Activist Lewis Pugh Tells What It Was Like to Swim the Waters Off Antarctica

— -- An environmental activist made a death-defying swim to draw attention to the important ecosystems in the frigid waters off Antarctica.

Lewis Pugh completed a 350-meter swim in Antarctica’s Bay of Whales earlier this month, setting the record for the southern-most swim. Pugh, an endurance swimmer and activist, is a patron of the oceans for the United Nations Environment Programme.

"The Bay of Whales is the most terrifying place I've ever swum,” Pugh said in a statement after the swim. “During the swim, a wave broke over my support boat. I took another stroke and when I looked up, the seawater had frozen on my crew. They were caked in ice instantly. That’s how cold it was."