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27-yr-old swims across False Bay in S Africa
Indian swimmer Shubham Dhananjay Vanmali has become the first Asian, and the 10th swimmer in the world, to swim across False Bay in South Africa's Cape Town. The 27-year-old swam the 33km stretch in a record time of nine hours and 46 minutes, enduring cold and inconsistent temperatures, strong winds and reverse currents. He was also stung multiple times by bluebottle jellyfish. False Bay is home to great white sharks, making it one of the world's toughest open water swims. Vanmali has previously crossed the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Catalina Channel.
NAVI MUMBAI: Navi Mumbai resident and professional swimmer Shubham Dhananjay Vanmali, a recipient of the Tenzing Norgay National adventure sports award, has made another open water swimming record on Thursday by swimming across False Bay in South Africa’s Cape Town, considered one of the 13 toughest open water swims the world.
The 27-year-old managed this feat by swimming the 33-km stretch in record time of 9 hours and 46 minutes and has become the first Asian Swimmer and the 10th swimmer in the world as per the Cape Long distance Swimming Association Record (CLDSA), a primary open water swimming authority that regulates and records long distance solo sea swims in South Africa.
“False Bay is home to the deadly great white sharks, and therefore very few swimmers in the world take up the challenge to swim this stretch,” said Shubham’s father, Dhananajay Vanmali. The proud father was present through the entire stunt along with other coaches - former international open water swimmer Rupali Repale, former national swimmer Aniruddha Mahadik. He was followed by CLDSA observers and a technical crew to monitor and guide him.
At an icy temperature of 15 degree Celsius, Shubham made his first plunge at 6.28 am South African Time and completed the distance by 4.14 pm. “Besides enduring extremely cold and inconsistent water temperature, wading through unsupportive winds and reverse currents, it was the awareness that the sea is filled with the Great White Sharks, blue bottle jelly fishes made it more challenging for Shubham. But not once did he waver from his goal of reaching the shores,” said the proud father who was continuously guiding Shubham about the challenges ahead.
Affirming the challenges and fears shared by his father, Shubham termed the experience to be his best. “The existence of the white sharks was indeed unnerving, but my focus was to complete the swim whatever may be the circumstances. Thankfully I didn’t encounter any sharks, but the number of times, I was stung by the jelly fishes and the pain I had to endure is something I will never forget,” he said.
The swimmer said that in one of the numerous stings he suffered, it was the instance wherein the tentacles of one of the bluebottle jellyfish which got wrapped around his neck that could have proved detrimental to the challenge. “Before taking up the challenge, I had read a lot about the jellyfish and possible threats its presence can cause, but I had never anticipated that every sting felt like a strong electric shock which keeps radiating through the body. So, when the tentacle remained stuck on my shoulder, I had to accept that for a few minutes I lost my focus and didn’t know what to do,” said Shubham.
After regaining composure, Shubham pulled out the tentacles. “I realigned my thought process and based on his past experiences with jelly fish stings channelized his energy to complete the task of swimming.,” he said.
Vanmali’s major swimming achievements include crossing the English Channel, Strait of Gibraltar, Catalina Channel, Manhattan Marathon Swim, Gateway of India to Dharamtar. He has gold in international events like the Grand Dublin Swim and National Irish Swim. In November 2022, President Droupadi Murmu presented the Tenzing Norgay National Award in adventure sports instituted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs for his swimming adventures.
