Ben’s ready to be first to swim across the Pacific

AUSTIN – Ben Lecomte is the first person ever to free swim across the Atlantic Ocean without the aid of flotation. In 1998, when Lecomte emerged from the Atlantic in north west France, his first words were “Never again!” to swimming such a large distance.

But it’s hard to keep this athlete out of the water – especially when he has a point to prove. Lecomte wants to raise awareness for environmental sustainability, ahead of the December 2015 UN Climate Conference in France.

Lecomte, 48, is now planning to swim the Pacific Ocean, starting in late September swimming eight hours a day covering around 8000km.

He will leave from Tokyo and arrive an estimated six month later in San Francisco with the aid of a GPS tracker, electromagnetic equipment to ward off sharks, and a support boat in which he’ll eat and sleep.

He also plans to wear Water Defense Environmental Technology, or a “water bug,” which indicates the conditions of the water he’ll be swimming through.

And on this epic swim, he’ll have social media, so that his followers can track his progress and give their support throughout his journey.

During his Atlantic swim, Lecomte had to spend about four hours each day consuming the calories he needed to burn in his eight hour swimming session.

He was stung by jellyfish and followed by a great white shark for five days.

He admits he’s older, now, so he won’t have the speed and agility of his first swim.

But with age comes maturity, in his opinion: “When you are young, you’re all about instant gratification.”

Now he knows the Pacific swim will be all about “mind over matter”, taking the journey “on a day-to-day basis”.

Lecomte says: “You are going to be in pain, you are not going to be fast, you are not going to be strong. But you are going to keep on going.

“We’re going from Tokyo to San Francisco because of the currents – the Kuroshio and then the North Pacific – that push towards the United States. There will also be a team of routers on the continent who will analyse satellite pictures and tell us exactly where the current is, the kind of weather we’ll have and so on.

“So it’s not only one person swimming alone, but there’s a whole team around me.”

He was born in France, but has spent more than 20 years in Texas.

He is attempting to raise a total of $190,000 for this swim. He has an online fund raising campaign that has raised more than $7000, but he’s looking to raise $50,000 for the first leg of his trip in the next two weeks.

For more on his goal, check out Ben’s website thelongestswim.com