Paulo Sousa, a swimmer with the O2-Portimão association, wants to swim from Tarifa, Spain, to Punta Cires, in Morocco and back again, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar twice in a row. A feat that was never achieved by a Portuguese.
Paulo Sousa already crossed the Strait in 2010. «We swam 17 kilometers in four and a half hours, from Europe to Africa, connecting two continents. That, for a climber, would be the top of the mountain," he assured.
The intention to swim the Strait of Gibraltar round trip by swimming was expressed to ACNEG (Association of crossing the Strait of Gibraltar by swimming), and «they are the ones who take care of permits, safety and also control my performance », said Paulo Sousa. All this implies an amount of $3750.
The swimmer will be in Tarifa and as soon as conditions arise, he will go out to sea. The timing has to be well chosen, as after half an hour of swimming it is no longer possible to go back. The athlete touches the rock in Tarifa and then cannot touch the boat during the crossing. It will only play on land in Morocco and again in Spain.
Ships pass through those waters, there are currents, and this is taken into account by the Algarve swimmer. Paulo said that «in 2010, we saw ticket sellers there to go see orcas and dolphins, shops with shark jaws on that coast, and that makes us feel small in relation to the world».
Despite the dangers, there is no record of any accident and the organization's rules require them to leave the water if any threat is detected.
The Double Crossing of the Straits of Gibraltar is an ambitious initiative, which is "dependent on sponsorship enabling registration".
The athlete thinks to get several small supports of 20 euros until reaching the amount of 3750 euros. All supports will be published in www.o2portimao.com, site where you can also get more information about the project and the swimmer.
Comments