Hunter Wright successfully crosses Strait of Magellan
Top images: Pedro Ordenes guiding Hunter's Swim; Hunter swimming in the Strait; Hunter arriving to base; Hunter with a bevy of adoring fans. Images from Pedro Ordenes and Levy Gerzberg.
17-year-old Hunter Wright from Redding, California crossed the Strait of Magellan this morning January 17th, 2014 with great success and extraordinary perseverance. Conditions were moderate as he began his swim at 7:42am with air temperature at 41 degrees Fahrenheit and water at 42.1 degrees. He began the swim with currents at 12 knots from west to east, but the slack expected around 8:40am did not occur.
As a result, Hunter was pushed east, forcing him over the borderlines. It took all his strength at 70 strokes a minute to bring him to the middle of the Strait. As he reached the center, the currents unfortunately started to change to form whirlpools in the currents he was already swimming against.
WWS Coach and Founder Pedro Ordenes, Chilean native and oldest person to cross the Strait, says “Hunter was to be admired by the crew of the boat with the support team as he kept a very steady pace during the whole crossing. The weather kept changing for the worse, as winds of over 12 knots reaching 14 knots made their presence. Hunter then started to look fatigued but not changing his pace. He made turns to swim backstroke, which made us to start worry as he started to get water on his face to cover him completely at times.”
Twice during the crossing, currents unexpectedly came from different directions which forced Hunter to double his efforts in trying to reach the closest point on Tierra del Fuego. Support called out to him several times to see if he was responding as his face and back were turning blue. – but he consistently responded with a firm no each time. Towards the end, conditions completely deteriorated as winds went over 16 knots and he was pushed into a whirlpool with waves at 4-5 feet and currents over 14 knots.
But he finished in 1 hour 52 minutes – not beating the time record as hoped, but facing incredible challenges in frigid and wild waters, and making the record for youngest swimmer to ever successfully cross the Strait.
Pedro says, “Believe it or not, when Hunter touched land and raised his arms and fell back in the water, even the paramedic share a tear with all of us.... he said, so young and so brave. As his coach I felt so proud for him and for all of us at Water World Swim. I think we have the best waters in the world to train, in the bay of [San Francisco]... Everyone cheered and Navy officers at the Station commented of his age, admiring him for his tenacity and strong will. Everyone cheered a Viva Chile and they made us company with a U.S.A. U.S.A.!”
They are now on their way to Restaurant Jekus to have Hunter sign the wall of fame of those that have crossed the Straits of Magellan – proudly as a non wetsuit, recorded for history. Pedro adds, “Hunter dedicated this swim to our Heroine Lynne Cox and his best friend who passed away Thursday, Andrew Jones, R.I.P."
Congratulations, Hunter!
Way to go,Hunter!!! Feel honored to have met you in the Alcatraz swim.
Stay strong!!
Congrats to the entire team for pulling this off!!
Nik.
Respects and Congratulations to you!
I can only imagine what you will be doing at 25! Very inspirational, congratulations on an amazing feat.
Congratulations Hunter! You worked very hard to achieve this goal. I’m very proud of you. You are a real inspiration to me. See you when you get back.
Hunter, unreal job, can’t wait to see you. Mom and Dad must be so proud.
Amazing hunter great job!! So proud of you ! Love , The Flores Family
Way to go Hunter! You amaze me with your talents, personality and character. You are certainly one to follow in sports for the next decade. I plan on seeing your face on a Wheaties cereal box someday. Love you, Mrs. Damico
Congratulations Hunter, great Bulldog effort! This experience of traveling the world and successfully completing the challenges to reach your goals is something that will forever make you a greater man. You are fortunate to have a family which has supported you and given you the independence to achieve this distinction.
Hunter, you are truly an inspiration! Congratulations, all your hard work paid off, great job!! Love, Diane Resendes
Hunter,
Outstanding accomplishment! Hunter, you have graduated to the next level of swimming. Truly you are inspirational. I look forward to seeing you at some of the WWS swims this year.
Congratulations Hunter ! Amazing achievement ! Very encouraging ! I wish you all the best ! God bless you !
Congrats, Hunter! Looking forward to tracking the next big swim.