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JOHN Procope’s goal of completing a 100K swim around Tobago fell short as currents stalled his progress, which eventually forced him to return to shore on the evening of October 14 after 33 hours in the water. Procope, 49, is satisfied with the effort made, but he plans to return to the water and already has a date in mind for his next marathon swim.
“I am feeling great,” Procope told Newsday. “Physically, mentally and emotionally. There are no regrets. We are very happy we attempted it.”
Asked if he would try to complete the trek around Tobago again, Procope said, “Absolutely. We are bad mind now...we are starting to plan from now and we are organising our sponsorship situation.
“We are looking tentatively at next year September again, obviously because this is the best time.”
Procope said that time of year is more conducive with calmer waters and less current. “One thing we have learnt in open water swimming is that you cannot fight nature. You have to time it when it allows you (to swim).”
Procope began his latest swim on the morning of October 13 at Pigeon Point, accompanied by a supporting cast, including a boat named Predator with food and drinks. A kayak also kept Procope company, while he had swimmers Richard Conybear, Jacob Cox and William Carr tagging along for part of the way.
Procope completed approximately 68 per cent of the journey, but off the coast of Delaford they had to stop the mission due to strong currents.
The first half of the swim was in the Caribbean Sea, which normally has calmer waters. The second half of the trek in the Atlantic Ocean, where he would have stopped, sometimes proves to be a challenge and on this occasion, the current was too much for Procope.
Giving more details about the current, Procope said, “By the time we got to Delaford we were battling currents that kept me in the same position for eight minutes and I was sprinting for those eight minutes. That in itself shows me that I have improved tremendously since the swim to Trinidad.”
This is not the first time Procope has attempted to accomplish a swim of this magnitude.
In October 2024, Procope completed a swim from Tobago to Trinidad in roughly 25 hours. He has a knack for not giving up as it was the third time he attempted to swim from Tobago to Trinidad.
He said his fitness is better than it was last year. “When we were six miles from Sans Souci (last year), you could see that I was throwing my arms like they were made of concrete. I was completely done. This time I was doing my best swimming after 33 and a half hours and I was not getting any cramp. The captain (David McLean) finally called it (off). He said ‘This is madness.’”
It certainly was not a one-man team as captain McLean, along with boat crew David McLean Jr, Michael McLean and Kester Alexander were there to offer assistance. Videographer Maurice Alexander, Darren Seepersad, Leroy George and Dagmar Buhck were also part of the journey.
The crew would have provided Procope with refreshments to keep him energised, such as coconut water, Lucozade, Ensure and bananas. After some time, Procope could not eat as the salt water from the ocean made his tongue sore, which made eating painful.
Swimming in the night can be a bit scary as it affects your vision. “We did not get much jelly fish which is the main concern,” Procope said.
He explained that sharks only attack if they are given “two to three stimuli to make them commit to an attack.”
Procope did encounter some marine life, including a grey reef shark, a large cobia (fish), a sea turtle and a stingray. “We had no issues from the marine life at all.”
Procope’s goal of the swim was to raise awareness for SpeSeas (an NGO which focuses on marine conservation) and The Aqua-Smart Foundation.
The post John Procope targets another attempt as swim around Tobago ends due to current appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.