French couple plan three-month relay swim throughout the Atlantic | The Mighty 790 KFGO

By Manuel Ausloos

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) – A French couple is coaching within the Mediterranean to arrange for what they hope will likely be a record-breaking three-month relay swim throughout the Atlantic.

Matthieu Witvoet and Chloe Leger Witvoet plan to set off from the island of Cape Verde, off the African coast, on November 1 for a 3,800-kilometre (2,360-mile) swim to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

The couple will take turns swimming for six hours every daily and try and set data for the longest feminine ocean crossing in addition to for the longest swimming relay “with drifting”, which suggests the boat they’ll sleep on will drift at evening, which can account for a part of the space coated.

“This is ultra-swimming, and that is what we like to do,” Leger stated.

In 2019, the couple swam throughout the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco; in 2021, they swam down the Seine River from Paris to Deauville; and in 2023, they swam from Marseille to Barcelona.

Crossing the Atlantic is a problem of a special degree, although. Water temperatures are anticipated to hover round 23 levels Celsius (73 Fahrenheit).

The couple has been getting ready for 2 years, perfecting their approach to keep away from harm.

“This summer, we did a lot of time swimming, we swam almost three to four hours a day, so we really got our bodies used to swimming that much per day,” Leger stated.

Their catamaran sailboat will likely be crewed by 4 individuals, together with a nurse.

The swim goals to lift consciousness for ocean safety and so they have created an academic package for which greater than 63,000 faculty kids have signed up.

Kids and their lecturers will obtain weekly lesson plans on ocean-related subjects reminiscent of biodiversity and air pollution as college students observe the swimmers’ progress.

“If we don’t complete the physical challenge but succeed in the awareness campaign, we will have succeeded more than if we complete the swim but fail the awareness campaign,” Leger stated.

(Reporting by Manuel Ausloos, modifying by Geert De Clercq, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)