[mati]

Still, Hooper persevered. For three years he didn’t work, concentrating instead on being “a full-time athlete” and running the expedition. (He relied heavily on donations to survive.) By 2015 he felt physically ready. He had swum “12 million metres” in training, he told me, mostly in a local pool but sometimes in ocean conditions in Florida and the Mediterranean. With investor funds he bought a boat. Later he purchased supplies and a communications system. Tentatively, he lined up a crew. In August 2016, the catamaran sailed to Dakar, ready for launch. Hooper followed a month later. more

[limikael]

One day in May, I met Hooper in Cirencester, near his Gloucestershire home. We sat on a park bench discussing the details of his attempt – what went well, what didn’t. Hooper had returned to the UK in March and now he appeared deep in a state of reflection. One question bugged him: should he plan a new attempt? more

[sneak]

‘I thought I was on my way out’: Hooper is towed back to the support boat after being stung by a deadly Portuguese man-of-war. Photograph: Chief Productions [links]

[dacoinminster]

Transatlantic swimming has a colourful history. In 1995 a 42-year-old Frenchman, Guy Delage, washed up on a beach in Barbados, claiming to be the first person to have done the crossing. Delage had spent 55 days at sea and covered 2,335 miles. At one point, reported the New York Times, he had given a shark a “sharp kick in the nose” before dashing to the safety of his raft. Later, perhaps feigning modesty, he told a reporter at the French paper Libération that “I did nothing superhuman or extraordinary,” before saying he would never swim again. Three years later, another French-born swimmer, Benoît Lecomte, swam from Hyannis in the US to Quiberon in France, covering 3,716 miles in 73 days. He, too, was tracked by a shark – this time for five days – and he too declared himself the first person to cross the Atlantic. here

[niekie]

The samples will help them learn more about plastic pollution, mammal migration and long-term spaceflight. more

[hendi]

Lecomte and his crew are collaborating with 27 institutions including NASA and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. They will collect more than 1,000 samples along the way to learn more about the ocean. more

[menoskedos]

Lecomte understands the various challenges that lie ahead, including weather issues, health concerns and threatening marine life, he said. [links]

[bshimul93]

Lecomte was the first person to swim across the Atlantic Ocean in 1998, covering about 3,700 miles in 73 days. He has spent seven years preparing for his upcoming journey and plans to swim eight hours a day. here

[ueleniacostae]

“The mission of my historic swim is to bring to light the current state of our oceans,” Lecomte, 51, said in a statement. “The research we collect during ‘The Swin’ will ultimately help us better protect our oceans.”

[Psychoactive]

Lecomte understands the various challenges that lie ahead, including weather issues, health concerns and threatening marine life, he said. [links]

[Tim]

The event, known as “The Swim,” is being tracked by Seeker, a digital media science company, and the Discovery Channel.

[Svick]

“What bothers me the most I think is jellyfish,” Lecomte, who'll wear a wetsuit, said. “It’s very difficult to swim if there are jellyfish, especially if they are bunched together.” [links]

[kobutoenen5]

* In 1952, Frenchman Alain Bombard made the first crossing in a rubber dingy

[adamjkok]

* Guy Delage also holds the record for the first transatlantic crossing in a microlight, in 1991. [links]

[SergGT]

After becoming the first person to swim 3,716 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, long distance swimmer Ben Lecomte's first words were, "Never again". The 31-year-old Frenchman arrived at Quiberon, in north west France at 3.30pm (1430 GMT) on Friday afternoon exhausted after the 73-day journey.
Jeremy Cooke: "The effort has taken a physical toll" Shortly after he arrived he sunk to his knees - and proposed marriage to his girlfriend. This time she said, "Yes". The adventurer, who lives in Austin, Texas, USA, undertook the feat to raise around £100,000 for a Scottish-based cancer charity. He began his record-setting attempt from Cape Cod, Massachusetts on 16 July.
Good to be back on dry land Colleen Turner, who travelled with the swimmer on his support boat, was among a large group of friends who greeted him when he touched land at Quiberon, near St Nazaire in Brittany. She told BBC News 24: "He's tired and he's getting a little cold. He needs to get into a nice hot shower and dry clothes." Mr Lecomte made one stop in his journey at the Azores in mid-Atlantic after suffering from exhaustion. He stayed for a week to recover and then completed the mammoth swim. Ms Turner defended him against criticism for not having swum all the way.
Swim coordinator Colleen Turner: "It's not about amazing physical feats" "The human body could not withstand 24 hours a day for 73 days in the North Atlantic Ocean. "What Ben has done is to set the bar. He swam without a kick board, with his own arms across the North Atlantic in six to eight hour chunks of time." She said he was highly motivated by his father's death from colon cancer in 1991. "This was something deep inside of Ben that he needed to do for his father's memory - to help if he can in some small way get rid of the dreaded disease of cancer." The airline marketing representative caught a strong tide and so made the last 25 mile swim ahead of time. "We weren't expecting him until a bit later, but he caught a strong tide coming into shore. It was so exciting watching him arrive," said Ms Turner. On his knees Shortly after he came ashore Mr Lecomte was down on his knees. Not from exhaustion, but because he asked his girlfriend to marry him.
Lecomte: Faced sharks, storms and 20ft waves Ms Turner witnessed the proposal: "It was very sweet. Jenny made Ben get down on his knees and propose again - and this time she said yes in front of everyone." In fact he had proposed as he entered the water off Massachusetts - but she told him to ask her again "on the other side". Not content to wait, he asked her again on the phone from the Azores - but once more she coyly declined to answer. Finally, when he came ashore in France, he asked a third time and she said, 'Yes'. How he did it Mr Lecomte achieved his remarkable feat by swimming for six hours a day beside his support boat and within a 25ft electromagnetic field called a 'protective ocean device' which protects him from sharks. He trained for six years before undertaking the swim to raise money for the Association for International Cancer Research. Mr Lecomte, who had to eat for four hours every day to replace more than 9,000 calories burned while swimming, battled through force eight storms, 45-60 knot winds and 10-20ft waves, in addition to tackling sea turtles, dolphins, jellyfish and incredibly cold water on the way to a place in the record books. Other transatlantic records * In 1969, Briton John Fairfax became the first person to row across the Atlantic single-handed.

[memen]

* In 1988, another Frenchman, Remy Bricka, took 64 days to "ski" across the Atlantic on polyester floats. [links]