Cookiecutter shark is not as cute as it sounds....

Mike Spalding was about 11 miles into his  nighttime Alenuihaha Channel crossing when the attempt was cut short by a bite from a cookiecutter shark.  This shark, only about 20" tops,  is known for taking deep round  bites out of seals, dolphins, tuna.  It mistook Mike for a tasty snack. He thinks perhaps the lights from his support boats attracted other snacks, and he just got in the way.  He made the record books, but not in the way he intended--he's the first living human to have been bitten by this shark.  

Photo: Maui News

Mermaid tail for amputee

Nadya Vessey's legs were amputated below the knee when she was a young child.  A curious boy once asked her why, and she replied that it's because she was a mermaid.  The idea stuck with her, and she eventually contacted a famous special effects company if they might make her a prosthetic, realistic mermaid's tail.  To her surprise, they said yes.  Weta, the company who did work for "Lord of the Rings" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" made her a custom, fully functional mermaid's tail, complete with an attached suit.  It's wonderful to hear about companies that take the time/effort to make people's dreams come true.....especially mermaid dreams.....

photo: stuff.co.nz

Las Toninas

Cristian & Rachel after the swim

Exito! (Success!)

Cristian and Rachel crossed the Strait of Magellan on Wednesday, along with Scott Lautman and Mark (wetsuit) Lautman.  Cristian and Rachel swam into a flock of penguins, which disappeared underwater in one quick dive.  Rachel was followed by a small black and white dolpin (Tonina), presumably curios about why she was kicking so hard.  Scott finished first in 1:18, next was Mark.  Cristian got stuck in a very weird wall of current but managed to break free and swim to shore.  Rachel swam through a small whirlpool at the very end of her swim, and was swimming against the current until our shouts penetrated her frozen brain and she sprinted to shore.  Rachel came in at 1:53, Cristian just a few minutes earlier.  The press frantically ran up and down the shore to try to catch the finish of each swimmer, all of whom landed in different parts of the beach.  Rachel did a happy dance in her bright blue bikini when she finished, much to the amusement of the Naval officers who had lent their support for the swim, and had some doubts about our posses' abilities.  Everyone looked pretty darn good afterwards considering the 40F water temperature.

Maximum shivering ensued.

Shivering escalated during (very) wet and wild zodiac ride back to the Naval ship.

We are all on our way home, tired, happy, content, and thankful for all the good wishes~

Disclaimer:

Being old, fat, anorexic, or wearing a bikini in cold water does not necessarily properly prepare you for this swim.

Plane crash lands in Hudson

Just to let everyone know, we did not get a chance to show off our cold water swimming skills yesterday in the Hudson--our flights to Santiago left out of JFK.  We arrived safe and sound in Santiago--and off to Puntas Arenas tomorrow.  

(AP photo/Janis Krums)

Mike's pix