Comments on: Comments on 19865

Post number 19865

Ljubljana — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:20:20 -0800

He came, he swam, he conquered. The swimmer Martin Strel braved whirlpools, snakes, gators and tankers to become the first person to swim the length of the Mississippi River in a single attempt. He swam for 68 days before reaching the Gulf of Mexico, drinking a bottle of wine/day and losing nearly 40 lbs in the process. Crazy? Heroic? You decide.

By: vbfg

vbfg — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:35:01 -0800

Silly sod! I wonder what the record distance for sitting in an inflated rubber ring following the current whilst drinking a bottle of wine an hour is.

By: kfury

kfury — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:40:58 -0800

Call me crazy (go ahead, because I really don't know what I'm talking about), but wouldn't the current alone take you down the river significantly faster than 68 days? I'd like to see a race between this guy and one in an inner tube (with the requisite mini inner tube trailing behind, keeping the cold ones cold). Anyone ever try swimming it upstream?

By: Ljubljana

Ljubljana — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:45:58 -0800

More background: In 2000, Strel became the first person to swim down the length of the (formerly) beautiful, blue Danube. He started swimming the Mississippi on July 4, and intended to finish on September 7, the day that the United States officially recognized Slovenia's independence from Yugoslavia.

By: jacknose

jacknose — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:47:35 -0800

What the Huck? Well, I'm glad he Finnished.

By: Stan Chin

Stan Chin — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:52:39 -0800

I wouldn't even dip my feet in the ol missy for summertime coolin' off, much less stay in that sludge for a damn 68 days. He's a damn fool.

By: xmutex

xmutex — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:56:21 -0800

err... How can anyone really define that act as heroic?

By: pemulis

pemulis — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 09:00:23 -0800

This man inspires me to continue living.

By: aacheson

aacheson — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 09:05:40 -0800

Ppft. I'll be impressed when someone swims UP the river. ALthough surviving in that muck is an impressive feat (as Stan Chin alluded to.) It's weird to see the lengths people will do to get their 15 minutes! Don't these people have jobs? What's the craziest thing you've heard of people doing to get recognition?

By: yhbc

yhbc — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 09:08:07 -0800

It says that Strel is a guitar instructor by profession. I once heard about a whole bunch of people who sit at their computers all day and sound off their opinions on things to get recognition. Pretty crazy!

By: banished

banished — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 09:14:41 -0800

speak for yourself

By: internook

internook — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 09:27:33 -0800

I'm sure many dead people have done the same. Crazy guy.

By: wanderingmind

wanderingmind — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 09:43:45 -0800

Okay, he swam the length of the Mississipi. That's pretty cool. But the wine thing just seems more than a bit odd to me. A bottle a day for 68 days...? Well, at least we know where it all ended up.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 10:04:18 -0800

Jeez. It's not as dramatic as swimming across the Channel or other open water, but it's still pretty impressive. MeFi sure has turned into a tough crowd.

By: ginz

ginz — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 11:03:15 -0800

But the wine thing just seems more than a bit odd to me. A bottle a day for 68 days...? There's something odd about a bottle of wine a day? Or only while swimming? Good thing I don't swim.

By: f00b4r

f00b4r — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 12:05:28 -0800

I hope he ate other things besides the wine...

By: ginz

ginz — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 12:31:17 -0800

fish?

By: wanderingmind

wanderingmind — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 13:24:33 -0800

That's what I was wondering. He can't have been swimming 24 hours a day for two months straight, either; I'm guessing he found spots to camp out to eat, sleep, rest, and drink his bottle-o-booze-a-day. Although from what little I've seen of the Mississipi (please correct me if you know otherwise), it seems to be mostly built up with docks and such. Where would you camp? Did he just drift down the river on his back holding a belly picnic every so often?