Prince Charles hears message of clean oceans from endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh
Swimmer Lewis Pugh, promoting ocean protection, says "influences like the Royal Family are important in guiding public opinion".
Friday 24 August 2018 13:23, UK
Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh hopes that meeting Prince Charles will help to underline the importance of clean oceans as he continues his long journey from Land's End to Dover.
Pugh chatted to the heir to the throne at the Ocean Plastics Solutions Day at St Agnes in Cornwall.
It was a significant meeting, Pugh said, because "influences like the Royal Family, heads of business, are very important in guiding public opinion".
Pugh's 330-mile swim, which he hopes to complete in 50 days, is part of the worldwide Action for Oceans campaign, which calls on governments to fully protect at least 30% of the world's oceans by 2030.
Pugh told Sky News that Charles was "interested" in his quest, wanted to know how long it would take, and "what some of the issues are along the way".
"I think it's important that what is happening in our oceans is known by business leaders, political leaders, royalty," he said.
"The waters around the UK are 750,000 square kilometres, of which just seven square kilometres are fully protected, and I wanted to draw this to his attention because we need to fix this and we need to fix this very very quickly.
"I've been swimming in the world's oceans and they're changing.
"And I think influences like the Royal Family, heads of business, are very important in guiding public opinion."
Pugh has described his journey from one end of the English Channel to the other as the "Everest of swimming".
The leg of his swim on Sunday, around the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, was "absolutely brutal", he said.
There are "very fast currents" and "not just the whirlpools, but also the jellyfish".
He has been stung "plenty of times".
"In 31 years of swimming I've never ever experienced a current like around the Lizard," he said.
"Everybody had warned me about it - everyone had told me there are shipwrecks out there and it's very, very dangerous.
"The current moves so fast around the point - it was literally like a river."
He continued: "Once you're committed to going around you can't exit it.
"For 5km I was flying and then suddenly it was like hitting a brick wall. Completely stopped.
"I swam for another hour and only covered a kilometre."
Pugh got back in the water early on Monday morning and found more favourable conditions.
He swam a further 8km and is "finally away from the Lizard and heading towards Plymouth".