by Jessica Kieras
Known for taking on rough, warm water challenges such as the St. Lucia Channel, Apolima Strait and “Bermuda Round the Sound”, on April 21st, 2024, Kevin Pollman pioneered a new route from Vieques to Puerto Rico. He covered the 11.15 km (minimum repeatable route distance) in a time of 4:01, with water temperatures hovering around 82.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The swim is pending ratification by the MSF documented swims review team.
For ultraswimmers in general, and new route pioneers in particular, dealing with uncertainty is one of the core components of the challenge. This swim was no exception. “My captain advised that we wouldn’t know until halfway through the boat ride if the swim was “on” or not,” Pollman wrote in his swim documentation.
The swim did turn out to be “on”, but it wasn’t an easy day for it. Pollman describes it as one of the roughest swims he’s done. At first, he enjoyed seeing his progress through the clear water, along the shallow sea floor. However, when the depth suddenly dropped, he was hit with a strong current and his pace slowed to a crawl. A nearby channel buoy made it clear he was inching along, only advancing a few hundred yards in fifteen to twenty minutes. “This was no doubt concerning and called for a real gut check- time to fight like hell or pack it in,“ he wrote.
Fight like hell he did, but breaking free of the current offered him little respite. He was met with strong winds of 14.5-19.5 knots pushing him west and had to fight again to hold his line to Puerto Rico. Their local boat pilot, Alexei Israel, who had taken this challenge on after most locals received Pollman’s request with skepticism, was able to locate an alternative landing spot, since it was beginning to seem unlikely they would hit their originally planned finish.
In the end, Pollman was able to walk out of the water, finally having arrived in Puerto Rico and becoming the first known human to make the trip by swimming.
“This was a fun swim for me, but probably not so much for those in the boat,” Pollman wrote. “Definitely a serious challenge for all involved. I’d recommend this swim for experienced open water swimmers that enjoy warm water challenges.”
Read Pollman’s full documentation here.
