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Ex-policeman Ben Hooper, 38, says he embarked on the nearly
2,000 mile (3,200 km) crossing from Senegal to Brazil to prove
that nothing is impossible, inspired by explorers like Ranulph
Fiennes, who crossed the Antarctic on foot.
But since setting out on Nov. 13 he has only swum 67 nautical
miles, meaning that at the current rate he will not arrive until
early 2018, many months behind schedule. A former crew member
said a support vessel had only packed food for 140 days.
"Yes, this is far tougher than envisaged," said Hooper in a
Facebook post. "Jellyfish sting me repeatedly every day and we
have now seen sharks on two confirmed occasions," he said,
adding that he remained committed to swimming every mile.
Hooper told Reuters in an interview shortly before his departure
that he had repellent made from rotting shark cartilage which is
supposed to keep them at bay. [nL8N1DE0ES]
He is set to swim through shark breeding grounds near Brazil,
where mothers may lash out to protect their young.
Ten days ago, he had to stop swimming and ask the medic to
remove a sea moth nesting in his left ear. He has also been
flipped over many times by large waves and encountered sprawling
islands of floating trash.
Hooper's post also confirmed that a second support vessel
crammed with pasta and rice had returned to Dakar, forcing the
team to rely on military ration packs.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Mark
Trevelyan)
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