Australian open water swimmer and triathlete Chloe McCardel will be looking to make history in The Bahamas next week when she attempts to set the record for the longest continuous swim in the ocean over a 128-kilometer (80-mile) course in a 48-hour period.
McCardel's swim from Eleuthera to New Providence is expected to begin anywhere between October 26 and October 30, all depending on weather conditions. She will be attempting the feat without any form of equipment such as masks, goggles, flippers or protective cages.
"We looked at a number of locations, but The Bahamas seemed to have the right mix, including the weather, to attempt this swim," said McCardel. "The weather temperature is not too hot and not too cold. We know that there are sharks around, but we hope that they won't get that close to me and cause me to not be able to complete the course. We've done our research, and we realize that this is the ideal place to achieve the world record."
The 29-year-old attempted a similar feat last June, when she attempted to swim from Cuba to the United States, however the swim was cut short due to her suffering several box jellyfish bites. Some species of box jellyfish produce extremely potent venom, and stings from them are extremely painful and can be fatal to humans.
"There aren't any box jellyfish that I know of, so I love this area of the world and the entire Caribbean, but I don't want to try the Cuba to U.S.A. route again due to those crazy jellyfish," said McCardel.
The fact that she will be without equipment during the swim, means that she has had to get her body into incredible shape to think of taking on such a challenge.
"I am swimming two times each day," she said. "I swim about 45 minutes to an hour each day, because I need to maintain fitness, but I don't want to get too tired leading up to the swim, just nice and easy swimming."
In her time in the country, McCardel has been working with Swift Swimming, which is headed by Andy and Nancy Knowles, to prepare for the historic swim.
McCardel's past swims include six solo crossings of the English Channel, two double-crossings in 2010 and 2012. She also won the 28.5-mile (46-kilometer) Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 2010.

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