Towering waves, freezing temperatures and even some inquisitive killer whales. Iceland is doing its finest to defeat Ross Edgley.
Impressed by “Thor”, the British excessive athlete is in the midst of a problem worthy of the Norse god – spending 4 months swimming 1,000 miles round the entire of Iceland within the title of science.
And whereas it comes with its challenges – a video of components of his tongue falling off due to the salty sea water went viral – there have additionally been moments of magnificence within the rugged Viking panorama.
“We’re on the northern coast proper now,” Ross tells Sky Information as he prepares to get again within the water.
“There’s nothing to cease the wind coming from the Arctic, and it is simply smashing into the north of Iceland. We’re miles out, identical to a bobbing cork getting completely battered.”
Ross is making his manner round Iceland clockwise after setting off from Reykjavik
Ross, from Cheshire, isn’t any stranger to endurance occasions like this. In 2018, he swam nearly 1,800 miles around the coast of Great Britain and earned a Guinness World Document for swimming 317 miles alongside the Yukon River in Canada.
However the punishing chilly as 39-year-old Ross swims 30km (18 miles) a day round Iceland is one thing else.
“The physique simply takes a constant battering,” he says, characteristically cheery and enthusiastic regardless of every part.
“You simply do your finest to maintain it in some type of form, controlling the inevitable breakdown of your physique, hoping that you simply get again into Reykjavik.”
A number of the accidents Ross has picked up up to now, and the salt water hinders therapeutic
He is consuming between 10,000 and 15,000 energy a day – with pasta and his new favorite Icelandic liquorice as menu staples – simply to maintain going.
“You are mainly working by means of all of that meals – I am continually saying it is mainly simply an consuming competitors with a little bit of swimming thrown in,” he chuckles. “However that is genuinely what it’s.”
His common day – storms allowing – sees Ross getting up and swimming for six hours, resting for six hours, after which getting again within the water to swim one other six hours.
“You simply try this on repeat. It is actually easy in principle, however brutal in actuality.”
Ross is overlaying about 18 miles (30km) a day
To prepare for the cool Icelandic waters, Ross took inspiration from animals which have made it their dwelling for hundreds of years: whales and seals.
“I ended up placing on about 10-15 kilos of simply pure fats. A little bit of muscle as nicely however numerous fats.
“If you take a look at what kind of animals survive in Iceland, there’s that concept of sea blubber. You need insulation, you need physique fats.”
Maybe in contrast to a seal nevertheless, Ross takes nice care to defend the repute of the killer whales that hunt in Icelandic seas.
“We have seen loads, pods of them have come by and checked me out, questioning what the unusual Englishman was doing in Icelandic waters, after which we went our separate methods.
“I wish to fight a number of the dangerous PR that orcas might need as a result of there’s by no means been a verified case of an orca attacking a human within the wild. It simply does not exist.
“They’re wonderful animals that deserve our respect and should not be feared.”
Ross again on board his help boat after swimming
There’s additionally a giant scientific focus for Ross’s problem as nicely.
“If we obtain this, it can obtain a lot by way of sports activities science – the primary individual to swim round Iceland. However that wasn’t a sufficiently big cause to do it.”
Ross spoke to scientists who stated that if he was “loopy sufficient” to wish to do the swim, he would be capable to gather each day samples of environmental DNA within the water, in addition to ranges of microplastics.
“By the tip we’re simply going to have this map of biodiversity round the entire coast of Iceland in a degree of element we have by no means actually seen earlier than. It is going to be so complete.
“So I feel because the legacy of this swim, data and every part shall be good, however I really assume the science and the analysis that we contribute and provides again shall be unbelievable and truly make the chafing and dropping components of my tongue value it.”
The swim is being paid for by a mixture of sponsorships and self-funding.
The problem is predicted to final round 4 months. Pic: James Appleton/BMW
Ross says he was impressed to tackle the problem partially by actor Chris Hemsworth and his function because the Norse god Thor, joking that the feat could be the closest factor to swimming round Asgard, the realm of the deities from historical Scandinavia.
As he makes his manner across the island, he will get to satisfy a local people the place tales of Nordic gods are nonetheless an necessary a part of life.
“It is wonderful, we’re simply listening to these tales of Nordic folklore, sagas written about each single fjord we go round. It is unbelievable.”
Ross and his staff relaxation on land between swims
Contemporary off one marathon swimming session, Ross and his staff jumped into motion to assist the area people rescue 30 stranded whales.
“The staff have been completely exhausted… however having rescued the whales was probably the most rewarding second as nicely.”
A second of downtime on the boat. Pic: Ross Edgley/YouTube
Hearken to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim each Wednesday
Ross set off on his swimming quest on 17 Could, and it is doubtless going to be a pair extra months earlier than he arrives again in Reykjavik.
He steered that September is the objective, however added: “However you make plans and Iceland laughs at them.”
Image credit: Ross Edgley/YouTube
