Long-distance swimmer Ben Lecomte has embarked on his historic attempt to become the first man to cross the Pacific Ocean as he was waved off by his children.
The Frenchman, 51, was joined on the beach near Choshi, Japan by son Max and daughter Ana as he set out on his six-month, 5,500 mile journey to San Francisco.
Lecomte, who is no stranger to mammoth swims, having completed the 4,000 miles Atlantic crossing in 1998, will battle sharks and rough seas as he attempts to complete the gargantuan feat.
Despite the obvious dangers, however, his family seemed in good spirits as they bade farewell to the adventurer – even joining him for a quick dip in the water.
Ben Lecomte, 51, on the start line with his family – wife Trinh (second right), daughter Ana (right) and son Max (second left)
Lecomte comforting his wife Trinh as he prepares to enter the water in his full-length wetsuit
Lecomte paddling in the waters of the Pacific with his son Max and daughter Ana (right)
According to Lecomte, who celebrated his 51st birthday two days ago, he is undertaking the journey as part of a scientific research project aimed at raising awareness about plastic pollution.
On his journey he will be crossing a patch of ocean known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area three times the size of France where large amounts of garbage and plastic waste have collected.
‘Pollution of the ocean has a big impact,’ said the father-of-two, who will be gathering oceanographic and medical data for 27 scientific organisations, including NASA.
‘When I was little and I was with my father walking on the beach, I didn’t see any plastic, or hardly any.
‘Now every time I go with my kids, we see plastic everywhere,’ added Lecomte, who will also wear a device to test levels of radioactive material from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant.
‘It made me think what (the) future for my kids is going to be like. It’s a problem we created and there is a very easy solution to start reversing it – single-use plastics for example, if we stop using them that will make a big change.’
The Frenchman had previously vowed he would never do a long-distance swim again after crossing the Atlantic in 1998
Lecomte swims off into the distance away from the massed crowds on the beach at Choshi, Japan
Lecomte plans to swim for eight hours a day, burning more than 8,000 calories.
The rest of the time he will rest, sleep and eat on the 67-foot support boat Discoverer that will drop him back in the water at the same spot he exits every day.
The Frenchman encountered sharks and stingrays on his 1998 Atlantic crossing – but will be equipped with a shark-repellent bracelet on this occasion.
After successfully completing the Atlantic swim, Lecomte vowed ‘never again’ to set off on a long-distance sea journey.
‘I am very anxious to start right now,’ Lecomte said as he prepared to take to the waves.
‘I am not an Olympic swimmer, but I am an adventurer in the way that I push my limits,’ he added.
The French swimmer adjusting his wetsuit on the beach as the world’s media capture the historic moment on camera
The adventurer told AFP in an interview on his yacht that he was ‘very anxious to start’ and wanted to ‘push his limits’