A RIVERINA man is the only Australian on board to support a world record attempt for swimming the Pacific Ocean.
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Tyral Dalitz, 29, who hails from Oaklands, joined the crew of the support boat for The Longest Swim challenge in England after Christmas.
French-born long distance swimmer Ben Lecomte, who gained credit for being the first man to swim across the Atlantic Ocean in 1998, is preparing to swim from Tokyo to San Francisco.
Ty reached London in November after a two-and-a-half year journey from Australia without catching a single flight.
His Lost Aussies – No Air To Everywhere travel blog has captured the imagination of people from all corners of the world.
“It is an amazing opportunity which I am pretty stoked to be involved in,” he said of his latest venture.
“They found me through my blog page and were impressed by my achievements.
“They want me to sail with them from the UK to America, through the Panama Canal, then to Tokyo across the North Pacific Ocean, then turn around and spend six months slowly sailing back to America again.”
Ty’s parents Michael and Kathy Dalitz, of Oaklands, and younger brother Hayden, of Berrigan, were proud Ty had stayed his course.
An Albury-Wodonga Health employee, Mrs Dalitz said The Longest Swim venture was an amazing opportunity for him.
She said it was the first citizen science expedition of its type.
“We’re very proud of him and we’ve been able to live through his travels,” she said.
“Now on to the next venture – the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
“Being a nomad for the last few years will help Ty cope quite well with the conditions on the boat and being out of reach at times.”
Ty only learnt to sail before he left Darwin bound for Indonesia in July 2014.
With a Bachelor of Science (Biological Sciences), Ty said the voyage was not only a world record attempt but also would bring awareness to the state of the oceans and the effects humans were having on them.
“It is something I am passionate about,” he said.
“But it has added yet another year on to my journey, meaning I still probably won't be home for another three years, I'm guessing.
“Eventually one day I'll be back to the Riverina.”