Tag Archives: swimming the atlantic

The Swim Has Been Delayed

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Dear all,

As you know we’ve been having considerable problems with the boat we chartered for the trans-atlantic swim leg of the Global Triathlon. The boat was due to arrive in the US on 5 April 2012 ready for a departure on the 15th April 2012. I was physically and mentally prepared to swim the 8 hours a day for 4 to 6 months that the expedition would require. I had assembled a professional and dedicated crew to support me. We were good to go.

But over the past nine weeks instead of fighting the waves myself, the captain and crew have been fighting to make the boat seaworthy. We have had serious problems with almost every system on the boat. We’ve now missed the weather window in the year that would make a swim possible. Even if we were able to get the boat ready in the next month the swim would not be possible. We are now 7 weeks into hurricane season which would affect the first 1000miles and even using the best case scenario projections the last thousnad miles would be swum in October and November under the influence of the violent, seasonal north Atlantic depressions.

I cannot risk the safety of my crew or myself and therefore it is with a heavy heart that I have to delay the swim for a year.

I have two options now:

1) Delay. Continue training and preparing with the aim of starting of the trip until next April.

2) Do the bike and the run first and finish with the swim.

I’ve written a list of pros and cons for both of these and will take a week or so to decide which route to take. As always input would be welcomed on this issue. You can get in touch on twitter here, facebook here or in the comments section below.

I want to thank everyone for supporting me over the past few months. It has been massively appreciated.

Dan Martin

Expedition Update: Hurry Up…And Wait

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We’ve now been in America for the past six weeks. Cancellations on delivery meant the Ice Maiden didn’t reach the States until 7 May. The mast was then damaged as it was loaded off the boat, causing further delays. This has put pressure to finish the swim leg before the end of the year, with hurricane season upon us and water temperatures that will drop considerably as summer moves into autumn.

However, we are in good spirits and confident that we will be swimming very soon.

Thanks for your continued support. Here are a couple of videos to share around to whet your appetite for what’s to come:

Atlntic Swim Teaser:

Global Triathlon Trailer:

You can keep up to date by following me on twitter here: @DanielMartinAdv

And on Facebook here: Dan Martin

Training Tuesday #3

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Three Moments That Changed My Outdoor Swimming Life:

1) Cold water is not a ticket for certain death.

I did my first ever real open water swim in May 2009 in the River Ouse with a friend of mine called Bryn. The water was cold and the mental process of trying to tell myself to get in was torturous. The get in point was just by a bridge and we were going to swim up stream for about ten minutes and then cruise back down. As I slid the first few inches of my leg into the water I could feel the panic coming on-there are no lifeguards! I can’t see the bottom! There are no lane ropes or line markings on the bottom! My brain cracked the whip and a few seconds later I was in and panic swimming for my life, I got under the bridge and all of a sudden realised that something strange had occured-I wasn’t dead. I felt my skin cool and my blood retreat back into my core but I also felt that I had this store of heat ready to help me out when I needed it. From that point on the swim was amazing, stunning scenery, so calm and relaxing. I was hooked. I got out and expected to be a mess, shivering and near death. I got out slowly and found out I was okay, I had lived! Mentally I tried to tell my body to warm up slowly and not to shiver and it worked. I drove back home with one demon laid to rest but with a couple more still nagging at me.

2) Humans float.

I know this sounds daft and I also know hundreds of people who insist they’re sinkers. The fact is, lying on your back with a full breath of air in your lungs and everyone floats. I was a step better off with some extra flotation pounds specially gained to help me float.

10days after my first outdoor swim I was in Jersey at an amazing swimming camp organised by Sally Minty-Gravett I’d stayed the night with a mate and got dropped off at the seafront in St Helier and saw a group of fellow loons getting ready to swim in the harbour. Now in the river I was okay, it was about 2-3metres deep and the side was only ever a few metres away. This was the sea, this is different-I’d filled my head with stories of being swept out to sea and dragged under, I’d never swam in water I couldn’t see the bottom of and was again in a bit of a panic. Annoyingly most of the people I was swimming with were young girls and they didn’t seem to have any problem-I forced myself in and swam out of my depth. Again something strange was happening-I was floating. The bottom was five metres down but could have been a hundred-it didn’t matter, I could float and I could survive the cold.

3) Waves don’t sink you like they do in the movies.

I’d had a great time in the harbours and bays around Jersey and really felt confident with my stroke and with the cold. I still struggled with sighting while I was swimming but was working on it. One thing I hadn’t done was swim in rough water or big waves. This is where swimming camp number 2 came in. I flew to Cork to join Ned Denisons Channel Swimming Camp. I met some amazing people all with solo channel swims in mind and one girl-Lisa Cummins, who’d planned to do a two way. We all trained pretty hard and Ned organised swims in loads of different places and locations. The favourite was Sandy Cove near Kinsale and it was here that Lisa was doing most of her swims. We all tried to make time to swim with her for a few hours while she was doing her 10-14hour training swims and it was during one of these a bit of a storm blew in. At Sandy Cove we swim round and round Goat Island, the near side is pretty sheltered and the far side more exposed. It was swimming on the far side when I first swam in relatively big waves and it was amazing. It took two or three strokes to climb up them, one or two on top and then one or two down the far side-it was a real joy to feel yourself being lifted up and down by these waves and not being pushed to the bottom of the ocean! Since then I’ve manage to swim in some 5-6metre waves-now that’s pretty scary but I float, I can handle the cold and the waves out at sea don’t push you under.

If this helped then have a look at these:

Training Tuesday: Training Swim
Training Tuesday: Background

Training Tuesday #2

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This is the second posting of Training Tuesday and after last weeks background check today is all about what I’m doing now! As most of you will know I’ve had to delay the trip by twelve months due to a variety of mainly economic reasons but training is still going ahead full speed. I average between 3 and 8hours of swimming every day with most of that being outdoors.

Swimming outdoors is amazing and now with the temperature increasing I’m planning on spending all my time outdoors only popping back to the pool for a bit of drill and timed speed work.

The video below is a short glimpse into my day to day routine. The four key points to outdoor swimming are:

1) Never swim alone.
2) Always know your limits and exit points!
3) A decent silicon hat (and vaseline) are the most important things on any swim!
4) Always have your bag packed so the things you need first (towel, hat, shoes) are to hand.

The first two or three minutes once you get out of the water are key. Having a set routine for when you get out vastly reduces your chances of being caught out by the cold. Below is a few paragraphs sent by Nick Adams (multiple English Channel swimmer and vastly experienced open water swimmer):

On the SwimTrek Gozo Long Distance tours we drilled into them to prepare their bags before they get in the water, and to pack them with the things they will need first right on top.

When you get out, you have 2-3 mins before you are in real trouble, you’ll think you’re ok, but you are not, and that vital time is ticking away if you hang around for a chat. ROUTINE!

Crocs/Flip Flops on
Towel around top half of body
Walk quickly to bag
Cap off
Dry head
Beanie straight on
Dry top half of body
Put ALL your top half clothes on
Towel around waist
Strip swimming kit off, put new dry ones on
Trousers on
Socks and shoes on
Warm drink
THEN, and only then, you can start talking to others about the swim

This should take under 2 mins to do from exiting the water! Pack your bag CAREFULLY with towel on top, then beanie….

Mentally prepare for your swim AND your post-swim-routine, it’s absolutely vital!

If you’re tempted to come and swim outdoors in the UK-and you should be it amazing how beautful the world is from a swimmers perspective-then get involved with the Outdoor Swimming Society. They have group swims all over the country and have a map on their website showing where all the best spots are for a dip! Or e-mail me and I’ll come and swim with you!

Postponement

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Due to financial reasons I’ve had to postpone the Global Triathlon by 12months. This was always going to be a difficult time to try and source sponsorship for a big trip and I know that I am only one of many expeditions that have been delayed in the last year. It is still incredibly gutting to have to delay the start.

Physically I feel I’m in as good a condition as I can be and maintaining it for 12months is going to be tough. I have a great team in place fully committed to make this expedition a reality for May 2011. This year I’ll be focussing on some smaller swimming goals and working on increasing my experience of whatever the oceans may throw at me next year!

I’d like to thank all the people that continue to support me on this mammoth undertaking-it’s not something that I could achieve on my own and I feel lucky to have so many people around me willing to shoulder some of the burden.

It’s been a tough week getting used to the fact that I’m not going to get a chance at the Atlantic this year but I’m now confident that my chances of success will be even higher for the start next year.

Young extreme athlete crosses Atlantic solo

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A 22-year-old woman has become the youngest person to row across an ocean solo, two months and ten days after setting sail.

Ohio-born extreme athlete Katie Spotz set off from Senegal in West Africa in early January and stepped off her 24-foot high-tech rowboat in Guyana earlier this week.

Two coast guard vessels and a private helicopter kept watch over Katie as she inched into the record books – becoming the youngest person ever to complete an ocean row from one mainland to another and the first American man or woman to do so.

“At first when I told my parents they did not want to hear about it but warmed to the idea after I took the training courses and secured sponsors,” Katie told reporters.

“On the trip, I had bruises, rashes and blisters that made rowing very uncomfortable but there was nothing too serious.”

Her epic journey raised enough money to provide clean drinking water for 2,000 people in Africa for life.

In 2008, Spotz became the first person to swim the entire 325 mile length of the Allegheny River, which runs between New York state and Pennsylvania.

Looking to sponsor an extreme athlete? Dan Martin is attempting to swim the Atlantic in 2010.

Interview with Kevin Murphy-King of the English Channel

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This is an interview I did with Kevin Murphy in November 2009. He’s a bit of a hero of mine, he’s done 34 English Channel crossings and 3 Irish Channel crossings amongst a whole array or unique and world first swims. He’s also a top bloke.

Interview with Kevin Murphy-King of the English Channel from Daniel Martin on Vimeo.

Technique and conditioning

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When I finished my last bike ride in Cape Town in 2008 my back and shoulders were ruined from 14months and 22000miles of pedalling, my legs were unbalanced and completely unflexible and I had tiny wasted upper body and core muscles. I couldn’t swim more than 400metres in one go and my swimming technique could best be described as sloppy.

Over the last sixteen months I’ve been lucky enough to be helped out by some amazing people from all round the world. I’ve been to long distance swimming camps in Jersey, Cork and Tenerife and have spent countless hours going up and down the harbour in Dover. I’ve been lucky enough to find Kettering Swimming Club and PACTRAC Triathlon Club that let me train with them for free. But there are two places that have helped me out more than anyone else and these are Swim for Tri in London and Core Cambridge.

I’ve been to Swim for Tri twice. The first time after just an hour of swimming in the endless pool and being videoed from different angles I cam out being able to swim twice as far without stopping. Three months later I had another session with them for an hour and came out 10% faster. I saw Ray there and his knowledge of swimming is incredible. I’ve got a few more sessions booked in with these guys over the next three months to try and squeeze out a bit more speed and efficiency. Check them out here at www.swimfortri.co.uk

Hayley at Core Cambridge has worked miracles on my core and shoulder. It’s been months of doing tiny movements to really isolate the specific stabilising muscles I need for the swim. Getting injured in November coincided exactly with stopping going to these guys for a month! I’m now back their training twice a week and their amazing facility on the outskirts of Cambridge and am feeling as strong as I’ve ever been. Check them out here at www.core-cambridge.com

Preparing for this trip has been an incredible eye opener and has made me realise what bad habits I’d got into by following the rugby based bigger is better style of training. There have been so many times where what I’m doing goes against everyday common sense: gaining weight to do an athletic event (to protect myself from the cold), using less energy and concentrating on a more efficient stroke to glide faster through the water, focussing on the tiny support and stabilising muscles to allow the big glory muscles to work at their best. I’m still learning everyday and I dont want to tempt fate but I’m feeling fitter, stronger than I’ve ever been and more pain and injury free than I’ve been since I was 15!

corecambridgeSwimForTri

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

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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!

Lane 4 AtlanticDSCF0028dan_2

A Big Week of Publicity

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BBC Breakfast Interview Dan Martin from Daniel Martin on Vimeo.

This week has been crazy for publicity. The story started on Monday with a front page article in my local paper, the Evening Telegraph. The big news from this seemed not to be that I’m swimming across the Atlantic or the cycling or running legs but the fact that I’m having to gain so much weight to combat the cold early on in the swim. This was then covered in the Metro and the Daily Express on Tuesday accompanied by a picture of me surrounded by food which sparked a short debate on nutrition on the Metro comments page! From these two stories I got a deluge of requests to go on everything from TV (BBC Breakfast, BBC News 24, Look East and Anglia News) to Radio (BBC World Service, Radio 4, BBC Cambridgeshire, TalkSport, BBC Northamptonshire and BBC Three Counties) to magazines and websites (BBC, IntoSport and Travelling Two).

It’s been great but I’m looking forward to getting back into some hard training this week. I hope that this extra publicity helps get in the last bits of sponsorship we need to make this happen.