Swimmer to Cross Pacific, Raising Awareness of Plastic Pollution
YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - When Ben Lecomte stepped onto land for the first time after swimming across the Atlantic Ocean in 1998, he told himself 'never again'.
Yet, 20 years on, Lecomte is attempting an even more daunting challenge as he looks to become the first person to swim across the Pacific Ocean, covering 9,100 kilometers.
On Tuesday, Lecomte and his nine-person support team will set out from Tokyo on an epic expedition expected to last more than six months and see the Frenchman arrive in San Francisco.
"I knew it was something that was part of me and my identity," Lecomte told media as his team undertook the final preparations to the support yacht in Yokohama's Bayside Marina on Friday.
The 50-year-old's plan is to swim for eight hours a day, as well as consume over 8,000 calories, as he undertakes an extraordinary journey that is part-adventure and part-scientific experiment.
More than 27 different scientific organizations, some medical and some oceanographic, will be benefiting from the data gathered during the expedition.
Much of the research will focus on plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean, specifically the build-up of 'plastic smog' containing billions of pieces of microplastic.
There is increasing concern among scientists about the effect of pervasive plastic pollution on marine ecosystems.
****** French Benoit Lecomte is swimming off the coast of Britanny, 10 sea miles from Port-Maria de Quiberon, 25 September, after crossing the Atlantic from the United States to France.
Yet, 20 years on, Lecomte is attempting an even more daunting challenge as he looks to become the first person to swim across the Pacific Ocean, covering 9,100 kilometers.
On Tuesday, Lecomte and his nine-person support team will set out from Tokyo on an epic expedition expected to last more than six months and see the Frenchman arrive in San Francisco.
"I knew it was something that was part of me and my identity," Lecomte told media as his team undertook the final preparations to the support yacht in Yokohama's Bayside Marina on Friday.
The 50-year-old's plan is to swim for eight hours a day, as well as consume over 8,000 calories, as he undertakes an extraordinary journey that is part-adventure and part-scientific experiment.
More than 27 different scientific organizations, some medical and some oceanographic, will be benefiting from the data gathered during the expedition.
Much of the research will focus on plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean, specifically the build-up of 'plastic smog' containing billions of pieces of microplastic.
There is increasing concern among scientists about the effect of pervasive plastic pollution on marine ecosystems.
****** French Benoit Lecomte is swimming off the coast of Britanny, 10 sea miles from Port-Maria de Quiberon, 25 September, after crossing the Atlantic from the United States to France.