Setting off Talaimannar Beach, Sri Lanka on 26th January 2020 and swimming the 29km Palk Strait to India in a record time of 10 hours and 18 minutes, Adam Moss alongside Edie Hu set the second-fastest time in the official record to cross the Strait. Adam is an open water swimmer based in Hong Kong and trained for 6 months prior to his journey to Sri Lanka to swim across the Palk Strait. The Palk Strait is a strait formed between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna Peninsular of Sri Lanka and is 53-82 kilometers wide. Crossings have often been attempted by Indians and Sri Lankans over the years. As the first non-Indians to swim the Strait, Adam’s journey was aided by the efforts of Sail Lanka, Vayu Kite camp and the Sri Lankan Navy. We catch up with Adam about his journey.
Q What inspired you to swim thePalk Strait?
It was actually through a Top Gear episode! It took me about five minutes to decide to do it after I saw Top Gear float two tuk-tuks across half-way to India; whereas I initially thought they went the whole way. I thought “that looks swimmable” and I was right! Incidentally, I was also told in April that I needed a total knee replacement by surgeons in Hong Kong and the UK, but a foremost knee specialist based in Sydney actually assured me I wouldn’t need one for another 8 years. So, by the end of 2019, I was pretty committed to the swim and wanted to follow through with it.
Q Do you swim professionally?
Not really. Never of major note but I was school champion, American Club in China (Taipei) swim champion and have competed in some triathlons including 2 legs - swim and bike - of Ironman Western Australia in 2011.
Q How did you train and prepare for it?
A lot of swimming! I swam with good friends in Hong Kong every Sunday in Repulse Bay and over Christmas, we were swimming with a lone dolphin in Deepwater Bay. I also swam once a week before work in Hong Kong in a 50m pool with SwimLab where my coach Fenella Ng was instrumental in getting me ready. I also did lots of yoga, it really helps mentally and physically so it is not just an activity for cross-country swimmers! I trained alongside Edie Hu, who also swam across the Strait with me and Simon Holiday who was supposed to join us but couldn’t due to a factor of events. Both Edie and Simon have swum around Hong Kong which is about 45km in just 12 hours and 30 minutes. The furthest I had swum prior to the crossing was 15km in a race called the Cold Half in Hong Kong in January which I managed to do it in just over 4 hours.
Q Were there a lot of logistics involved in sorting out permission for the swim?
Well, I wrote to the Minister of Defence in Colombo after the Presidential Election and received initial approval on 9th January 2020 and then after that, I was trying every day to get approval from the Indian side, which came (as I had predicted) just the day before the actual swim!
So, making sure we had the necessary permission and approvals proved to be a bit stressful but I was fortunate to have the full support of the Sri Lankan Navy. In between the approvals, we went ahead with planning the expedition, appointing a producer from Hong Kong who ran all the logistics and also brought a cameraman from Hong Kong to film the effort. Co-ordination was significant but great fun!
Q You were the first non-Indians to swim the Strait and you finished with a time of 10 hours 18 minutes, just second to the official record! How did it feel to achieve this?
We were two of the first non-Indians according to Long Swims Database - 12th equal and second fastest time. Edie actually would have been quicker if she didn’t wait for me. I had been wrongly informed that we were 2km out at about 7.5 hours in so I gunned it thinking a record was possible only to be told 15 minutes later that there was in fact another 6km to go! But I didn’t come to swim across the Strait aiming to break the record. In about two years, I hope to redo the full swim again but I’m only looking for a personal best, not to break any records!
Q Swimming the Palk Strait sounds quite complicated and we are sure the journey wasn’t without hardships. What were some of the challenges you’ll had in attempting the journey?
I think not knowing if we were going all the way to India until we were 4km from the international maritime boundary line was the most stressful element and the whole operation had its fair share of huge stress. But it was also mostly vast amounts of fun with a team of approximately 30 people including crew provided by our generous sponsor Sail Lanka, a number of excellent volunteers who are great friends of mine from the Galle area, the production team from Hong Kong and of course, the Sri Lankan Navy.
Q The swim is physically quite exhausting but was it also equally mentally draining? How did you keep going?
I never really thought of giving up but the last few hours were definitely the hardest mentally due to me pushing myself too soon. Having to do another 6km, with the sea picking up after midday, and with a 30m hovercraft of the Indian Coastal Guard circling us was pretty hard and daunting. Fortunately one of our support ribs insisted on remaining with us up to 500m offshore in 50cm of water (as we had agreed we would do with Indian and Sri Lankan authorities so we did not need to process immigration on both sides) and, having had some pictures taken with the Indian Coast Guard, the rib picked us up. It was another hour until we got back to the 54’ Sapphire as it had to stay 5km offshore due to sandbanks. By the time I got back to the Sapphire I was broken, but alive, and had done it!
Q How important was it to have a support team in carrying out the journey?
Absolutely essential! Edie kept on joking that I had pulled all the resources together whilst “when the Indians do it, they just have a fishing boat!” but she (and Simon) had played a key role in outlining our requirements requesting the team, including a paddler each. Stevie Gray became the first to stand-up paddleboard across the straight and Gary Richardson the first to inflatable kayak across! We absolutely would not have been able to do the crossing
(with my brave mum getting on and off the Sapphire at 2am and 9pm respectively!) without our support team and certainly not at that time of year. We took a risk with timing, even though the historical data suggested it would be ideal, as Simon wanted to do the crossing in good time before his child is born and I myself wanted to do the swim on my youngest daughter’s 11th birthday but ended up doing it the day after.
Q What’s next?
I love swimming and yoga, so I will continue with both. My good friend in the Sri Lankan Navy has suggested I swim from Kirinda to Great Basses lighthouse so I intend to see if that’s possible this year and will be asking Navy for permission this week. Sadly due to Covid-19 many things are difficult, even swimming in open water, so failing this year I will definitely do so next year. I also intend to swim just half-way across the Strait along Adams Bridge on the 28th March next year. I will invite 4 other swimmers to race but expect them to let me win as it will be my 50th birthday! . We are also hoping to produce a documentary of the Palk Strait swim and raise money for Youth Diabetes Action (my oldest daughter was diagnosed in 2015) in Hongkong, a donkey sanctuary in Mannar and for a charity in India as well.
