Ben Lecomte begins record-shattering, trans-Pacific swim in the name of science

On June 5, long-distance swimmer Ben Lecomte headed out for a swim in the Pacific Ocean; however, he’s not going for just any ordinary dip.

The man who, in 1998, became the first person to make it across the Atlantic Ocean without a kickboard is once again attempting to swim an extraordinary distance.

This time, he’s set his sights on completing a historic 5,550-mile trek across Earth’s largest body of water over six months in the name of science and sustainability.

"The ocean is in peril," Lecomte told NPR. "I think it's my duty to use my passion to make a little change."

Lecomte’s crew will sail alongside him in the Discoverer, their support boat, as he swims at an average speed of 2.5 knots for 8 hours, or 30 miles, per day. They will head for San Francisco after departing Tokyo, and aim to conduct medical and oceanic research with the aid of equipment provided by organizations including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NASA.

The mission presents a unique opportunity to gather data and learn more about the oceans and what happens to the human body in extreme conditions, according to TheLongestSwim.com.

“The value of this project to the scientific community is twofold,” said Dr. Erik Zettler, guest researcher for the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. “It is providing scientists with a valuable sample set from an under-sampled area of the open ocean that we could not easily acquire, and it provides public visibility in a very engaging way – not only on the issue of plastic litter in the ocean, but also on the scientific community that is trying to understand and help mitigate the problem.”

Throughout their journey, the group plans to collect samples from the ocean to be studied by a team of 13 scientific institutions in eight different subjects. Researchers will monitor the psychological and physical health impacts Lecomte faces during the swim, and take a look at where contaminants from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster might have gone in in the Pacific Ocean, for example.

“Anyone in science will tell you that they always need more data, more samples,” said Dr. Kara Lavender Law, an oceanography research professor for the Sea Education Association.

“Operating a research vessel can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $25,000 per day,” Law said. Both Zettler and Law are part of the research team that will examine samples of plastic collected by Lecomte’s team along their journey. Researchers hope to learn how long they’ve littered the ocean and about the weathering processes that created millimeter-sized particles of plastic from larger objects.

Lecomte will swim about 1,000 miles through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic on the planet, according to The Ocean Cleanup.

"If you’re someone who needs to get a boat out to the middle of the ocean and it’s really expensive, those samples are extremely valuable,” she added. “Having this platform and people who will be in the right place at the right time to be able to collect these samples, it’s an incredible opportunity.”

Through the collection of samples from the ocean, researchers want to study how the Great Pacific Garbage Patch impacts life in the ocean and on land.

"Our group will be extracting DNA to look at the diversity and function of the microbial community on the plastic and in the surrounding seawater,” Zettler said. “Interesting questions include whether there are microbes that are helping break down the plastic, mobilizing or degrading toxic chemicals, potential pathogens, and others.”

This research team will also utilize a variety of advanced imaging techniques to visualize the microbial community and how it interacts with the plastic, Zettler added.

Lecomte, who serves as associate director of sustainability services at global environmental and sustainability consulting firm Progea, has spent the last four years physically preparing, but the journey is more than just a swim across an ocean for him, according to Law.

“He wants to use this opportunity to accomplish this incredible feat, but also to contribute to science and bring attention to the topics that he’s participating in,” she said.

Lecomte’s feat will be documented via 15 cameras installed on the crew’s sailboat. The footage will later become a documentary set for release in 2019, according to Seeker. The long-distance swimmer’s record-breaking trek can be tracked here.

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