In his first week at sea, Ross dodged
ferries and cargo ships as he crossed
the Strait of Dover – but that was nothing
compared to what was to come.
“I woke up this morning with chunks
of my tongue on my pillow,” Ross told
the camera documenting his journey
on week two, pulling off a piece of his
tongue to prove it. He was suffering
from ‘salt mouth’, caused by the build-
up of salt water on his tongue. “I’m not
going to lie, it’s rough.” After days of
discomfort, he and his support crew
worked out that melting a teaspoon of
coconut oil in his mouth before entering
the water created a protective barrier,
helping to mitigate the condition.
Despite using kilos of Vaseline, he
also developed severe wetsuit chaffing
on his neck, which led to his social
media followers nicknaming him ‘Rhino
Neck’. With his open wounds so bad
they were fusing to the bedsheets, Ross
tried covering his neck in duct tape
and cutting up his wetsuit – he even
attempted swimming bare-chested, but
the water was so cold that, when back
on the boat, he had to be wrapped in a
space blanket and given some hot food
as soon as possible to prevent the onset
of hypothermia.
Then came another issue. “Just when
I think I’ve got this whole thing figured
Ross set off from Margate Harbour (bottom
left) in June and broke the world record for
continuous days at sea when he reached
Kyle of Lochalsh 74 days later. He didn’t
set foot on land once, resting onboard a
catamaran when not swimming. He got
severe wetsuit chafing, experienced a
rotting tongue and feet and had to make
a mask to protect his face from jellyfish.
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