Israeli senior leads hot swim team for cool project at sea and a Guinness World Record

They tried last year and failed. Now a team of six men from Israel, led by a 66 year old team leader are going to swim the open seas from Cyprus to Israel in a bid to capture a world record. The Open Water Relay will be to win a Guinness Record and to promote awareness for cleaner seas. They will need to swim 400 kilometers or about 350 miles to break the current world record.

Looking at the pics these guys could certainly earn big bucks if they threw together a calendar wearing these swimsuits, even though their logo looks like fried eggs. (Just sayin’).

The team of men pictured above tried last year, but with insufficient preparation and a storm at sea – failed. This year they are better prepared, the guys tell local media and are hoping to accomplish the task in about 6 days.

The team is Udi Arel, Ori Sela, Doron Amosi, Ben Anosh, Luke Shetbon and Oded Rahav. Arel is the oldest at age 66 and Sela is the youngest at 41.

One of their secrets (they hope!) to success is swimming on a vegan diet. They have been preparing on a vegan diet as this kind of food is easier to digest when swimming in cold water. We told you Israel was the world capital of vegans!

Having entered the water Sunday at 2:20 in the afternoon, with live Facebook updates they have already reported swimming in heavy currents and swimming with a school of dolphins!

See a picture of one of the team in the water yesterday (below):

Proceeds collected from their swim will be donated to the Israeli ecological group Zalul which means clear in English. Zalul is a water rights NGO that fights for public knowledge and participation in protecting all of Israel’s water – at sea, and what comes through your tap.

Vegan diet on board the ship!

We like how the guys prepared their sign in Arabic, Hebrew and English adding a little fig leaf for peace. Yes, even if their assets are well covered with those slinky red bikini bottoms.

See more about the guys on their website Cyprus Israel Open Water where you can learn more about the guys, where they came from and where they are going. At least one of them is a vegan; there are fellows born in the US, France and in Ethiopia on the team and they carry a wide range of interests among them.

You can also follow them on their Facebook page, live track them here, and donate to Zalul on their website. And what about that calendar?

Update Oct 12: They did it! The team reached Israel yesterday and completed their mission to win the Guinness World Record.

Images from Haaretz