The 'Clean Cross' swim - Hong Kong to Macau

by Ocean Recovery Alliance on 27 May 2014 Last weekend Simon Holliday, 35, set a record for the crossing of the Pearl River Delta in a time of 10 hours, 20 minutes, and 30 seconds, beating the time of Beijing swimmer Zhang Jian who swam across in 10 hours 30 minutes in 2005.

'There were tough moments - lots of big tankers in the start, and lots of time to contemplate what I was doing, but the jellyfish didn’t appear, and instead, the dolphins did, for over an hour!' Holliday was accompanied by a pod of pink dolphins, obviously keen to support another 'pink' thing swimming in the murky waters of the Pearl River Delta. Pink dolphins are a massively endangered species, mostly on account of habitat degradation and destruction. 'It was one of the most amazing moments of my life to see them around us for so long, even though I had to keep my head down and kept going.'

Doug Woodring of the Ocean Recovery Alliance said: 'I’ve never seen so many dolphins – at one point there was around 30 of them. Today was not just a great day for the ocean, but a great day for Hong Kong open-water swimming.'

Added Holliday,'My team have been amazing - Shu Pu has worked tirelessly to make this swim happen and was with me all the way on her outrigger canoe. She becomes the first solo paddler to make the crossing.I also want to thank Arni for navigating so expertly through challenging waters. And to the rest of the crew - thanks so much for your tireless support. This wouldn't have happened without you.'

Holliday began his swim at 5am from Peaked Hill (Kai Yet Kok), on the west edge of Lantau Island, Hong Kong and swam approximately 35km to Hac Sa Beach in Macau, arriving at [3:40pm]. The swim has raised over $250,000 HKD for Ocean Recovery Alliance and their project Grate Art, which brings together eight local and Chinese artists to create plaques used to remind people not to dump into drains on the street, as these sometimes flow into the ocean.

Asked the first thing he was going to do after emerging from the water, Holliday remarked: 'I am going to have a pint of beer, in a glass.'

Simon Holliday is an open-water swimmer based in Hong Kong. Simon swam across the English Channel in August 2011 and has done several long swims around the UK and Ireland.

Ocean Recovery Alliance brings together new ways of thinking, technologies, creativity and collaborations in order to introduce innovative projects and initiatives that help to improve our ocean environment. It has two projects with the Clinton Global Initiative focused on the reduction of plastic pollution, and is one of the only NGOs in the world to be working with both the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Oceans. It also organises Kids Ocean Day in Hong Kong, Hong Kong-San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival (May 6-11, 2014), and the international business forum, Plasticity, on the future of plastic, where is can be used, without the 'footprint.' www.plasticityforum.com