Tag Archives: join me

Three Months To Go! (And TCR 10 this weekend!)

Three months until I dive into the Atlantic and things have really picked up! I’m now negotiating book and film rights for the trip. The publicity from last week is still on going and is going increasingly global! There’s heaps of good natured banter going on on forums all over the internet (my personal favourite was the guy who listed the top ten ways I was going to die-heart warming stuff!).

We’re still looking for one or two more sponsors but things are looking good. We’re also about 30schools short of the 300 target! We’re looking for 100 UK schools, 100 schools from on my route and 100 schools from round the world so if you know any teachers then put them in touch: dan@danmartinextreme.com

I’m 90% certain that I’m going to change the swim route from starting in New York to Nova Scotia which will take nearly 900miles of the swim-this will be a great pressure reliever! It does mean I’ll be starting in even colder waters though!

I’m interviewing a couple of guys for the Captain and First Mate roles on the boat-sadly my mate Guy Ellis had to pull out of the trip. Then after that I’m heading down to the festival of all things triathlon, cycling and running that is TCR10 (http://www.tcrshow.com/) I’ll be going to a few talks and wandering around so please come and have a chat if you see me!

Three months is going to fly by! I’ve got two more months of heavy training and then a month of 4-6hours swims in cold water to acclimatise before flying out to the States on the 2nd May!

Teachers Wanted!

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At the heart of this journey are the core values of Education, Environment and Expedition. The most important of these is Education.

I need teachers, I need schools!

I’m looking to find 100 schools in the UK, 100 schools from on my route and 100 schools from round the world. The plan is to broadcast live (or nearly live!) into assemblies from various points on my trip ranging from the Atlantic to Alaska and from Siberia to New York.

I think kids seeing this kind of trip first hand will be a great inspiration for them and also an excellent vehicle for highlighting first hand some of the most pressing environmental issues in the world today including climate change, ocean pollution, over fishing and urban over population.

If you think you could help please get in touch at: dan@danmartinextreme.com

Interview with Sarah Outen-Ocean Rower

Introducing A New Team Member: Sylvain Estadieu

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I’m very happy to announce that Sylvain Estadieu will be joining me on the boat for the swim leg. I met Sylvain at a long distance swimming camp in Cork last year and I helped on his support boat when he swam the English Channel in the summer. Sylvain will be my support swimmer-he’s smaller than me so fingers crossed the sharks will go for him first!

Who are you?

Sylvain, 24, originally from Strasbourg in Alsace, France and living in Cork, Ireland since 2006. I work there as a software engineer and spend most of my free time either in a swimming pool or in the sea.

What are you doing on the trip?

I will be serving as a support swimmer (read “bait for big fish”) as well as a translator / janitor / anything really.

How did you get involved?

I met Dan when we both took part in the 2-week Cork swim camp in June 2009. Dan was the only guy of the group who wasn’t training for a Channel attempt. I remember him telling me about his goal of swimming between America and Europe with a straight face and my saying “Yeah, riiiiight …”.

My Channel swim was scheduled for mid-September, Dan offered to crew for me and did an amazing job filming, giving me updates, keeping the rest of the crew happy, etc. This is when he threw me the idea of spending summer 2010 on his boat. A few weeks later, I was in.

What do you do normally?

I graduated from university two years ago and found a job as a software developper right after that. For the past 18 months my typical week consisted of 40 hours in front of a computer screen and 15 hours swimming in all kinds of water from pools to lakes to rivers to the sea!

Relevant skills and experience?

I started swimming when I was 3. For the past 3 years I have been taking on longer and longer open water challenges, from 2km in the River Lee to 21 miles in the English Channel. I guess that is going to be my most relevant skill during the Atlantic trip. I’m also not too afraid of jellyfish and sharks so I can always swim my way between Dan and and any hostile creature if need be. I’m also a qualified first aider.

Favorite wake up song?

“Bohemian like you” by the Dandy Warhols

Favorite movie for when we’re lost in the middle of nowhere?

Love actually … because love is actually all around, ya know.

Worst moment travelling?

I’m not an experienced traveller/adventurer, I have never put myself in a really uncomfortable situation while travelling … yet. I suppose that sleeping in Dublin airport every year just before Christmas as part as my trip back home to France is not something worth mentionning on an adventurer’s resume …

What will you miss most whilst on the trip?

I will most likely miss having croissants for breakfast … not sure yet what the plan is regarding coffee onboard! And of course family, friends and my little viking princess, Jag kommer att sakna er.

Why are you doing this?

I see this trip as an internship for part of my Master’s degree in adventure and impossible stuff.

Seriously it’s difficult to say no to something that is going to be so boring and exciting, so pointless and yet so important. This trip is a life-changer, not only for Dan and the crew but also for those who’ll benefit from the money raised for Dans foundation and all of those who’ll get inspired by this insane Brit! I for one am inspired by Dan’s previous accomplishments and dedication and am looking forward to learning and elevating my charitable and adventurous spirits.

Why am I doing this?

Dan pulled the short straw during the latest adventurers meeting maybe?

Why am I doing this?

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This is a question I get asked all the time, and quite rightly so. Why would I want to risk my life doing this trip? Why not stay at home with my amazing friends, teach in a local school and start a life with a future?

I tend to give a different answer depending on who’s asking. I say I’m doing it to impress girls in bars, to raise awareness of what we are capable of, to raise money for the amazing charities that I support, to avoid getting a real job and to see the world. These are all more or less true (the charities are really important to me but these trips tend not to impress girls too much!).

I’ll be honest with you, there’s only one reason why I’m really doing this.

Because I can.

I don’t feel like I need any more reason than that. I think it can be done, I think it should be done; I think I can do it-so I’m going to.

2010 The Year of Adventure-Some Resolutions

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This is my adventure-tell me about yours…

2010 is going to be a fantastic year for me, it’s going to be the year when it all comes together and I can realise a longheld dream of manpowering round the world.

But adventure isn’t about size, it’s about attitude. Below are a few ideas for resolutions to change your life or the way you look at your life for the better.

1) Take a photo everyday. Al Humphreys did it in 2009. The photo’s don’t need to be high quality it’s just about seeking out your life and documenting it. Amazing things happen everyday and we miss them wrapped up in our ipod cocoon.

2) Train to do 100 press ups. This is a completely nominal number and a completely random excercise and yet there is some draw to the centurion of push ups!

3) You have plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead. Wake up 10minutes earlier than usual and go to bed ten minutes later-this will give you five days extra each year. You can use this time to stretch, contemplate, prepare, reconnect…

4) Do something nice for someone else every day …and if anyone finds out it doesn’t count.

5) Read a new book every week, read each chapter in a different place (on the bus, in the park, in bed etc)

6) Each month try and spend some time at the seaside and in the mountains.

7) Do something that you hate each week until you like it. It doesn’t matter if it’s listening to different kinds of music, running, cycling, swimming, studying, dancing, walking, eating healthily-find some way to learn to love it.

Tell me about you upcoming adventures, I love hearing about trips and expeditons and will help in any way I can.

Join me! Swim the Atlantic!

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Well maybe not actually with me all the way to France but for a mile in spirit on the start day.

There are a few swims already being staged to start at the same time.

I’ll be diving into the Hudson River at 4:15am on Saturday May 8th 2010.

That means in Britain and Ireland it’ll be 9:15am, in most of Europe and in South Africa it’ll be 10:15am. In Perth it’ll be 16:15. In Korea it’ll be 17:15. In Sydney, it’ll be 18:15. In Auckland it’ll be 20:15. In Honolulu it’ll be 22:15 on Friday night! In San Francisco and Vancouver it’ll be 1:15am!

It would be great to know that there are other people around the world hitting the water at the same time as me! Get your group/team organised and drop me an e-mail at dan@danmartinextreme.com

Dan Martin's Blog

Swimming, Cycling and Running around our planet