Since Jacques Tuset’s Last Escapes Around The World

Steven Munatones 07/14/2018 Open Water Swimming No Comment

Courtesy of Ned Denison, Jean-Yves Faure and Jacques Tuset escorted by Jean-Christophe Grand swimming from the Fort Royal de Sainte-Marguerite to Palm Beach in Cannes, France.

Since Jacques Tuset of France completed his 29th career prison island swim in San Francisco Bay, California on June 7th from Angel Island to Kirby Cove under the Golden Gate Bridge, he has continued his global escapes at an unprecedented clip.

After his 10 km escape from Angel Island, he returned to a prison by swimming 6 km from the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz Island on June 10th and from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park on June 11th.

Then on June 24th, he escaped for the 9th time from Le Château d’If to Marseille, France (5.5 km). On July 7th, he pioneered a new 15 km prison island swim in France. He started from Le Palais at Belle Île where there was a prison for children and swam 4 hours 23 minutes 39 seconds to Quiberon on the French mainland.

Tuset, an Honor Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, explains his next planned swims, “On July 22nd, I will attempt a swim from the island of Chausey that housed more than 300 prisoners during World War I to Granville in France, a 17 km swim escape.

On August 7th, I will attempt a difficult swim where the biggest tidal current exists in Europe. In French, we call it Raz Blanchard; in English, we say The Alderney Race that is 17 km between Alderney Island and France. On Alderney, there were many prison camps that were built and operated by Nazi Germany during its World War II occupation of the Channel Islands. I will not describe this crossing as an escape because bad memories remain for the local people. I will do it as a charity swim for eye illness fundraising. We call it Race for Sight.

Then on August 14th or 16th, I will attempt a 10 km swim in Lake Geneva from Château de Chillon in Switzerland. It is an island castle that was the residence for the Bernese bailiff until Chillon was converted into a state prison in 1733.

For me, these prison island swim challenges give me the opportunity to create and realize beautiful human and cultural heritage meetings. At each new swimming escape, people propose me to new challenges around the world.

Of course, I also hope for the day I can swim from Hashima Island in Japan.“

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