Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 10, 1995 TAG: 9502100110
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: OISTINS, BARBADOS LENGTH: Short
When he struggled onto the white sand beach Thursday, his odyssey done, some were still laughing. They wondered if he'd really done much swimming at all. But they had to admit that whether he was really out for science or publicity, 55 days of dodging sharks, reefs and 10-foot waves was at least, well, an adventure.
Delage, 42, was all elan when he set out Dec. 16 from the Cape Verde Islands, off the west coast of Africa. It was a considerably chastened Delage who came ashore Thursday in his gray and black wetsuit. Delage said his adventure brought him depression, fatigue, loneliness and danger.
There was plenty of indignity from sports journalists, too. And plenty of questions about whether he really swam the 2,400-mile route, or just rode on his accompanying 15-foot supply raft across strong westward currents.
In daily position reports sent by radio satellite from his raft, Delage said he held onto a kick board as he struggled through high waves for up to 10 hours a day, sleeping on the raft by night.
A column in Wednesday's Le Figaro newspaper in Paris questioned the logic of Delage's swim but celebrated his tenacity.
by CNB