A passion for sharks has inspired scuba divers across the world to get swimming to end finning. Gene Girardeau is pumped for her 26-mile solo swim. It will take an estimated 16 hours to swim between the tropical Thai Islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao - a feat that no one has attempted before.
Gene swam an island relay around Koh Tao with Master Divers in 2013 for the first global Finathon® presented by Project AWARE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting our ocean planet.
Official Finathon month begins in July and exciting events are already taking place. 12 Miss Scuba UK Finalists joined the first mermaid inspired Finathon with Kat Felton, professional mermaid and PADI scuba instructor. The team enjoyed swimming with mermaid tales in the town of El Gouna, Egypt.
Genes’ swim is an epic challenge in comparison to the scuba girls making their first splash with mermaid tails but everyone involved in Project AWARE’s Finathon shares a love of sharks and a desire to protect them. Gene’s biggest fear isn’t sharks but swimming in darkness as she will start the swim at 2am.
Want to know what the biggest challenge of the swim will be for Gene or what she will eat or drink along the way? Find out HERE. www.finathon.org
“I am passionate about sharks and the ocean and everything in it. I sometimes think I should have been born a fish. I have been lucky enough to swim with many different shark species like whale sharks, great white sharks, mako sharks, bull sharks, black tip reef sharks and blue sharks. I have been able to watch these amazing creatures in their natural habitat. It's really sad to see just how misunderstood sharks really are,” said Gene.
A Finathon can be as simple as a few laps of your pool, an island relay or wacky races in shark suits! We’re looking for 100 champions for sharks and joining the Finathon you’ll be helping:
- Fight to stop shark finning
- Insist on full protections for critically endangered sharks
- Negotiate stronger policies to ensure a brighter future for all sharks
Project AWARE announces Finathon Partner 2014 Art++
Project AWARE Finathon 2014 has partnered with Art++ www.artplusplus.com a global company offering fabric architectural and lifestyle designer products. Art++ kindly donated 100 sharktastic Ocean Tank Tops to Finathon champions - perfect for your scuba tank!
The first 100 fundraisers to reach the top of the leaderboard and raise $500 will receive an Ocean Tank Top as a special thank you for your fundraising. (Available while stocks last.)
Art++ COO Frederic Lavorel said “I’m pleased to partner with Project AWARE, I took part in many long distance 5 and 10km swim challenges as a young athlete and look forward to supporting the inspiring Finathon swim challenges around the world.”
Finatical about sharks? Visit www.finathon.org and get swimming to end finning!
