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According to Wikipedia Moses crossed the Red Sea circa 1623 B.C. 3 635 years later a group consisting of Jean Craven, Robert Dunford and Michiel le Roux, supported by Johann Theron, crossed the Rea Sea again, this time in the opposite direction, swimming. On the 15th of October 2012 the three swimmers ferried across by the Sanafir Waiver and supported by friends and family did the 21.1km crossing in 4 hours and 55 minutes. Although the swim started in quite choppy conditions and a strong tide from the front side, the wind died down and tides where generally favourable for the rest of the swim.
The swimmers and their support team spent the weekend in Cairo before the swim, visiting the famous Pyramids of Giza and riding camels. After a few light camel kicking incidents, the whole group flew down to Sharm el Sheikh on the Sunday evening before the swim on Monday the 15th of October. Travelling along with them was a shark net built by the South African Kwazulu Natal Sharks Board – weighing a whopping 83 kg, and not willing to courier the net up to Sharm, the group had to check in the net as cabin baggage along the whole trip – this proved to be quite a challenge. Ironically, as the group consulted with Sinai Blues, their boat and support crew provider, they decided not to use the net as the risk of sharks was deemed to be quite low.
On the morning of 15 October 2012 at 05h30 the group set sail towards Saudi Arabia and started their swim at 07h04. After the swim a celebratory tour was arranged in the same Sanafit Waiver boat that ferried them across to Saudi Arabia.
Conditions on this swim where perfect, and Madswimmer doubts if the next two possible swims can beat these conditions.
