Man swims from Cozumel to Cancun to Save Coral

A 61-year-old Texan gentleman needed 16 hours to swim the robust Caribbean waters between Cozumel Island and Cancun on Thursday, completing a journey designed to promote the protection of coral reefs.

Paul Ellis, a businessman from Austin, began the 35 mile swim shortly after midnight, crossing the Channel and then swimming along the coast. He was met by workers from the Red Cross after reaching Cancun at 4:40pm, said friend Jacque Chrisman.

“The medical team said he looks good and that he's very excited," Chrisman said.

The weather was nearly perfect for Ellis' journey. Organizers had been on the lookout for sharks and jellyfish, but none appeared.

"The only problem he seemed to have that was particularly bad was he got a little seasick, but he overcame that," Chrisman said. "He also had a cruise ship situation and had to divert the route a bit. But other than that everything went as planned."

Ellis attempted the same swim two years ago, but was forced to abandon the ocean 11 hours into the attempt because of choppy conditions.

The crossing is 14 miles longer than the English Channel. Several boats and observers — including reporters, doctors, family and Mexican navy divers — rode alongside.

After seeing some of his favorite dive spots deteriorate, Ellis decided he needed to do something to bring attention to the problem.

"It broke my heart, and I realized I wanted my grandchildren to have a shot at seeing some of the wonders that I have seen," he said. "I would like to think that in some small way (the swim) will put the word out about what it takes to have a sustainable biosphere."

Ten percent of the world's coral reefs have disappeared and more than 50 percent of the world's reefs are endangered, according to the nonprofit World Resources Institute. Scientists fault intensive fishing, pollution and rising ocean temperatures for the loss of coral reefs, the most diverse ecosystems after rain forests.

Coral reefs are also the world's oldest ecosystem and are a good indicator of the Earth's health, according to William Kiene, director for conservation science at nonprofit Reef Check.

"Humans today are causing as dramatic a change as, say, huge volcanic eruptions, or asteroids hitting the earth," Kiene said. "Coral reefs are kind of a canary in the coal mine in the sense that the changes we are seeing on them are harbingers of change that are occurring in all ecosystems."

The Mexican government made the reefs around the tourist-friendly Cozumel a national park, and Ellis chose to start his swim at the island to pay tribute to the conservation effort.

The former Marine pilot and founder of the Austin Business College spent $35,000 of his own money to fund the swim.

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment