By Kevin Majoros
Mankind is producing over 300 million tons of plastic every year with 50 percent of it being for single-use purposes. More than 8 million tons of that same plastic is being dumped in our ocean where it will exist for several hundred years.
With a goal of inspiring people to change their habits on land, Ben Lecomte launched into the sea off Grays Beach in Waikiki in June to swim 300 nautical miles through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Dubbed as the Vortex Swim, Lecomte was accompanied by a 67-foot yacht and nine crew members which included sailors, a doctor, a cook, storytellers, videographers, and scientists conducting experiments.
When it ended more than two months later, Lecomte had been in the water for 239 hours and swam 338 nautical miles – the escort boat had traveled 5,386 nautical miles.
Raising Awareness Through Open Water Swimming
No stranger to taking on big swims, Lecomte swam across the Atlantic Ocean in 1998 to raise money for cancer research as a tribute to his father.
Born and raised around Paris, Lecomte says he was fortunate to have parents who were open to activities in the water. He grew up windsurfing and waterskiing before he turned to open water swimming.
“I saw a story about an athlete rowing across the Atlantic and I started considering the possibility of swimming across it,” says Lecomte. “When my father got sick, it was a kick in the butt for me to chase my dream.”
His first thoughts after completing the swim in 1998 were – never again. After a few months, the bad and difficult memories faded away and he started considering new possibilities. The ideas were put to the side when he married his wife Tinny and had a daughter.
After years of planning and training, Lecomte made a world record attempt in 2018 to swim across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the United States.
The expedition was ended after 1,753 miles of swimming due to wind damage to the escort boat. The swim was dedicated to raising awareness for plastic debris and ocean trash.
Swimming in the Highest Concentration of Ocean Plastic in the World
After the 2018 swim, Lecomte had a decision to make about any future swims.
“Either I stop, or I find the support to focus on the big issue – the garbage patch,” Lecomte says. “The scientists wanted to hit certain points and specific locations for testing.”
The Vortex Swim was described as part adventure and part research experiment. There are two garbage patches in the Pacific Ocean and Lecomte and his team targeted the eastern portion of the North Pacific patch.
That patch is estimated to be twice the size of Texas and holds 79,000 tons of trash.
The research partners for the swim included the University of Hawaii, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, among others.
Lecomte swam through “smaller” eddies that ranged in size from 20 to 50 kilometers. It was an opportunity for the scientists to collect data on movement of the debris, microplastics, microfibers and biological samples.
“Even at a slow speed on a boat you might not see a lot, but when you swim in it and look down, it is a different world,” says Lecomte. “You can see the microplastics and it is like looking at the sky on a snowy day.”
Inside the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
While swimming and retrieving trackers, Lecomte had a firsthand look at what makes up the patch. In addition to the expected plastic bottles, there are abandoned fishing nets, storage crates, laundry baskets, toilet seats, and much more.
Plastic do not biodegrade in the same way as other items, instead their exposure to sunlight causes them to decay and break apart into smaller pieces known as microplastics.
According to a study published by the American Chemical Society, an estimated 84% of plastics in the ocean patches carry dangerous levels of at least one chemical, and the creatures that live in and around the patches may have plastic as a major component of their diet.
“The larger pieces of plastic we encountered along with the ghost nets, had ecosystems living around them,” Lecomte says. “Plastic has become a medium for sea life to be carried to new environments through the Pacific currents. It was at times beautiful, but also ironic because it is bringing invasive species to new locations.”
The fish that were caught during the expedition were opened up and found to have large pieces of plastic inside in comparison to their size.
“We could see and count the microplastics,” says Lecomte. “What is scary is knowing that there also microfibers which we cannot see.”
Change Comes from Awareness
Lecomte is currently back at his home in the United States where he works as an architect. Along with spending time with his family, he has had time to reflect on his most recent adventure.
“I remember when I was a little kid and my father taught me how to swim in the Seine,” Lecomte says. “Now with my kids we always find trash when we swim. The takeaway is that it won’t affect my life too much, but it will affect my kids and their kids.”
Lecomte says that he wants to continue to talk about what he witnessed and experienced during the Vortex Swim.
“It is important to keep bringing attention to the issue of plastics – the solution is in our hands,” he says. “As more people start a discussion, it will lead to more people talking about it. It’s time to change our habits.”
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