Explorers Girl to take on Hellspont 3 Mile Swim 2012 Challenge

Sally Smythson, our Operations Executive for sister company Explorers Astronomy, has taken on the 3 mile swim challenge at Hellspont, Turkey. Sally is never one to say no to a challenge and today she will swim across the the Dardanelles, the strait that separates Europe from Asia. The annual swim commemorates the final victory for the Turks in the Turkish War of Independence in 1922 against the Greeks.

For the past 25 years this event has been a big event in the open swim calender. The swim starts on the Turkish shore at Eceabat and swimmers head to the town of Çanakkale on the Asian side of Turkey. The Hellespont is a natural strait which has been used defensively to protect Istanbul since Greek and Roman times. The famous 3 mile swim was first taken on by Lord Byron in 1812.The day after the swim there will be a half day festival to celebrate Lord Byron, his swimming history and his poetry.

We wish Sally every luck in tackling the race today and what can we say... what a sense of adventure!