Bluebottles scupper shark swim challenge
The Madswimmer’s 100km Great Shark Swim was at the mercy of Mother Nature.
AT sunrise on 2 December, Madswimmer took the plunge to attempt the fastest 100km swim ever in one day.
Twenty-one swimmers and a 24-strong support team made their way from Durban to the mighty Agulhas Current about 20km offshore from Park Rynie, to swim to Port Edward to raise awareness for sharks on the verge of extinction.
Over the last several months Madswimmer involved numerous experts to contribute to the meticulous planning of this swim.
Founder Jean Craven explained: “We were at the mercy of nature. Weather-wise no one could predict six months in advance the best day to swim. Above all, the current speed varies and can change overnight. We knew from the start that we would need both good weather and a fast current on the day to attempt a record like this. Meanwhile, my team had to plan as if the swim was 100 per cent certain to go ahead on the set date. We allowed a one-week window period from 2 to 8 December. Swimmers from as far as Israel and Spain booked out time to be available over the full period.”
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Jean said on 28 November they got the rather worrying news from the oceanographer on the team that a Durban Eddy, and possibly worse, a developing Natal Pulse, was causing a reverse current. By 1 December the current was moving in the right direction again but at a slack pace of 0.6 knots per hour.
“We needed a minimum of 2.2 knots to attempt the record. Current forecasts for later the week were rather uncertain too. We decided to go with the relatively good weather forecast of the next day (2 December), trusting that current speed would pick up over-night. The possibility of better conditions were too uncertain later in the week and waiting could mean that we may have had to forfeit the swim altogether, if elements didn’t align and we ran out of time,” said Jean.
At 3am on 2 December they got news that the current speed had increased to 1.5 knots. Although not what they hoped for a year ago when the idea of this swim was born, it was the green light to make the best of this once in a lifetime opportunity to swim in shark infested waters, unprotected, in the fast Agulhas Current to show that they care.
“Unfortunately the swim was aborted after nine hours and three minutes due to a bush of blue bottles we encountered, just when we hit better current. We had covered a distance of 28.24km. Although we did not reach our goal I am incredibly proud of our swimmers who sacrificed their time in aid of nature. We would have loved to encounter sharks instead but were at the mercy of another sea creature,” said Jean.
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Annually 100 million sharks are killed compared to an average of only five shark attack fatalities worldwide. Sharks are among earth’s oldest forms of life and are Apex animals. Losing them will have detrimental effects on the ecological stability of the marine environment.
Madswimmer is a non-profit organisation consisting of anyone who is willing to attempt daring open water swims for charity. They have completed a number of records and world first swims and have raised over R800 000 for children in need. Although the Great Shark Swim has shone the light on sharks, all funds raised will benefit Madswimmer’s 10 registered children’s charities.
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