The Longest Swim

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Benoit Lecomte in The Longest Swim, a swim of 5,419 miles (8,721 km) from Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, Japan to San Francisco, California, USA
Benoit Lecomte of The Longest Swim across the Pacific Ocean
The Longest Swim Team
Benoit Lecomte of The Longest Swim

The Swim (previously known as The Longest Swim or The Pacific Swim or the Cross-Pacific Swim for Cancer 2012) is Benoit Lecomte's solo stage swim from Choshi, Japan north of Tokyo beginning in spring 2018, across the Pacific Ocean, to San Francisco, California. He estimated that this stage solo swim would take approximately 5-6 months to cross over 5,419 miles (8,721 km) across the world's largest body of water.

The transpacific solo stage swim from Choshi, Japan began on 5 June 2018 (originally scheduled for May 2012) to San Francisco, California across the Pacific Ocean was aborted after 160 days and 1,524 nautical miles of swimming (2,822 km). The Swim was estimated to take approximately 6-8 months to cross over 5,419 miles (8,721 km) across the world's largest body of water.

The swim will be a stage swim where he resumes his swim each morning where he stopped the day before. He will be supported by a team of five aboard a 50-foot catamaran and utilizes the SmackDab platform and technology.

The support boat will be fully equipped with computers and satellite phone to send and receive data. This technology will provide the audience direct interaction with Benoit and his crew. Audio and video information will be uploaded in real-time to his website. His website will relay his position, the weather condition, his physical health and that of his team, his mental status, and marine life.

Course

By leaving from the eastern coast of Japan, he positions himself to catch the Kouro Shivo, the warm Pacific Ocean current that flows from the West to the East. His course is 5,419 miles (8,721 km) from Tokyo, Japan to San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

Swim Parameters

Lecomte will follow the same daily routine, swimming 8 hours in a rigid cage pooled by the support boat. In addition to the cage, Shark PODs will be position near him to increase his protection against Great White Sharks.

Goal

In the same spirit as the cross-Atlantic swim of 1998, Benoit dedicates The Longest Swim to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer in memory of his deceased father.

Videos

Escort Boat

The swim will be a stage swim where he resumes his swim each morning where he stopped the day before. He will be supported by a team of 8 aboard a 50-foot catamaran.

The support boat, Rolano, will be fully equipped with computers and satellite phone to send and receive data. This technology will provide the audience direct interaction with Benoit and his crew. Audio and video information will be uploaded in real-time to his website. His website will relay his position, the weather condition, his physical health and that of his team, his mental status, and marine life.

The Longest Swim Support Crew

is the marine scientists for The Longest Swim, a solo 6-8 month stage swim by Ben Lecomte from Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, Japan to San Francisco, California, USA.

The Longest Swim Support Crew

Onboard Team:
1. Ben Lecomte, swimmer, advocate, founder
2. James 'Scotty' Scott, captain and expedition manager
3. Paul Lecomte, project manager
4. Gino Gönenç Kalganoğlu, filmmaker
5. Tyral Dalitz, research assistant
6. Renaud Gomez, marine scientist
7. Dr. Anastasia Benjafield, doctor
8. Henry McCann, engineer

Support Team on Land:
1. Dr. Spike Briggs MSOS, Chief Medical Advisor
2. Dr. Benjamin Levine, Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine and Ben's cardiologist
3. Dr. Molly S. Bray, University of Texas Department of Nutritional Science and Ben's nutritionist
4. Dr. Edward Coyle, University of Texas Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and Ben's kinesiologist
5. Jeremy David, Weather Routing senior meteorologist advisor
6. Dr. Armin T. Ellis, Exploration Institute, logistics coordinator
7. Jacquelin Hipes, Science Program Coordinator
8. Bachir Saouaf, Davis & Goliath, Communication Coordinator
9. Lea Hagemeier, Community and Content Manager
10. Tedde de Boer, Developer of the live tracker

Oceanic Research Advisors:
1. Dr. Ken Buesseler, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
2. Dr. Tracy Mincer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
3. Dr. Michael Degranpre, University of Montana
4. Dr. Kara Lavender Law, Sea Education Association
5. Dr. Erik Zettler, Sea Education Association
6. Dr. Linda Amaral Zettler, Marine Biological Laboratory
7. Dr. Gerald Chris Shank, University of Texas Marine Science Institute
8. Dr. Brett J. Baker, University of Texas Marine Science Institute
9. Dr. Tracy Villareal, University of Texas Marine Science Institute

Medical Research Advisors:
1. Dr. Benjamin Levine, Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine
2. Dr. Adrian Leblanc, Universities Space Research Association
3. Dr. Jack A. Gilbert, Argonne National Laboratory
4. Dr. Eduardo Marques, INESC TEC

Course

By leaving from the eastern coast of Japan, he positions himself to catch the Kuroshio Current, the warm Pacific Ocean current that flows from the West to the East. His course is 5,419 miles from Choshi, Japan to San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

Swim Parameters

Benoit will follow the same daily routine, swimming 8 hours in a rigid cage pulled by the support boat.

Goal

In the same spirit as the cross-Atlantic swim of 1998, Benoit dedicates The Longest Swim to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer in memory of his deceased father.

The Atlantic Swim

On September 25th 1998, Lecomte became the first man to swim across the Atlantic Ocean. 73 days after he left Hyannis, Massachusetts, over 3,700 miles to the East, he stepped on the French shore of Quiberon. He did this to raise money for cancer research as a tribute to his father. During his 3,716 mile journey, he was followed by a support boat that had an electromagnetic field for 25 feet to ward off sharks. He did, however, still encounter sea turtles, dolphins, and jellyfish.


Lecomte dedicated his swim to his father, Pierre who passed away from cancer, and the purpose of the event was to raise funds and awareness for the cancer research. "My battle was very different from the one faced by cancer patients, it was my decision and I could give up at anytime. But during my swim I better understood their suffering and the feeling of not knowing the outcome," said Benoit.

During his journey, Benoit swam around 8 hours per day beside the Falbala, a forty-foot sailboat. When not swimming, he spent his time drifting on board with the two-crew members. To protect him from sharks and other sea creatures, he used a shark POD (Protection Ocean Device) instead of a cage. This high-tech equipment creates a magnetic field in the water to keep sharks away.

During his journey, Benoit encountered some very difficult weather. At times, Ben would swim while waves reached over twelve feet high. But the most challenging aspect of the journey was staying motivated. "I found it very difficult to do the same thing over and over: looking at the same blue background, hearing the same noise, tasting the same strong salty water." Whenever he thought about giving up, Benoit would concentrate on why he began the adventure in the first place, and he would remember those happy times spent with his family in France.

When he finally reached the shores of Quiberon, France his first words were: "Never again." But since then, his feelings have changed: "My passion is intact, I just focus on happy moments of my journey and I am ready to take on the Pacific," said Benoit.

The Longest Swim Team

External Links

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