Tag Archives: swimming

Disease Did Not Stop Marine Swimming Alcatraz To San Fran Blindfolded

Shackled but making waves- Jay Platt swimming from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco with his hands and feet tied.
Shackled but making waves- Jay Platt swimming from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco with his hands and feet tied.

For as long as he could remember, Jay Platt wanted to be a  U.S. Marine, and for nearly 15 years, he lived that dream. But in 1998, a rare condition called von Hippel Lindau syndrome (VHL), attacked his eyes, brain, spine and kidneys, forcing his retirement from the service.

“Before VHL I pretty much felt untouchable – until I started  having symptoms and the eventual diagnosis,” he says.

"I was scared, confused and angry" Jay Platt explains some of the emotions that he has learned to conquer.
“I was scared, confused and angry” Jay Platt explains some of the emotions that he has learned to conquer.

“I was scared, confused and angry for a number of years; I  couldn’t understand why God would do this to me. I went from feeling  invulnerable to officially being considered handicapped.”

After a personal journey of acceptance, Platt re-calibrated his sense of purpose by accepting challenges many world-class athletes wouldn’t  consider. Along with a record-breaking Mississippi swim while blindfolded,  handcuffed and shackled, he swam from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco with his  hands and feet tied, and he was one of fewer than 300 people to hike the more  than 2,100-mile southbound Appalachian Trail.

Platt, who is the subject of the new documentary, “Living  Unstoppable,” (www.LivingUnstoppable.com), explains his  transformation and how others might apply the lessons of his journey to their  own lives:

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The motivation of “can’t” … Something is triggered in people when they’re told they can’t do something. Those who want to do what they “can’t” eventually find a way if they’re motivated and determined. “I don’t care who you are – everybody goes through something in life; nobody gets through unscathed,” he says. “And everyone, at some point, faces something they believe they can’t do – but want very much. If you haven’t yet, you will, and coming to terms with it will be a process.” Use it as motivation for living life to the fullest, and let it show you how beautiful our time on Earth really is, he says.

The lesson of the severely handicapped little girl: Platt experienced a long period of despair, hopelessness and rage against the universe. One day while at the park, he heard the pure joy in the laughter of a severely handicapped girl who was being pushed in a wheelchair by her mother. “ ‘Listen to the birds, Momma,’ I heard her say – she was just so happy to experience that simple pleasure,” he says. “That has stayed with me ever since; if that little girl could get past her suffering and appreciate singing birds, then I could do much better.”

A promise to contribute to the greater good: The onset of his VHL symptoms, which included vision problems in his left eye and disorientation, was a very scary period for Platt. During this period he made a promise to himself and God to devote his life to others if he survived. He has kept that promise – his Appalachian Trail hike alone raised $109,000 for charity.

You are still you; don’t let tragedy totally define you: While Platt is officially retired from the USMC, he is still the same guy who fully lived a proud life as a Marine for a decade and a half. While how you respond to hardship says much about one’s character, you don’t have to remain psychically stuck in the worst part of your life by identifying most with a weakness. Use a handicap, for example, for what it’s worth – something that helps you strive for significance and fulfillment in life.  For the Silo, Ginny Grimsley. 

About Jay Platt
Jay Platt was medically retired from the Marine Corps in  1998 after suffering complications from von Hippel Lindau syndrome (VHL), a genetic disease that resulted in brain and spinal tumors, kidney cancer, and the loss of his left eye. When told his future would be considerably dimmer than his past, Platt set out to rebuild himself physically, mentally and spiritually, and to challenge himself by setting demanding physical goals. He was one of fewer than 300 people to have hiked the more than 2,100-mile southbound Appalachian Trail; one of three to swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco with hands and feet tied; and the only person to swim across the Mississippi River while blindfolded, handcuffed and shackled. The proceeds from his adventures and sales of his documentary benefit non-profits, including the VHL Family Alliance.

Rankings Of One Day Cost At Over 300 Beaches Worldwide

Amsterdam, Netherlands,Online travel specialists, TravelBird, have released their annual Beach Price Index, featuring more than 300 seaside locations from 70 countries around the globe. On a year-to-year basis, the price of holiday beaches can change substantially when you take into account factors such as currency fluctuation and inflation. As a company which prides itself on inspiring travelers, TravelBird ranked the beaches in order to provide holidaymakers with the information they need to make a smart decision when booking.

TravelBird first examined an extensive catalogue of the world’s most popular beaches, before reducing this to a final shortlist of just over 300 locations, ranked on the cost of spending a day at each. To calculate their affordability, the price of five essentials were then researched for each destination: the cost of a bottle of sun cream (200 ml), a bottle of water (500 ml), a beer (33 cl bottle), lunch (including drink and dessert for one person), and an ice cream. The sum of these five essentials determined the final affordability ranking of each seaside location. All prices were calculated by standardizing the sizes of products, and with monetary transactions true to exchange rates on 1st June 2017.

Steve Klooster

“It is very interesting for travelers who are planning their trip to see how much the price of spending a day at the beach varies across the world. There are many useful tips in here. One to easily forget, currency fluctuations can make a big difference in the actual cost of your holiday, so keep those in mind. For example, beaches in the UK have become almost 10% more affordable for continental European visitors due to the decline of the pound after the Brexit referendum.” Said TravelBird CEO Steven Klooster. “Also, if you are keen on enjoying local food on the beach, pick Vietnam for instance, where you can enjoy delicious local food on the beach that is very affordable. Another one: in some places you pay a lot for sunscreen, up to 3 times more than you would pay in The Netherlands, so make sure you take some with you!“

The study reveals the 10 most expensive beaches are:

#

Beach

Country

Sunscreen

Water

Beer

Ice-cream

Lunch

Total (USD)

1

Kristiansand Beach

Norway

$21.58

$2.65

$8.48

$4.53

$27.37

$64.61

2

Huk Beach

Norway

$20.67

$2.97

$8.83

$5.09

$24.38

$61.94

3

Solastranda

Norway

$20.14

$2.83

$7.63

$4.71

$25.02

$60.33

4

Mareto Plage Publique

French Polynesia

$21.96

$2.01

$7.30

$3.99

$23.43

$58.69

5

La Plage de Maui

French Polynesia

$20.88

$2.01

$7.49

$3.53

$24.49

$58.40

6

Åkrasanden

Norway

$22.26

$2.57

$8.47

$4.24

$20.44

$57.98

7

Hamresanden

Norway

$22.97

$2.39

$7.42

$4.35

$20.01

$57.14

8

Ribersborg Beach

Sweden

$17.38

$2.12

$6.79

$3.31

$25.73

$55.33

9

Anse Vata

New Caledonia

$15.33

$1.82

$7.42

$2.28

$28.29

$55.14

10

Anse Georgette

Seychelles

$26.63

$0.94

$6.89

$1.24

$17.66

$53.36

Most expensive beach according to study- Kristiansand Beach, Norway. image: kristiansand.norway.com

In contrast, the study reveals the 10 most affordable beaches are:

#

Beach

Country

Sunscreen

Water

Beer

Ice-cream

Lunch

Total (USD)

310

Cua Dai Beach

Vietnam

$1.95

$0.50

$2.04

$0.88

$7.81

$13.18

309

City Beach

Vietnam

$2.32

$0.33

$2.14

$0.88

$8.23

$13.90

308

Long Beach

Vietnam

$2.57

$0.43

$2.09

$0.99

$8.34

$14.42

307

Marsa Nayzak

Egypt

$6.61

$0.21

$1.96

$0.83

$6.83

$16.44

306

Sunken City

Egypt

$7.12

$0.20

$2.02

$0.84

$6.64

$16.82

305

Varkala Beach

India

$3.98

$0.37

$3.32

$0.73

$9.21

$17.61

304

Benaulim Beach

India

$4.65

$0.31

$3.20

$0.61

$9.15

$17.92

303

Palolem Beach

India

$4.65

$0.24

$3.13

$0.67

$9.52

$18.21

302

Cavelossim Beach

India

$4.65

$0.37

$3.41

$0.83

$9.15

$18.41

301

Sharm El-Naga Bay

Egypt

$7.12

$0.21

$1.96

$0.84

$8.44

$18.57

Most affordable beach according to study- Cua Dai Beach, Vietnam. image: vietnamguidenews.com

Click here for the full results: https://travelbird.nl/beach-price-index-2017/

4 Canadian beaches appear in the Index, with the following results:

#

Beach

Region

Sunscreen

Water

Beer

Ice-cream

Lunch

Total (USD)

118

Grand Beach

Manitoba

$9.15

$1.61

$3.59

$2.89

$20.90

$38.14

121

Brady’s Beach

British Columbia

$9.28

$1.74

$3.65

$3.00

$20.00

$37.67

136

Wasaga Beach

Ontario

$9.15

$1.70

$3.59

$3.38

$19.08

$36.90

149

Parlee Beach

New Brunswick

$8.87

$1.66

$3.57

$2.95

$18.87

$35.92

Grand Beach, Manitoba. image: travelmanitoba.com

Other findings from the study include:

Sun cream is most expensive when bought from beaches in The Seychelles, costing $26.63 for a 200ml bottle. In comparison, Cua Dai Beach in Vietnam has the world’s least expensive sun cream, costing just $1.95 per bottle.

The seaside location with the most expensive bottle of water is Huk Beach in Norway, costing $2.97 for a 500ml bottle. The beach with the least expensive bottle of water is Sunken City in Egypt, where the same sized bottle costs just $0.20.

The beach with the most expensive beer globally is Huk Beach in Norway, where a 33cl bottle costs $8.83. In contrast, Soma Bay in Egypt is the seaside destination with the least expensive beer, available for just $0.63.

Norway’s Huk Beach also has the world’s most expensive ice creams, at $5.09 each. Egypt’s El Gouna is the beach with the least expensive ice creams in the world, costing just $0.52.

West Palm Beach in the American state of Florida has the world’s most expensive seaside lunch, costing $28.61 for one person. Egypt’s El Gouna is the beach with the most affordable lunches, available for just $5.63.

About our friends at TravelBird: TravelBird is an online travel company offering a curated collection of holiday and travel experiences – from short inspirational breaks to international get-aways. TravelBird’s passionate local travel advisors work directly with tour operators across the world to offer a selection of travel experiences that invite travellers to discover something new and immerse themselves in different cultures. For more information, please visit: https://travelbird.nl

Methodology:

The study has 310 of the most visited beaches in 70 countries based on local tourism board numbers and data from the UNWTO.  

Total Price = $ Sunscreen + $ Water + $ Beer + $ Ice-cream +$ Lunch

Sunscreen costs calculated by taking an average cost from a store in local resort/hotel, a hostel and local pharmacy or supermarket (all where available). We searched for SPF 30, 200 ml.

Lunch costs calculated by taking full meal cost, including a drink and dessert, for one person from a walking distance of maximum 10 minutes from the beach or the closest establishments to it (largely within tourist areas), outlets include hotels and restaurants.

Beer costs were calculated by taking an average of the biggest local beer brand along with the retail cost of Heineken, Budweiser, Becks, Guinness and Fosters at local prices, where available. Where sizes were not available, calculations were undertaken to make serving sizes equal.

Water calculations were found by taking the three largest local brands and calculating an average of these.

Ice-cream costs calculated by taking an average prepackaged branded ice-cream price in the capital city of each country and applying consumer produce cost differences to each area, where applicable.  For the Silo, Ricky Sutton.

Featured image- Wasaga Beach, Ontario courtesy of expedia.com

Take This Quiz And Find The Right Exercise Type For You

It can be hard to choose the right exercise regime for you. On top of the time constraints of modern life, the sheer number of options is enough to confuse most of us.

Whether you’re a lone wolf, a team player or looking to become truly zen – this will set you on the right course to fulfilling your fitness needs.

Our friends at gapmedics.com have put together a quiz which identifies which style of exercise matches your personality.


Come On Summer! We’ve Got Your List Of Canada’s Cleanest, Greenest Beaches

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More Blue Flags
will fly in Canada this year

Canadians will be able to visit more clean and eco-friendly beaches and marinas across the country this summer. A record 27 beaches and eight marinas in Canada have earned the Blue Flag—a world-renowned eco-certification for beaches and marinas.

The latest beaches to fly the flag are Moonlight Beach in Sudbury, Ont. and Outlet Beach at Ontario’s Sandbanks Provincial Park. Colchester Harbour Marina in the Town of Essex, Ont. will also raise the Blue Flag for the first time this year.

The winners of our eco-journalism competition are … We’re pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 YRE Canada Eco-Journalism Competition for Youth. First place winners will have their work published by Alternatives Journal and will go on to compete in the international Young Reporters for the Environment Competition, hosted by the Foundation for Environmental Education.

Take a look at the winning entries.

Ask Canada to improve
toxic chemical regulation
For too long, harmful chemicals like triclosan and BPA have been allowed in consumer products despite growing scientific evidence on their health and environmental effects. That’s why the Canadian Environmental Protection Act needs to be updated and strengthened to speed up the process for phasing out and banning toxic chemicals. Take action!
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27 beaches and 8 marinas in Canada will fly the Blue Flag this year. Find one near you.

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27 beaches and 8 marinas in Canada will fly the Blue Flag this year. Find one near you.

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