Longest Continuous Relay Swim from Baja to help Wounded Warriors

by patgarcia | June 25, 2009 at 07:07 pm

177 views | 12 Recommendations | 0 comments

Another great international event in my city La Paz Mexico. William 'Spanky' Gibson, Vito Bialla, Gordon Clute, Matthew Davie, Dave Holscher, John Mathews, JC Sheppard, Scott Stiteler and Emily Young the Night Train Swimmers.will cross the Sea of Cortez from Peaceful La Paz to a port close to the city of Culiacan in mainland Mexico supporting the Wounded Warrior Project.

After last year's successful English Channel crossing on behalf of Lifehouse Agency, the San Francisco-based Night Train Swimmers will attempt to break the world record for the longest continuous relay swim by crossing the Sea of Cortez (Mar de Cortés) in Mexico from La Paz to the Mexican mainland - a distance of 252K (157 miles).

On June 27, the Night Train Swimmers will depart from La Paz on a 157-mile trek across the Sea of Cortez in an attempt to break the world record for longest continuous relay swim. The Night Train Swimmers are raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

A little bit about Night Train's safety officer for this crossing. If you want to read about the rest of the participants you can go to the link below.

William "Spanky" Gibson is Night Train's Chief Safety Officer for the Sea of Cortez crossing in June 2009. A decorated US Marine, Spanky was shot by a sniper in May 2006 while on foot patrol in Ramadi, Iraq. When the firefight was over, his left leg was gone. Just two months after he was shot, Spanky was back at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, preparing to go back to Iraq with his new prosthetic leg.

Over the past few years, Spanky has completed multiple triathlons and ultra-endurance events. He currently serves as a Marine Legislative Fellow at the Committee on Veterans' Affairs in Washington, DC, where his duties include drafting legislation, serving as a liaison to constituents, planning international conferences and much more.