Unprecedented Perimeter Swim Around The Sea of Galilee

Courtesy of Ori Sela and Oded Rahav, Sea of Galilee, Israel.

From October 22nd to 24th around the Sea of Galilee, a group of 18 swimmers and a support team pioneered a new marathon stage swim. They collectively completed a tandem swim around the perimeter of the major waterway in Israel. Ami Ginsburg was the visionary of this swim together with the Cyprus to Israel Swim Team
Their message was, “The Sea of Galilee is not disposable. Let’s keep it clean and safe for all to enjoy.”

Sela said about the Sea of Galilee Perimeter Swim, “Sadly, there is a lot of garbage that is left along the beaches and shores of the Sea of Galilee. One can only imagine the amount of garbage that finds its way to the sea after the wind blows. This is even more important since the Sea of Galilee is our largest freshwater reservoir. This swim is a small, but passionate, step in saying, ‘Enough! Let’s protect and respect our God given natural resources.’

We have to say there is something empowering and ever so different when you embark on a swim of 3 stages; it becomes a journey.

In this journey you meet amazing people along the way who join in, volunteer, and make this feat come to reality. We had the head of the Jordan Valley Council, Idan Greenbaum, endorsing the swim. Skippers and kayakers that had a critical role in escorting us all the way, and a support team on shores. Swimming for hours (between 5 and 6 per day) in this majestic sea, at the height of the season of the largest global bird migration route, enjoying and sharing the beauty of the Golan heights and the scenery while swimming alongside your friends.

While swimming you constantly think about your companion friends and less about yourself, while knowing in your heart that they too will be there for you. As we’ve previously experienced, when swimming long distances, for a few days, one always expects the unexpected, and that’s where the power of a team comes in. We are proud to be initiators of this unique circumnavigate swim and can humbly state it as one the most fascinating swims in the world.“

The unprecedented 48 km Perimeter Stage Swim in the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) was a 3-day stage swim by 18 swimmers.

Goals:
1. To maintain and encourage swimming in the Sea of Galilee/Lake Kinneret and establish the status of the Sea of Galilee as an international site where you can safely hold sporting events in this unique and historic place, surrounded by pristine nature and breathtaking scenery.
2. To complete for the first time a full perimeter swim of the Sea of Galilee over three days. During noontime, it nearly impossible to swim in this lake due to strong eastern gusts. Thus, each day the swim was up to 6 hours.
3. Take advantage of this event as an opportunity to raise awareness of the issue of litter that reaches the shores of the lake and its surroundings, and to encourage activities and campaigns that will educate and inspire the public to protect nature and keep it clean.

3-day Stage Swim:
* Day 1 stage swim of 18.15 km in 5 hours 42 minutes 18 seconds from the north Hukuk Beach through Tiberias to Beit Yerach
* Day 2 stage swim of 15.7 km in 5 hours 15 minutes 53 seconds from Beit Yerach to Ha’On Beach and from there to Lavnun Beach
* Day 3 stage swim of 13.4 km in 4 hours 16 minutes 42 seconds from Lavnun Beach ack to Hukuk
Swimmers and Team:
Udi Erell, Doron Amosi, Ben Enosh, Ori Sela, Oded Rahav, and Luc Chetboun, Shani Moskuna, Adina Faur, Amnon Salai, Ami Ginsburg, Dror Belkin, Or Kind, Tal Fridman, Tal Snunit, Avishag Turek, Oded Gross, Erez Tzuk, and Tzvika guided by the support team of Avi Ruso, Ido Kessler, Avi Ben David, Daniel Kobrinski, Adam Wadell, Ariel Elisar, Shimon Rainish, Moti Ermlin, and Yahly Shafrir.

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