Paul Lundgren Sea of Cortez Swim 2012

evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
edited November 2013 in Cheering Section
Sometime in the next few days, forum member @Pablo will attempt to swim 76 miles across the Sea of Cortez. Paul will be swimming according to the traditional rules of marathon swimming, and will not be wearing anything to protect himself from sun exposure or jellyfish stings.

Swim, Paul, Swim!

more info:

Comments

  • ForeverSwimForeverSwim Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaCharter Member
    edited June 2012
    Just spoke with @Jamie, looks like a Monday (7-8AM) start time, about 40-miles north of Loreto, Mexico on the Baja-side! GO PAUL GO!!

    www.darren-miller.com
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania U.S.A.

  • gregocgregoc Charter Member
    It isn't the jellyfish, but the Humboldt squid or "Red Devil" that could be a problem. they are very aggressive during feeding. Some scientists claim the reports of aggression towards humans have occurred when reflective diving gear or flashing lights have been present as a provocation. Hopefully he is aware of this and won't wear lights at night.
  • JamieJamie Member
    Darren is correct. We will be starting the swim around 8 am approximately 40 miles north of Loreto. We are aware of the squid and will be swimming dark. I will be escort swimming at night with Paul (according to EC rules) and I have to tell you I am a bit nervous. We will also have 2 kayaks flanking Paul during the night. Love to Paul. The adventure begins.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    There's nothing like swims like this to humble the rest of us.

    All the best wishes to @Pablo and @Jamie from the eastern side of the Pond.

    loneswimmer.com

  • PabloPablo Member
    Thank you! I was part of a relay attempt a couple years ago and am very much aware of the "Red Devil." The Sea of Cortez is the most biologically diverse bodies of water on earth. I am so looking forward to the experience. I anticipate we will have some interesting encounters.
  • jcmalickjcmalick Wilmington, DEMember
    Best of Luck Paul! @Jamie, if you could swim out at the Farallones, that tells me you have no fear!
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber
    This is amazing. Best of luck! Stay safe and have some fun!
  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    Best to Paul and crew!
    Bold and exciting!

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    Paul is about three hours into his swim. Here's the SPOT tracker link.
  • timsroottimsroot Spring, TXCharter Member
    Some of this stuff is unbelievable for me to imagine at the moment. I have trouble staying awake for 40 hours, let alone performing strenuous physical activity for that long.
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    If my calculations are correct, at 2pm Pacific time (7 hours elapsed time), Paul was 7.65 statute miles from his starting point.
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited June 2012
    Paul has pretty good speed (I've swum with him), so that seems like less progress than I'd expect. Crew member @Jamie says he's fighting a flood tide, which may explain it.
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited June 2012
    Night has fallen. 14.7 statute miles after 13 hours, but the tide seems to have turned (literally) and his GPS tracks are further apart. Go Paul!

    (Note: the distance is calculated as a straight line from the starting point. The actual distance traveled is larger because his course has been somewhat meandering.)
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    Our friend @Pablo was pulled around 7am Pacific time, after 24 hours of swimming. According to the SPOT tracks he was 31.7 statute miles from his starting point.

    Rest up, Paul!
  • WalterWalter Southern CaliforniaMember
    HUGE swim - 31.7 (plus meandering) - awesome!

    Wishing you a speedy recovery from the effort, Paul!

    I'm not very popular around here; but I've heard that I'm huge in Edinburgh!

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    Enormous effort, especially considering battling that early flood tide. Huge respect and best wishes to @Pablo from us all.

    loneswimmer.com

  • PabloPablo Member
    Thanks for following guys. I wrote a little blog to summarize my feelings following the swim. All was not lost when they pulled me out of the water. Returning home I’m absorbing the experience. I walked away from the swim learning a great deal. The experience was definitely in the realm of magical.

    Here is a little video Vito Bialla made. I’m embarrassed how low my legs dropped, but I found it relaxing to completely let go of my kick. http://gallery.me.com/vitobialla/100194

    As far as training goes I think I nailed it. I got out of the water as if I swam a hard early morning masters swim. By afternoon I was ready for a double.

    The jelly fish were there but my gu seemed to work. The problem was I didn’t make enough. By the second day I would have been dry and the Sun and jelly fish would have been a big problem. I haven’t yet analyzed my nutrition, but I ate something at around 12 hours that didn’t settle well with me. It basically shut down my stomach from hour 13 to hour 17. I came out of it ok, but it took a hard tool. That was a big concern going into the second day. I think one more 24 hour training swim would answer some questions. I would like to try it with less food and stick strictly to UCAN.

    This blog summarizes my thoughts following the swim. http://www.firstsoloswimseaofcortez.com/3/myblog.htm
  • jcmalickjcmalick Wilmington, DEMember
    Amazing job out there Paul and great video! Really captures the moment!
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