Brits become first to swim in waters so isolated astronauts were the closest humans to them

Explorer Chris Brown, 62, and his 32-year-old son Mika spent five years thinking about their dip

We all enjoy a bit of peace and quiet from time to time, but heading to a place which is so isolated from human civilisation that astronauts are the closest people to you might be a stretch too far.

But an unbelievably ballsy British father and son duo have managed to do the unthinkable and have become the first people to ever swim in one of the most remote locations on Earth.

Explorer Chris Brown, 62, and his 32-year-old son Mika are now breaststroke pioneers of Point Nemo, after completing a gruelling expedition from Puerto Montt, Chile, to reach the extremely isolated location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

It’s nickname is the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility, so I’m sure you can gather why this is quite the achievement.

For some reason, the pair, from Harrogate, Yorkshire, decided they wanted to become the first people to ever complete the exhausting journey to Point Nemo – which is the furthest point from land in any direction.

They set sail on 12 March onboard a diverted charter yacht called Hanse Explorer after spending five years meticulously planning their ambitious voyage, which took them eight days to complete.

If they’d have gotten into any distress, the nearest humans to the duo would have been the astronauts in the International Space Station who are sat 408km above the secluded spot in low orbit – and they’d have a job getting a hold of them.

I also hope they were watching out for any falling chunks of debris too, as because this part of the world is so far off the beaten track, it’s become a ‘spacecraft cemetery‘.

But it seems Chris and Mika managed to successfully evade any spaceship scraps tumbling through the atmosphere, as the dad shared an Instagram post celebrating their extraordinary feat.

Google Maps

The 62-year-old declared that he and his son had become the ‘first people to ever swim at Point Nemo’ after they finally arrived on 20 March.

Alongside a snap of him and Mika clutching bunting which spelled out ‘NEMO’ in maritime flags while in the water, he proudly wrote: “Point Nemo – the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility – bagged on Wednesday 20th March 2024.

“Having stood with a flag at the other Poles, I thought it would be a good idea to get in the water and become the first people to ever swim at Point Nemo.”

Another post documenting his journey far, far away to Point Nemo shows the moments leading up to Chris and Mika plunging themselves in the water for a 20 minute swim.

He explained that the temperature at the water was at around 9 or 10 degrees, before launching himself backwards off a dinghy and having the dip he’d spent five years thinking about.

He also gave a shout out to all the crew who’d ‘all helped pull this together’.

Because reaching Point Nemo is considered to be an incredibly arduous journey, it has been said that it is ‘possible that no human has ever passed through the specific coordinates’, as reported by Indie88.

So a huge pat on the back from us lot, lads.

Featured Image Credit: Jam Press/Instagram/@chrisbrownexplores / Google Maps