Ben Lecomte, a French-American swimmer, has decided to abandon his endeavor to swim across the Pacific Ocean after his support ship’s mainsail was damaged by a severe storm. The incident occurred on Monday, marking an end to Lecomte’s journey after covering approximately 1,500 miles of the total 5,000-mile distance. Lecomte described the conclusion of his journey as premature and a significant disappointment.
In a press release, Lecomte shared that his team encountered challenging weather conditions, including heavy rain, strong winds, and large ocean swells, forcing them to change their route. The irreparable damage to the sail dealt a severe blow to their efforts. The announcement was made by Seeker, an online science publication based in San Francisco that partnered with Lecomte to document his Pacific Ocean swimming attempt.
Lecomte and his damaged ship are now heading towards Hawaii. The primary goal of the expedition was to collect data on plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean. On June 5th, Lecomte set out from Chiba Prefecture to break the record for swimming across the Pacific and raise awareness about ocean plastic contamination.
After covering about 1,500 nautical miles over six months and approaching the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Lecomte, a 50-year-old swimmer, decided to end his journey due to the extensive damage to his support boat. Throughout his expedition, Lecomte reportedly encountered a significant amount of plastic debris in the ocean, which he documented on his Instagram account. Lecomte was born in Paris.
