At least he'll have the ocean currents in his favor.
Benoit "Ben" Lecomte, a Frenchman living in the United States, intends to swim clear across the Pacific Ocean next year, an unprecedented 5,500-mile (8,800-kilometer) journey expected to last five grueling months -- and may land him in the history books.
For Lecomte, 44, it's not his first extraordinary oceanic adventure. In 1998, his entourage said, he was the first man to swim the Atlantic, crossing the 3,400-mile route from Cape Cod, in the northeastern US state of Massachusetts, to Quiberon, France in 73 days.
Swimming "is a bit monotonous, but it's my passion," Lecomte told AFP.
The native of Enghien-les-Bains, near Paris, has already begun training, swimming at least four hours per day. Eventually, he wants to double that.
Escorted by a boat, he swam an average of six to eight hours each day for his journey across the Atlantic, a process he aims to replicate in spring 2012.
He'll be trailed this time by a 55-foot (17-meter) catamaran on which he will rest and sleep, "but I will resume exactly where I left off," he insisted.
"I'll swim the entire distance," he said, adding that he hoped to enter the Guinness Book of Records.
The trained architect lives in landlocked Dallas, Texas, and his departure is scheduled for April 14 in Tokyo, "because the spring offers the best conditions."
His journey, which will take advantage of the Pacific's west-to-east currents, will end in principle some five months later in San Francisco.
He will bring with him some important 21st century additions that were not available on his Atlantic sojourn, namely equipment that will help him stay connected to the outside world during his lonely hours swimming.
While in the water, "I'll be able to talk with people on the boat and receive telephone calls through a system that fits in the mask," he explained.
A small screen that also fits into the mask and is linked to a computer will allow him to read his email and "respond with voice recognition software." A microchip implanted under the skin will monitor his vital signs.
The entire expedition will be filmed and broadcast live on Facebook.
In 1998, Lecomte survived storms and sharks, and he expects to do the same in the Pacific, warding off sharks with a high-tech deterrent system, including an ankle bracelet that emits a magnetic field.
He'll be surrounded by a net, too. And if necessary, aides on jet skis will be dispatched to ward off undesirable predators.
Lecomte is embarking on the new challenge to raise money for cancer research, and in memory of his father who died of the disease. The swimmer said he hopes to create a "platform of support" for people battling cancer.
The Frenchman admitted that his wife "finds it hard" to be enthusiastic about his Pacific project.
"But it's my passion, it's a part of me," he said. "If I cannot follow my passion, I'll just be unhappy."
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