dakar.
    9. CLOTHING – As per the “Swim” page on the Swim the Big Blue website, I swim wearing Arena trunks, goggles and Vaseline under my arms. When sunny, I have factor 50 sun cream on my back and shoulders. I do not use a shark cage or shark shield which requires 240 volt mains electricity to charge, neither do I wear a wetsuit as it is far too hot to wear the one that was specially designed for me.
    10. SWIM RULES – All swim rules are detailed on the “Swim” page on the Swim the Big Blue website and were agreed with WOWSA and Guinness before the start of the swim as was the total swim distance of 1,635 nautical miles. Every mile must be swum – nothing is impossible!
      To quote Dwight D Eisenhower “a sense of humour is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people and getting things done”.

    BEN HOOPER
    ATLANTIC OCEAN

    DanSimonelli
  • "As at 29th November 2016, I had completed 124 km = 67 nautical Miles = 4.11% of the total trans-Atlantic distance of 1,635 nautical Miles. As originally stated, I remain on target to cross in 120 to 140 days. "

    How?

    KatieBunloneswimmerJSwimdavid_barraSylviaevmosuziedods
  • And unfortunately, although a few brave souls are trying, it is impossible to voice questions or concerns on this FB thread as they are all being met with: 'haters', 'armchair critics', 'negative people', 'naysayers' etc.

    It is quite soul destroying to read.

    JSwimloneswimmersuziedodsRobyn8
  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member

    Perhaps he will swim the distance of the Atlantic eventually. The 120-140 days though does seem quite optimistic.

    It would be interesting to see where he makes up the remaining distance. So far he has swum 67 nautical miles, out of 1,635 nautical miles, but when I last saw the tracker I thought the boat was around 500 nautical miles off the coast. Does this mean he will spend the last few months swimming around in circles to make up the difference? Or will he reverse direction and go back to Dakar and back again?

    I am sure that conditions are not uniform in all parts of the Atlantic. Will the majority of the swim be done in the less hostile parts of the Atlantic?

    KatieBunloneswimmerevmoSylvia
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member

    Dream The Extreme! Go Beyond Human Endurance! Ignore The Haterz! FULL SPEED AHEAD AND DAMN THE TORPEDOES!!

    Coming soon: A significant increase in miles swam per day due to "helpful trade winds and improving conditions".

    KatieBunandissmjstaplesrlmevmoDeborahmalinakasuziedodsJSwimrosemarymint

    loneswimmer.com

  • Even if they stop in Brazil, reload provisions for the crew, turn around and go back to Dakar-Ben still wont be able to get in "every single mile". I've been actually wondering what the crew is thinking, they see how little progress he is making on the swim vs. time on this voyage, Is the captain/ crew going to want to pull the plug once they hit Brazil? They didn't sign up for a year at sea. Can the crew afford financial/personal life sacrifice to stay at sea for a year. What kind of conversation did they all have before they began? could be the reason 2 of his crew got cold feet a week before the swim and he had to bring in replacements at the last minute. who were these replacements that were able to drop everything at the last second and join him for a year at sea? I knew when I heard him post his training workouts that he was not at a level to even think about attempting this. It's too bad the crew wasn't savvy enough about distance swimming to know he wasn't capable of putting up around 15-20 miles per day, every day. I mean, who is?

    loneswimmerSylvia
  • malinakamalinaka Seattle, WACharter Member

    From the Facebook comments on Ben's "Press release" above, this bit of intrigue surfaces:

    Sam Wilson This post is from the support vessel

    Sadly the support vessel returned to Dakar after not being met at the rendezvous point as the support vessel has no tracking therefore cannot rejoin the expedition until either ais or sat phone is delivered co the expedition leader. This will enable us to rejoin big blue and ensure their water supply and food extras are there when needed

    Sam Wilson I'm not doubting the integrity of the expedition but am very concerned and disappointed that the maid of Crete (the other support boat) has been left behind. When Ben asked them to join the adventure they put their life plans on hold, they have funded a great deal of unexpected costs for Ben, including for the kayaker that is in the water next to Ben when he swims, as did I. They are now stuck in Dakar with little contact from anyone, waiting for a sat phone that has been promised for weeks. Without that they will not be able to join Ben and the big blue!
    I do hope that this can be sorted very soon???

    A quick google search of ["sam wilson" "swim the big blue"] appears to confirm Sam's involvement in the swim and the Maid of Crete.

    evmoloneswimmer

    I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.

  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    Ok, so I have to admit: I don't get the point of this swim at all. If you want to swim across the Atlantic, then swim it non-stop until you get there or do a stage swim where you start/stop from the same GPS point every time. Otherwise, I'm not sure it counts as anything other than a vacation.

    Obviously, you can't swim this non stop. I read above about the difficulty of starting/stopping at the same location every day, which makes sense. So, from there- I'm out. If you want to swim the distance of the Atlantic, why spend all this time and money when you could just go to your local pool and swim 12 hours a day and cover the 1600 or so miles there? You could see your family, eat real meals, not get stung by jellys, and you'd save a few million bucks.

    It's cool to go to sea to swim for a few months- that sounds like a good time. I just don't get how you can call it a world record attempt for swimming across the entire Atlantic when you're drifting most of it and hoping to make up miles as you go? To me, that's no different than someone who swims 1600 miles in a pool, or laps at Dover Harbor, or anywhere else in the world. I'm happy to set up the Ben Hooper Atlantic Challenge at our local pools/lakes/oceans this summer. First to 1600 miles wins!

    Sorry- this might be a snarky comment, but maybe someone can point me in a better direction. It's fun to follow this, sure. But, I can't get upset about any of the lack of communication, lack of GPS, lack of distance covered, etc because the premise of the swim is too ridiculous for me to handle.

    evmoKatieBunkejoyceSylviadavid_barraloneswimmerslknightrlmsuziedodsDanSimonelliandissJSwimrosemarymintthelittlemerwookieaafairmanCamilleSydneD
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    ssthomas said:
    Ok, so I have to admit: I don't get the point of this swim at all. If you want to swim across the Atlantic, then swim it non-stop until you get there ...

    Sorry- this might be a snarky comment... the premise of the swim is too ridiculous for me to handle.

    Not snarky at all. I haven't been able to get onboard with this either because of the premise. If we use this kind of swim as a measurement, I'm sure many of us have already swum the Atlantic and possibly the Pacific in terms of our daily yardage over a period of a couple years. I think Ben Cooper's swim certainly qualifies as an adventure swim, but it really can't be considered as anything more than that.

    I sure seem to comment a lot on this thread. I guess the reason why is because I'm working my way up to doing an actual marathon distance, which for me will be my first 10K. That is considered the threshold distance of marathon swimming. I'm a little intimidated by just that distance. Real marathon swimmers, such as the commenters above, do 10Ks just to keep in tune. It really bugs me that Ben Cooper can slosh about in the Atlantic and claim that he's swimming across it. I'm putting a lot of effort into doing an actual long distance swim and he's making a joke of the whole thing. For you guys that do 25K plus swims, this must just make you furious.

    ssthomasSylvialoneswimmerrlmsuziedodsKatieBunJSwimCamille
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    curly said:

    For you guys that do 25K plus swims, this must just make you furious.

    For me, it's too ridiculous to waste the energy being furious about.

    KatieBunrlmsuziedodscurlyJSwimwendyv34aafairmanRonCollins
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited December 2016

    @ssthomas said: I read above about the difficulty of starting/stopping at the same location every day, which makes sense.

    It makes it more difficult, but I'm not sure it makes it substantially more difficult, in the context of an already hugely-complicated trans-Atlantic ocean swim adventure.

    If he doesn't want to use standard stage-swim rules - starting and stopping at the same place - then he leaves it open for someone else (preferably, a more skilled swimmer) to come along later and do a real stage swim.

    Even if everything else about the event is above-board, the vague hand-waving about "making up the distance at the end" seems laughably ill-defined, and misleading at best to claim he is "swimming every mile of the Atlantic."

    KatieBunloneswimmercaptainhaddockrlmcurlyDanSimonelliJSwimssthomasSylvia
  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member

    To put it in perspective, @ssthomas did in one swim what he's taken three weeks to cover. Says it all, really..... but heaven help you if you appear to question anything on the FB page.

    captainhaddockrlmsuziedodscurlyDanSimonelliJSwimssthomasMvG
  • And once again.. @ssthomas rules :).
    It just makes me sad as well. There was a tweet from a paper in the UK and I tried to respond w' there are some questions about credibility" but.. gosh.. it never got through...
    I'm not furious, I'm just.. well sad, annoyed, disappointed.Once again, no one has any idea about "my" "our" sport and the truth is being manipulated,mangled and falsified.

    KatieBuncurlyDanSimonelliJSwimssthomasSylviaCamille
  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member
    edited December 2016

    @suziedods said:
    And once again.. @ssthomas rules :).
    It just makes me sad as well. There was a tweet from a paper in the UK and I tried to respond w' there are some questions about credibility" but.. gosh.. it never got through...
    I'm not furious, I'm just.. well sad, annoyed, disappointed.Once again, no one has any idea about "my" "our" sport and the truth is being manipulated,mangled and falsified.

    Agree totally, Suzie. 2 x 6 hour swims or 1 x 8 hour swim, day in, day out, would have been highly commendable and worthy of respect, but what's happened so far is nothing out of the ordinary and it's sad that so many people think it's something incredible. There are so many people who really have achieved jaw dropping feats of human endurance..... but have done so quietly and without fanfare. I wanted to see something amazing, here, but it's a damp squib.

    MvGssthomasSylviatimsrootcurly
  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member

    .> evmo said:

    Even if everything else about the event is above-board, the vague hand-waving about "making up the distance at the end" seems laughably ill-defined, and misleading at best to claim he is "swimming every mile of the Atlantic."

    @evmo,
    I remember us having a conversation about another ultra marathon swim "world record" attempt, slightly different context but you used the analogy of swimming around in mile loops and claiming a long distance open water record.

    There's something wrong with that or against the essence of what our sport is.
    Having to get to the "opposite connecting shore" or other specified finishing point adds a depth of difficulty, mentally and physically, and risk and adventure and exploration, etc ect...

    Not all this may apply to this swim, but I certainly agree that it veers way off the mark of "swimming across" the open Atlantic if much of the mileage is done in coastal waters swimming around in circles.

    JSwimcaptainhaddockKatieBunssthomascurlyevmo
  • IMG_1110
    So from the post Ben Hooper put on here earlier today claiming there was no alcohol on his boat, then why did he post this on his FB page?

    MvGSylvia
  • rlmrlm Senior Member

    By gosh, I wondered about that as well.

    MvG
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    I feel funny defending his statement. But in fairness the sentence could read that he is miles from civilization and miles from a cold beer.

    But my guess it's just a poorly constructed sentence.

    Robyn8
  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member

    One thing that confuses me here is where does WOWSA fit in to this? My understanding is limited, but what jurisdiction /powers does WOWSA have in ratifying and recording swims? Does it have the same processes as the CSA, CS&PF, SBCSA, BLDSA etc?

    I realise that this is an adventure swim, not a marathon swim but I'm interested to know how the swim gets "officially" ratified and who by!

    jellyfishcaptainhaddock
  • Curly I see your point a poorly constructed sentence, but there is another post on Bens FB page stating that two of the crew were drinking Martini's so there is always room for doubt. I would have thought that there should be no alcohol at all on the boat, but if there is it's very niaive of Ben to post about it

  • edited December 2016

    There is an article in today's edition of The Times: Atlantic Ocean swimmer hits choppy waters | The journalist has quoted Ben's statement and comments made on here and FB http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ocean-swimmer-hits-choppy-waters-vf8x55ljl The article is behind a paywall, but if you register you get access to two free articles a week.

    loneswimmerMvGDanSimonelli
  • SidMottSidMott Member
    edited December 2016

    "FIRST PERSON TO SWIM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, EVERY MILE, AFRICA TO BRAZIL" from their own website

    "In two and a half weeks, the ex-policeman from Cheltenham had covered just 67 of the 1,835 nautical mile crossing from Dakar in Senegal to Natal in Brazil. The entire swim is expected to take between 120 and 140 days"

    Its not going to happen, is it. So if he has swum 67 miles, how far has the boat travelled?

    captainhaddock
  • edited December 2016

    The boat is approx 25percent of the way from Dakar to Natal 760km.

    Lynne
  • andissandiss Senior Member

    I read the article. Couple of thoughts:

    This discussion has now generated more publicity for Ben - must be good?!

    People don't seem to hold back on their comments!

    Journalists read this forum

    And finally one could read it as what is discussed here in regards to the swim is causing as big issues to be able complete the swim as the rest of the issues they seem to encounter out to sea?

    MvG
  • Only recently picked up on this... I met Ben a few years ago now by the side of a lake where we were both swimming with a local group. He told us boldly of his plans - then got out of the water after a few minutes because he was too cold. We were all rather dubious back then and maybe we were right!

    captainhaddocksuziedodsSylviaMvG
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