A British dad has begun the challenge of becoming the first person to swim across the Atlantic Ocean.
Ben Hooper, 38, from Cheltenham will have to swim at least 3,218 km and is hoping to raise $2 million for charity during the record-breaking attempt.
He set off from Dakar harbour in Senegal, west Africa, on Sunday and hopes to arrive in Brazil, South America, in March 2017.
Other people have attempted the challenge but were not approved by Guinness World Records.
Some dangers that brave Ben will face along the way include sharks, storms, 20 ft waves and stinging jellyfish.
He is wearing a special camouflaged wetsuit to protect him from predators lurking below. He even has a special spray he uses to keep the sharks away.
Ben will swim around 10 hours a day, and will need to eat a hefty 12,000 calories (about five times the recommended amount for a man) to fuel his adventure.
But he has a support boat and crew to help him along the way – and give him a place to sleep at night.
14 Responses
Wow
wow that’s soooooo far i wouldn’t be able to do it
wow amazing i bet it will be soo hard
Great news
I hope he makes it and Good Luck Ben Hooper.
he has to be faster than a kayaker to do it in a year
a year is so long why would he do it . good luck ben we are in this together,a figure of speech.
I Think This Is A Very Difficult And I Hope For The Best For Ben.
wow
So dangerous but cool.;/
Good Luck and swim fast and give it your best bro.
That is cool
Wow, I can’t even swim two lengths without stopping!
Wow that’s awesome