The unimaginable. The unpredictable. The unprecedented.
She will swim non-stop 67.26 miles or 4,840 laps of a 25-yard pool. She will walk into the warm Caribbean Sea from Little Cayman Island in the early morning hours of June 9th and will put her head down and not stop until she climbs on shore on Grand Cayman approximately 35 – 40 hours later.
Imagine that? Swimming non-stop for nearly two straight days. In the rough, wild ocean. How does she do it?
With a team whose primary priority is safety.
She will have an 65-foot mother ship with medical staff, media and support crew . She will also be escorted by a second 65-foot boat from Red Sail and a smaller rubber boat. Her husband Chris will be on the 65-foot escort boat with a crew of seasoned support watermen from New York to Hawaii. Penny is sandwiched between the escort boats and a kayaker. Every 30 minutes, Penny will slow momentarily for a hydration, feeding and navigational information. Within 5 – 10 seconds, she quickly down drinks and energy bars and receives information on her distance swum. It is a focused, intense, brief respite that entails extreme coordination between escort boat pilots, her support crew and Penny herself. Then the process begins again. Over and over again. For nearly two straight days. Swimming at a little over 2 miles per hour. No fins, no wetsuits. Just fueled her own incredible stamina and graceful swimming technique.
She may encounter the marine life of the sea. She may experience hyperthemia. She may be stung. And she will certainly experience a depth of exhaustion that is only known by a rare few.
She will be covered live through a variety of means – Twitter and live audio feeds directly from her boats.
Penny, formerly a world-class pool swimmer and now known as one of the world’s fiercest adventurers, is from Townsville, Queensland, Australia. She depends on a lifetime of experiences to get her 67.26 miles in her attempt at Bridging The Cayman Islands
1. Rottnest Channel in 2000 in 4:46 at the age of 37
2. Rottnest Channel in 2001 in 4:36 at the age of 38
3. Rottnest Channel in 2003 in 6:42 at the age of 40
4. Rottnest Channel in 2004 in 5:12 at the age of 41
5. Rottnest Channel in 2005 in 4:40 at the age of 42
6. Rottnest Channel in 2006 in 5:52 at the age of 43
7. English Channel (England-France) in 2006 in 9:16 at the age of 44
8. Cook Strait (South Island-North Island) in 2006 in 8:26 at the age of 43
9. Strait of Gibraltar (Spain–Morocco) in 2006 in 4:32 at the age of 43
10. Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 2007 in 8:36 at the age of 44
11. English Channel (England-France) in 2007 in 9:07 at the age of 45
12. Freo to Rotto Big Splash in 2007 in 4:40 at the age of 44
13. Rottnest Channel in 2008 in 5:24 at the age of 45
14. Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 2008 in 7:35 at the age of 45
15. Santa Barbara Channel (San Miguel-Mainland) in 2008, 45K in 11:29 at the age of 46
16. Tampa Bay Marathon Swim in 2008 in 7:51 at the age of 45
17. Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 2009 in 7:17 at the age of 46
18. Maui Channel (Maui-Lanai) in 2009 in 4:31 at the age of 46
19. Hawaii's Alenuihaha Channel (Hawaii-Maui) in 2009, 75K in 14:51 at the age of 46
20. Santa Barbara Channel (Santa Barbara-Mainland) in 2009, 64K in 17:53 at the age of 47
21. Strait of Gibraltar (Spain–Morocco-Spain) in 2010 in 8:27 (3:03 + 5:24) at the age of 47
22. Rottnest Channel Swim in 2010 in 5:41 at the age of 47
23. Catalina Channel (Catalina–Mainland) in 2010 in 10:36 and 13.5°C (56°F) at the age of 48
24. Hawaii's Kaieiewaho Channel (Oahu-Kauai) in March, 2010 (halted due to Portuguese Man o' War)
25. Hawaii's Kaieiewaho Channel (Oahu-Kauai) in November, 2010 (halted due to Portuguese Man o' War)
The unimaginable. The unpredictable. The unprecedented.
She will swim non-stop 67.26 miles or 4,840 laps of a 25-yard pool. She will walk into the warm Caribbean Sea from Little Cayman Island in the early morning hours of June 9th and will put her head down and not stop until she climbs on shore on Grand Cayman approximately 35 – 40 hours later.
Imagine that? Swimming non-stop for nearly two straight days. In the rough, wild ocean. How does she do it?
With a team whose primary priority is safety.
She will have an 65-foot mother ship with medical staff, media and support crew . She will also be escorted by a second 65-foot boat from Red Sail and a smaller rubber boat. Her husband Chris will be on the 65-foot escort boat with a crew of seasoned support watermen from New York to Hawaii. Penny is sandwiched between the escort boats and a kayaker. Every 30 minutes, Penny will slow momentarily for a hydration, feeding and navigational information. Within 5 – 10 seconds, she quickly down drinks and energy bars and receives information on her distance swum. It is a focused, intense, brief respite that entails extreme coordination between escort boat pilots, her support crew and Penny herself. Then the process begins again. Over and over again. For nearly two straight days. Swimming at a little over 2 miles per hour. No fins, no wetsuits. Just fueled her own incredible stamina and graceful swimming technique.
She may encounter the marine life of the sea. She may experience hyperthemia. She may be stung. And she will certainly experience a depth of exhaustion that is only known by a rare few.
She will be covered live through a variety of means – Twitter and live audio feeds directly from her boats.
Penny, formerly a world-class pool swimmer and now known as one of the world’s fiercest adventurers, is from Townsville, Queensland, Australia. She depends on a lifetime of experiences to get her 67.26 miles in her attempt at Bridging The Cayman Islands
1. Rottnest Channel in 2000 in 4:46 at the age of 37
2. Rottnest Channel in 2001 in 4:36 at the age of 38
3. Rottnest Channel in 2003 in 6:42 at the age of 40
4. Rottnest Channel in 2004 in 5:12 at the age of 41
5. Rottnest Channel in 2005 in 4:40 at the age of 42
6. Rottnest Channel in 2006 in 5:52 at the age of 43
7. English Channel (England-France) in 2006 in 9:16 at the age of 44
8. Cook Strait (South Island-North Island) in 2006 in 8:26 at the age of 43
9. Strait of Gibraltar (Spain–Morocco) in 2006 in 4:32 at the age of 43
10. Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 2007 in 8:36 at the age of 44
11. English Channel (England-France) in 2007 in 9:07 at the age of 45
12. Freo to Rotto Big Splash in 2007 in 4:40 at the age of 44
13. Rottnest Channel in 2008 in 5:24 at the age of 45
14. Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 2008 in 7:35 at the age of 45
15. Santa Barbara Channel (San Miguel-Mainland) in 2008, 45K in 11:29 at the age of 46
16. Tampa Bay Marathon Swim in 2008 in 7:51 at the age of 45
17. Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 2009 in 7:17 at the age of 46
18. Maui Channel (Maui-Lanai) in 2009 in 4:31 at the age of 46
19. Hawaii's Alenuihaha Channel (Hawaii-Maui) in 2009, 75K in 14:51 at the age of 46
20. Santa Barbara Channel (Santa Barbara-Mainland) in 2009, 64K in 17:53 at the age of 47
21. Strait of Gibraltar (Spain–Morocco-Spain) in 2010 in 8:27 (3:03 + 5:24) at the age of 47
22. Rottnest Channel Swim in 2010 in 5:41 at the age of 47
23. Catalina Channel (Catalina–Mainland) in 2010 in 10:36 and 13.5°C (56°F) at the age of 48
24. Hawaii's Kaieiewaho Channel (Oahu-Kauai) in March, 2010 (halted due to Portuguese Man o' War)
25. Hawaii's Kaieiewaho Channel (Oahu-Kauai) in November, 2010 (halted due to Portuguese Man o' War)