Beagle Channel Team Returns to Chilean Mainland.

The team arrived Friday afternoon in Punta Arenas, where Pedro was interviewed by TVN, the national television station of Chile, and several newspapers articles have appeared. More details will be disclosed as time (and internet access) allows. Yesterday's crossing represented a total distance of 4,200 meters, and it was done with no fins, wetsuit, or any other swim aids whatsoever.

To see more photos of Pedro's swim visit pages 3-5 of Maureen Upton's photo album.

Mission Accomplished!

This morning, Thursday Jan. 29, Pedro Ordenes swam the Beagle Channel, roundtrip, with a total time of 1:30:54. His one-way time to reach the shore of Argentine Tierra del Fuego was 31:50, and on his return he fought an eastbound current of between 10 and 12 knots, amidst a 35-knot wind. The water temperature in the Channel was 42 degrees Farenheit at the starting area on the shores of snow-peaked Chilean Isla Navarino, but Pedro reported a precipitous drop of at least 3 degrees along the Argentine shore, where polar currents are common. He was escorted by a Chilean naval patrol boat as well as a Zodiac boat carrying two rescue divers, Chilean swimming champion Victor "Tiburon" Contreras, and myself. The swim marks the first event of the newly formed Mares del Sur Swimming Association, a sister organization to the English Channel Swimmers.

Today's swim set several records: Pedro is now the oldest person, by a margin of 27 years, to cross the Beagle, and more significantly, he became the second person ever to complete the roundtrip swim, with a 4 minute difference off the first roundtrip time. Pedro wore only a neoprene swim cap, regular swim suit, and a coating of lanolin. Of the 10 swimmers to complete the Beagle swim, one-way or roundtrip, several have worn wetsuits and had flotation devices attached to them.

Thursday evening, Pedro reported feeling tired but in "fantastic" spirits. Accompanying photographs and additional details will be posted when the Beagle Channel team returns to the Chilean mainland on Friday, Jan. 30. Pedro wishes to thank all of his supporters -- sponsors including Mack's Earplugs and Red Bull, fellow swimmers, family and friends from all over the world -- for giving him the courage and resolve to set and accomplish this goal.

Regards,
Maureen Upton
Media Relations Manager, Beagle Channel Crossing 2004

Pedro wins age group in Valparaiso open water race.

Pedro participated in the Patrimoniales de Valparaiso open water swim race, a 3,200-meter race across Chile's Valparaiso Bay, with a time of 1:08. The event, organized by Victor "Tiburon" Contreras's swim team, Los Delfines, included some 20 participants of all ages. Feeling fresh, Pedro is ready to tackle the Beagle Channel.

The Team arrives in Chile!

The Beagle Channel Swim 2004 expedition arrived in Chile on Jan. 22nd at 6:15am. After a day of finalizing the required clearances with the Chilean and Argentine naval authorities, Pedro will do a training swim with Victor "Tiburon" Contreras in Valparaiso on the 24th, and will then hold a press conference with the Chilean Olympic Committee's new open water swimming group and the newly formed Mares del Sur Swimming Association.

More to come...

Final Training Swim and Send-Off to Chile!

Today (Tuesday) I did my last training swim in the Bay before heading to Chile to swim the Southermost Channel in the world, The Beagle Channel next to Antarctica.


We jumped in the water approximatelly at 7:30 a.m.and we did a "Death Quest Swim" a "D.Q.S." in the company of 10 other Sunrisers. It was a slow and very tiresome swim.

Temperatures of the water were from 48 degrees to 51 degrees F. We started from Crissy Field heading to Aquatic Park. It was hard and honest swim. Stroke by Stroke we made it to the Cove as the currents started to change from a weak flood to just a brutal slack. The sun came out making the Golden Gate Bridge colors a very bright orange. The distance approximatelly 4 miles. It could not be better than this, to have fellow Sunrisers in the company of our leader Napa Bob Roper giving the support and wise words of advise in my send off to Chile.

I will be thinking of you all and once again Thanks for making the sport of swimming such a high in my life.

Pedro

Mares del Sur Swimming Association

Lynne Cox, author of Swimming to Antarctica, joins Mares del Sur Swimming Association as Honorary Founder.

The newly formed Mares del Sur will officiate and time future swim endeavors in the region for use by other international athletic organizations.

Maureen Upton signs on to write story.

Read the press release for the backround on Pedro's swim.
(Adobe Acrobat Reader is required, get it here)


Maureen is an Ironman triathlete, climber, diver, sailor and open water swimmer who lives in Denver, Colorado. She has swum from Alcatraz to San Francisco six times (coached & inspired by Pedro), raced in 14 triathlons, and traveled to 27 countries across five continents. Her Alcatraz triathlon story appeared in the online edition of Triathlete Magazine, and she has ghostwritten op-ed pieces in 13 daily newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

Training Swim Across the San Francisco Bay

Pedro completed his first big training swim across the San Francisco Bay from Alameda Island next to the city of Oakland to the City of San Francisco.

Special thanks to the U.S. Coastguard Stn.11, Yerba Buena Island for the protection and safeguarding of aquatic sports in the San Francisco Bay.

Photographers: Captain Paulsen-Bob Roper
Swim Technical Directors : Bob Roper-Tom Linthicum
Distance: 8 nautical miles-San Francisco Bay California
Weather: Rain/Sunny/Overcast
Water Temp: 50.5 - 51.5 Deg.F.

Special Thanks/Agradecimientos ...

• The training for this this swim and conquering the cold waters of Tierra del Fuego is possible with the support of Bob Roper leader and founder of the Sunrisers of the South End Rowing Club.
  
• Chilean National Swim Coach Victor "Tiburon" Contreras Director and founder of the little dolphins club.
  
• Dr William Keatinge Director of the Physiology Dept, University of London, England.
  
• Chief of the Navy 3rd Region of Chile/Jefe de la 3° Zona Naval de Chile
  
• Luis Hermenegildo Olano, Chief of Ushuaia region, Argentina/Prefecto Mayor, Jefe Prefectura Ushuaia, Islas del Atlantico Sur.

Coming in February 2004 ...

Another extreme swim by Pedro H. Ordenes, the Chilean-American swimmer who crossed the Strait of Magellan in 1999 comes back to attempt a round trip crossing from Argentina to Chile in the cold waters of the Beagle Channel, the southermost channel in the world, next to the waters of the Antarctica. It is a swim to celebrate the friendship of these two countries and the friendship that unites the whole American Continent and nations of the Pacific and Atlantic.

Stay tuned for frequent updates on Pedro's progress as he trains for this historic swim