After three years of preparation, former British police officer Ben hopper dived into the ocean in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday to swim his way across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to a beach in Brazil.
38 year old Hooper will swim across 3200 kilometres making him the first person to swim every mile of the Atlantic Ocean from Continent to Continent.
Hooper is being followed by two boats and a crew of less than a dozen in a journey that is expected to end on March 2017. He will take an eight hour break each on the boat where he will sleep and eat.
While crossing the shark and jellyfish infested water, Hooper will wear camouflage and rely on the paramedic to take care of him. He will also wear a tracking device for his crew and the audience to track his progress. Hooper says that if ocean currents help him get to Brazil he will swim further to make sure he swam the fill Ocean distance. The crew will be tracking his miles.
“Nobody had swum a full ocean. More people have landed on the moon than have tried this, so at that point I thought maybe this is my calling,” said Hooper. “If I can inspire myself, other people and raise money for charity, why not do it?”
“This is for my daughter,” said Hooper to AP
