Oceans of determination

Oceans of determination

Swede Jonas Colting braved jellyfish, strong waves and the blazing sun to become the first man to swim around Phuket

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
Oceans of determination
Jonas Colting on the first day of the swim.

Jonas Colting last Wednesday emerged from the blue water and became the first man to have swum around Phuket Island. The Swedish ultraman took eight days, in our scandalous summer heat, to complete the task that hadn't been attempted before, and that took him from the tip of the western coast of the island, going south counter-clockwise past Patong, Karon, the horn of Phrom Thep Cape, Chalong Pier, then turning northward to Lam Hin, Ao Poh, Sarasin Bridge and ending at Mai Khao Beach.

"No more swimming after today!" Colting joked over the phone right after the deed was done.

"We did 142km in eight days. On average we swam 18km each day, for four to five hours each day, and we didn't swim in a straight line [because of the tides]. The worst parts were probably the southern cape and on the east coast of Phuket Bay, where there were some really big waves." Colting undertook the feat with his training partners Thobias Peterson and Daniel Karlsson Engdahl. The event, which the Swede initiated to create awareness about ocean preservation, was supported by Phuket province, Thanyapura, as well as other resorts on the island.

The organisers are now contemplating the idea of making "Swim Around Phuket" an annual event to attract marathon swimmers around the world.

The 142km Colting covered seemed gruelling, but the Swede, a well-known ultra-athlete, once did a very long swim of 640km between the east and west coasts of his home country, a charity event that took him six weeks. In the tropical waters and heat, things were different though.

"The waves, the wind, the climate -- everything put together made it a tough swim," said Colting. "Obviously the sun was very strong here, and the water very warm, we started very early each day as soon as daylight broke, at around 6am. But swimming in the ocean is very unpredictable, with the tide shoving us out. It was nothing like swimming in a lake or a pool. We took a lot of proactive measures, lots of sunscreen and some young coconut every day after finishing.

"It was hugely different from when I swam in Sweden, which was much cooler -- and we don't have jellyfish there!"

In fact the jellyfish were one of the nuisances that complicated the already demanding enterprise. Colting's swim was accompanied by a support team, and he credited them as an important part in the undertaking, with one team member in a kayak serving as a watchman to help the swimmers navigate through the jellyfish. The swimmers were stung three times, though the harm was minor.

The log record of the swim -- the event was also reported in Instagram and YouTube -- read like an adventure story of huge swells, head winds, rough sea, killer heat and of course jellyfish, with constant tensions and at times, they admitted that it seemed ridiculous to keep on going in the conditions.

On day four, for instance, they only made it after an extended break and minimum recovery time. Sometimes they were pushed out to 5-6km from the shore.

"The wind and the tides weren't in our favour for the most part. So it's been slow going with longer swims than I had planned," says Colting.

"After all, you have to be mentally prepared when going into the ocean. You have to have a lot of practice, sure, but I'd say it's 75% mental."

But it was done, in style, and Colting's marathon feat will add a shine to Phuket's waters.

"I always see the short from where I was swimming, but sometimes it just seemed too far away!" he said. "But Phuket is beautiful, and it's such a pleasure to experience it from the water."

Jonas Colting, centre, with his training partners Thobias Peterson, left, and Daniel Karlsson Engdahl.

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