As a follow-up to his successful Seven Swims In The Seven Seas For 1 Reason – a summer time series of marathon swims in the warm waters of the Seven Ancient Seas – Lewis Pugh, Patron of the Oceans for the United Nations, is heading to the bottom of the planet to do another series of unprecedented swims.

The purpose of The Five Swims in Antarctica for 1 Reason is to have Antarctica’s Ross Sea declared a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Ross Sea is one of the most incredible and diverse areas left on earth; Lewis describes it as “a polar Garden of Eden.” However, it is tragically now threatened by overfishing and climate change.

His extremely tough 1 km swims are in waters between -1.7ºC and 0ºC (28.9ºF and 32ºF), where he may encounter orcas, leopard seals and colossal squid. Three of the swims will be the most southern ever undertaken. If you look at the map below, you will see there is no water any further south.

Afterwards, Lewis will be going to Russia to meet President Putin to encourage him to back this Marine Protected Area (Russia is currently chair of the organisation responsible for setting up protected areas in Antarctica). Follow Lewis on Twitter for live updates.

For more information on how to book Lewis Pugh as a keynote speaker for your conference or event, please contact Leo von Bülow-Quirk at [email protected] or call 0044 (0) 20 7792 8000.