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Atlantic chill ends swim bid
02/02/2006 18:54 - (SA)
Cape Town - The chill of the Cape's Atlantic waters on Thursday thwarted a nine-year-old Indian boy's bid to become the youngest person to complete the swim between the mainland and Robben Island.
Kaustubh Vemuri had planned to swim from Three Anchor Bay to the island, and then from the island to Bloubergstrand, an 18km dog leg which has previously been done by only two other people.
Kaustubh, who arrived in Cape Town last Friday and has been training off Clifton Beach, set off at dawn on Wednesday, but had to get out after an hour and a half in the water, when he had covered only some 4km.
"He was very, very cold," said president of the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association Peter Bales, who headed the support crew for the young swimmer. "If he'd been in any longer he would have been hypothermic. It was most unfortunate because he's a really good swimmer."
Bales said was it not for the cold, Kaustubh would probably have made the distance.
He said he thought Kaustubh might attempt a shorter swim, between Blouberg beach and the island, next week.
"He was disappointed. I think he aimed a little bit high, because he's inexperienced in cold water. He hasn't done a lot of training in cold water, because they just don't get cold water [in India]. But with another couple of days' training, and the experience of today, he should make the shorter swim."
In October last year Kaustubh became the youngest swimmer to complete a 72km current-assisted swim from the Gateway of India to Dharamtar Jetty in the Arabian Sea.
- SAPA
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