Lewis Gordon Pugh (born 5 December 1969) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
environmentalist, swimmer, maritime lawyer and explorer.
In 2007, Pugh undertook a swim across an open patch of sea at the
North PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface...
to draw attention to the melting of the
ArcticThe Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.The word Arctic comes from the Greek αρκτικός , "near...
sea ice.
In September 2008, Pugh kayaked from
SvalbardSvalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It consists of a group of islands ranging from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The archipelago is the northernmost part of Norway. Three...
, across the
Arctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest, and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions.
The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, although some...
, towards the North Pole, to further highlight the melting sea ice. The expedition coincided with some scientists predicting that the North Pole could be free of sea-ice in the summer of 2008, for the first time in thousands of years.
Lewis Gordon Pugh (born 5 December 1969) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
environmentalist, swimmer, maritime lawyer and explorer.
In 2007, Pugh undertook a swim across an open patch of sea at the
North PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface...
to draw attention to the melting of the
ArcticThe Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.The word Arctic comes from the Greek αρκτικός , "near...
sea ice.
In September 2008, Pugh kayaked from
SvalbardSvalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It consists of a group of islands ranging from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The archipelago is the northernmost part of Norway. Three...
, across the
Arctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest, and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions.
The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, although some...
, towards the North Pole, to further highlight the melting sea ice. The expedition coincided with some scientists predicting that the North Pole could be free of sea-ice in the summer of 2008, for the first time in thousands of years. Pugh ended the trip from the North Pole.
Early life
Pugh was born in
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, England, the son of Surgeon Rear Admiral P.D. Gordon Pugh, OBE. He grew up on the edge of
DartmoorDartmoor is an area of moorland in the centre of Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops , providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
in
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
. When he was 10 years old his family emigrated to
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
and he was educated at
St Andrew’s CollegeSt. Andrew's College is a private senior school for boys located in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It offers boarding and day options for its pupils.-History:...
in
GrahamstownGrahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
and later at Camps Bay High School in
Cape TownCape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many...
. He read politics and law at the
University of Cape TownThe University of Cape Town is a public university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa...
. In his mid-twenties he returned to England where he read International Law at
Jesus College, CambridgeJesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
and then worked as a maritime lawyer in the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
for a number of years.
Environmentalist activism
Pugh's father was present at the first British atomic bomb test in 1952. When Pugh moved to SA his father took him to many national parks during his school holidays.
In 2003 Pugh left full time law to campaign for the protection of the environment, and specifically the Arctic. He now often addresses Heads of State and business leaders on the need to tackle climate change head on and the importance of a low carbon society.
Pugh has undertaken a series of swims to raise awareness about the effects of climate change. His swim at the North Pole in 2007 coincided with the lowest coverage of Arctic sea ice ever recorded. Pugh disagrees with recent modeling, which predicts that the Arctic will be ice free in the summer by 2080. After his swim he said, "From what I have seen, I think the Arctic will be largely free of summer sea ice within a decade."
Polar Defense Project
In 2008 Pugh founded the Polar Defense Project to campaign for greater protection for the Arctic and a reduction in tension between surrounding countries.
World Wide Fund for Nature
Pugh is also an Ambassador for the
World Wide Fund for NatureThe World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in the United States and Canada...
, the largest conservation NGO in the world.
Swimming
Pugh was the first person to complete a long distance swim at the
North PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface...
. He was also the first person to complete a long distance swim in all five oceans of the world (
AtlanticThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
,
IndianThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
,
PacificThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
,
ArcticThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest, and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions.
The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, although some...
and
SouthernThe Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean south of 60° S latitude. The International Hydrographic Organization has designated the Southern Ocean as an oceanic division encircling...
).
Pugh has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other swimmer in history. In an interview with Forbes he stated "between
Lynne CoxLynne Cox is an American long-distance open-water swimmer and writer. In 1971, she and her teammates were the first group of teenagers to complete the crossing of the Catalina Island Channel in California. She was always the slowest swimmer in her swim classes...
,
Martin StrelMartin Strel is a Slovenian long-distance swimmer, best known for swimming the entire length of various rivers. Strel holds successive Guinness World Records for swimming the Danube river, the Mississippi River, the Yangtze River, and the Amazon River. During his swims, he sleeps for 5 hours each...
and myself, we've hit all of the world's major landmarks. There's really nothing left."
.
Early swims
Pugh had his first real swimming lesson at the age of 17. One month later he swam from
Robben IslandRobben Island is an island in Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km² . It is flat and only a few metres above sea...
(where
Nelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, who held office from 1994–99. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing Umkhonto...
was imprisoned) to
Cape TownCape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many...
and shortly thereafter he swam across the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
. In 2002 he broke the record for the fastest time for swimming around
Robben IslandRobben Island is an island in Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km² . It is flat and only a few metres above sea...
.
He was the first person to swim around
Cape AgulhasCape Agulhas is on the geographic southern tip of Africa, and the official dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a major hazard on the traditional clipper route and is sometimes regarded as one of the great capes...
(the southern-most point in Africa), the
Cape of Good HopeThe Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of South Africa. There is a very common misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa and the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, but in fact the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas, about...
, and the
Cape PeninsulaThe Cape Peninsula is a generally rocky peninsula that juts out for 75 km into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope...
(a 100 km (62 mile) swim from
Cape TownCape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many...
to
MuizenbergMuizenberg is a beach-side suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast...
). Pugh was also the first person to swim across an African Great Lake, namely
Lake MalawiLake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the most southerly lake in the East African Rift valley system. The lake, third largest in Africa and eighth largest in the world, is situated between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
.
Cold water swims
After 2003 Pugh focused on pioneering swims in some of the coldest and most hostile waters of the world. All of them were undertaken in accordance with Channel Swimming Association rules, in just a
SpeedoSpeedo is a manufacturer of swimwear and accessories. The company was started by Alexander MacRae under the name of MacRae Hosiery Manufacturers in Bondi Beach, an eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia....
, cap and goggles. He became the first person to swim around the infamous
North CapeNorth Cape is a cape on the island of Magerøya in northern Norway, in the municipality of Nordkapp. Its 307 m high, steep cliff is often referred to as the northernmost point of Europe, located at , 2102.3 km from the North Pole. However, the neighbouring point Knivskjellodden is actually 1,457...
, the northern-most point in Europe. The following year he became the first person to swim down the entire length of
SognefjordThe Sognefjord is the largest fjord in Norway, and the second longest in the world, after Scoresby Sund on Greenland. Located in Sogn og Fjordane it stretches 205 km inland to the small village of Skjolden. The fjord takes its name from the traditional district of Sogn...
in Norway, a 204 km (127 mile) swim which took him 21 days to complete.
In 2005 he broke the world record for the farthest-north long distance swim by undertaking a 1 km (0.62 mile) swim at
80º NorthThe 80th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 80 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Arctic.Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 80° north passes through:-See also:*79th parallel north...
around Verlegenhuken, the northern-most cape in
SpitsbergenSpitsbergen is a Norwegian island, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The island of Spitsbergen covers approximately 39,044 km²...
. He followed that 5 months later by breaking
Lynne CoxLynne Cox is an American long-distance open-water swimmer and writer. In 1971, she and her teammates were the first group of teenagers to complete the crossing of the Catalina Island Channel in California. She was always the slowest swimmer in her swim classes...
's world record for the farthest-south long distance swim by undertaking a 1 km (0.62 mile) swim at 65º South at Petermann Island off the
Antarctic PeninsulaThe Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It extends from a line between Cape Adams and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands....
. On both expeditions Professor Tim Noakes, a sports scientist from the University of Cape Town, recorded Pugh's ability to raise his core body temperature by nearly 2 °C in anticipation of entering the freezing water. He coined the phrase "anticipatory thermo-genesis." This phenomenon had not been noted in any other human.
"Holy Grail" of swimming
In 2006 Lewis achieved the "Holy Grail" of swimming by becoming the first person to complete a long distance swim in every ocean of the world. He swam
- Across the English Channel
The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
(the Atlantic Ocean) in 1992
- Around the most northern point of the Island of Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is a Norwegian island, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The island of Spitsbergen covers approximately 39,044 km²...
(the Arctic Ocean) in 2005
- Across Whaler's Bay in Deception Island (Southern Ocean) in 2005
- Across Nelson Mandela Bay (Indian Ocean) in 2006 and
- From Manly Beach through the Sydney Heads to the Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre on Bennelong Point in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who in 2003 received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour...
(Pacific Ocean) in 2006
World Winter Swimming Championships
In 2006 Pugh challenged Russia's top cold water swimmers to a 500 metre race at the World Winter Swimming Championships in Finland. He easily won the gold medal, beating the silver medalist by over 100 metres and the bronze medalist by over 125 metres.
River Thames
In 2006, he became the first person to swim the entire length of the
River ThamesThe River Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading and Windsor....
, to raise awareness about the severe drought in England and the dangers of global warming. The 325 km (201 mile) swim took him 21 days to complete. The river had stopped flowing due to the drought, forcing Pugh to run the first 42 km (26 miles) of the river. While swimming through London, Pugh exited the water and made a visit to
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
at 10 Downing Street to call on the United Kingdom to move towards a low carbon economy. Shortly afterwards the Prime Minister introduced the Climate Change Bill to Parliament.
Maldives
In February 2007 Pugh became the first person to swim across the width of the
MaldivesThe Maldives , or Maldive Islands, officially Republic of Maldives, is an island country in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls stretching along north-south direction off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago...
. He undertook the swim to raise awareness about the effect of climate change on low lying islands in the world. The 140 km (87 mile) swim took 10 days to complete.
Geographic North Pole
In July 2007 Pugh undertook the first long distance swim at the Geographic North Pole. The 1 km (0.62 mile) swim, in minus 1.7 °C water, took 18 minutes and 50 seconds to complete. Jørgen Amundsen, a relative of Norwegian explorer
Roald AmundsenRoald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912. He was also the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage...
, paced Pugh by skiing alongside him during the swim.
Awards
- 2009 - Best Use of Sport to Protect the Environment Award - Beyond Sport Awards
- 2008 - Out There Adventurer of the Year
- 2007 - Fellow of The Explorers Club, New York
- 2007 - Paul Harris Fellowship Award by Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. It is a secular organization open to all persons regardless of race, color, creed or political preference. There are more than 32,000 clubs and over 1.2 million members world-wide. The...
- 2007 - Sports Adventurer of the Year Award by the French Sports Academy
- 2006 - Freedom of the City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
External links