[ole1291]

Well first of all, thanks for all the replys.
I have gotten a few similar questions from different posters so I ll try to answer them in bulk.

1)Marwan you ask me if I have have ever tried a 10km swim before and the answer is yes, I have done it in Norway in the north sea WITH a life vest on, finns and even a small rucksacks filled with junk to simulate equipment. It was in the open sea though a strech of islands were conveniantly placed on my way in case I got to tired (which I never did). The swimming lasted 6 hours and though I was a bit tired at the end I still felt like I could swim an extra 5 km without problem maybe even 10 though that is less sure. My main problem was that although I was wearing a wet suit, I started feeling quite cold near the end (it was summer and the water was around 18 celcius) .
Now in Sri lanka the water temp is usually between 24 and 27 celcius, for a normal swim you do not need any wet suit but for such a long time I think I should get one, but I do not know what model would be the most appropriate with long sleeves and leg or without, 3 or 5 mm ?

It has too be stressed what a huge difference having fins and a life vest on makes for such a swim, previously I and a friend had swam on fraction of the strech I did (maybe 1.5 or 2 km) without any equipment, just a zodiac following us, and I must say I was totally exhausted, I could not swim much more. Having a life vest means you can stop in the middle of the ocean and rest without problem and that your head is always out of thet water for breathing (plus the added safety if things go wrong), having fins means you use your powerful and durable leg muscle instead of your weak arms for propulsion. It is amazing how long you can keep going swimming on your back with a slow regular kick in the water, it s almost like walking.

2)On the other hand you ask me if I have ever done some spear fishing and to be honest the answer is no. Normal fishing I have done alot of, scuba diving too, sailing, ocean kayaking and lots more to do with water etc... I have tried and done them all but spear fishing I have yet (and am eager) to try. I am not going to go on that expedition before a month and a half, in the mean time there will be plenty of time to start with some more orthodox spear fishing, but since I have to buy a gun first and since they are not cheap I thought I would ask for advice before purchasing one.
You also ask me about my profile, well I am 23 years old man from Norway and work for an ngo in Sri lanka, I am in good physical condition and I have recently started training by swimming with my pair of standard scuba diving fins an hour or two in the sea daily. My friends (all ngos too) have a similar profile though some might have more reservation about the whole enterprise.

Our Swim will take place on the east coast which is the quiet coast during this half of the year so I am not too worried about currents and that stuff. Nonethless it would be good if we could find some chart for these, I have looked on the internet for a web site with that kind of info but so far have not found anything. For navigation I will be taking my GPS (in water proof container of course) and we will all carry a bottle of water each and maybe some small snacks. My friends will all take standard spear guns for fishing but I want something which I feel confident is capable to deal with a shark since I feel responsible for their safety as I came up with the project in the first place. A power head would be great but I thought that stuff was only used by navy seals and couldn t be purchased by the public. As for the shark shield, I am only concerned that it works on the big sharks as I feel confident that as group of a couple people, the small sharks should leave us alone, anyway the only sharks dangerous to man that are reported are the hammerhead and mako which are not small to begin with.

I am going to look up the fins you talked about, it might be a valuable purchase if they prove more effecient than scuba diving ones. I thought that given the equipment we are carrying scuba diving fins which are designed for a swimmer carrying alot of drag would be more appropriate but I am not that much of an expert in that area and I ll follow any advice that is given to me on the matter.

Lastly some people have said the whole project is reckless. But that is the whole point: the challenge, taking a boat would destroy that aspect and turn the adventure into a run of the mill fishing trip. You are only young once and life is not meant to be zero risk all the time. Anyway I don t think that this expedition is very dangerous given that many people have swam much longer distance without any of the equipment we ll be using.
It s a moderate risk, just enough to give you a little thrill and make the expedition more exiting.