Swim the Big Blue 2 is a true world-first, 3,000km Atlantic swim from Africa to Brazil, which launches from Dakar in October 2022 with Sir Ranulph Fiennes as the expedition patron.
This attempt follows the 2016 expedition in which Ben Hooper became the first person to gain a verfied attempt to swim every mile of The Atlantic Ocean. For 200 days, Ben will battle the elements of the Atlantic Ocean for up to eight hours per day, consuming upwards of 10,000 calories daily as he swims to become the first person to complete a full, verifiable swim of every single mile of the Atlantic Ocean from continental coastline of mainland Africa (Dakar) to continental coastline of mainland South America (Fortaleza).
The swim is for charity as well as conducting human and environmental ocean research, and is being filmed for TV. Next year, during the 200 days, the team will be conducting human physiology research for swimmers with the University of Portsmouth and Institut de Josef in Slovenia, and with Plankton Planet & AtlantECO will, for the first time in this area of the Atlantic, be examining the ocean fabric of plankton, metals and plastics. All this while raising funds for Young Minds UK, Jigsaw Ireland, MIND Herefordshire and Ocean Generation.
Ben has a four man crew, medic and physio, but requires an expedition vessel; a 60ft+ sail yacht or catamaran (56ft minimum catamaran preferable). Further details of the vessel requirements can be provided by the team.
