Swim The Planet – Post #1

Welcome to the next Open Water series called Swim The Planet.

Whilst I am not literally swimming around the planet, I will be swimming in a range of conditions in various parts of the world, five different continents to exact. The Swim The Planet series includes swims in two oceans [Atlantic, Indian], two straits [Dardenelles, Bass], a lake [Memphremagog], a river [Hudson], a channel [Alcatraz], a coast [Cape Town] and a bay [San Francisco]. The swims include a marathon, a couple of half marathons, a charity swim, an eco-swim, Lord Byron’s ocean swim, two prison swims and a  glacial lake swim with its own resident, yet elusive, plesiosaur-like creature who goes by the name of Memphre.

The series commences with the Freedom Swim in Cape Town on 13^th April 2019 which is a 7.5km open water swim from the former prison on Robben Island to Bloubergstrand on the African mainland.

The annual Freedom Swim, so-named to symbolise a free and united South Africa, is described as the ‘Everest of open water swimming’ due to the challenging conditions as well as its long history, being first swum in 1909 by Henry Charteris Hooper in a time of seven hours. Lewis Pugh, the ultra-marathon swimmer, summed up the challenge thus: “there is no such thing as an easy Robben Island swim. They are all tough. It is a swim that challenges you to the core”.

The Freedom Swim takes place at the confluence of two oceans, The Atlantic and Indian, and is framed by one of the world’s most magnificent backdrops, the fabled Lion Rock and Table Mountain.

Depending on my recovery from the Freedom Swim, I might indulge in another Big Bay swim a few days later. There are plenty of great swims available in this mecca for open water swimmers.