EDITOR’S NOTE: In a related story about a great ocean crossing, in 1983, Joey Skaggs windsurfed from Hawaii to California. The crowd cheered and a video crew in a zodiac boat followed a body double as he sailed out of the bay into the ocean on the way to California. Once his accomplice was out of sight, the reporters left. By that time, unbeknownst to them, he had successfully rounded the point and made his way to a local bar to rendezvous with Skaggs and friends, while the press swallowed the story hook, line and sinker. The story hit the UPI wire service and was picked up all over the country.
Woman Who ‘Swam Atlantic’ Didn’t Really
AOL / Wire Services
February 12, 2009
Story Doesn’t Hold Water
News agencies reported last weekend that Jennifer Figge, 56, swam more than 2,000 miles across sometimes choppy seas to become the first woman to ever swim across the Atlantic Ocean. It would have been an amazing accomplishment — if only it were true. It turns out Figge only spent a small fraction of the journey in the water.
Read the whole story here and here.
photo: metro.co.uk