The Old Man in the Sea conquers Saipan

[I]“Consult not your fears, but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you have tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” – Pope John XXIII[/I]

Having a goal to swim around Saipan would be a lifetime accomplishment for anyone, but for 70-year-old Jim Bell, it is just one of many adventures he has decided to tackle during his golden years. After starting his journey to swim around 45 miles of Saipan’s reef on July 4, 2008, Jim Bell completed his last leg on Saturday, Sept. 20.

This event was just a warm-up for a much more dangerous swim he plans from Papua New Guinea to Australia. Jim wanted to condition his body and get a natural tan so he’ll be able to endure the 80-mile distance as he swims to scattered islands between the two shores. However, the Saipan swim took a little longer than planned, so if he went now he would be swimming during the saltwater crocodile’s mating season. Besides the possibility of interrupting amorous crocodiles, there are also deadly box jellyfish to contend with.

During his swim around the island, he saw numerous black-tip and white-tip sharks. When we witnessed him jumping from a rock into the pounding waves at Jeffery’s Beach, we saw birds immediately come from their resting places to make diving swoops and follow him. We counted about 20 birds that probably thought he was going to make a kill for them to grab a morsel or become the kill. Jim said he saw about six black-tips that day, but they were more curious than aggressive. His 4.9-mile swim to Forbidden Island traversed several beaches where many have lost their lives to the sea, but after almost seven hours of swimming, Jim emerged with a fatigued smile.

Ironically, Jim’s most dangerous stretch was in the lagoon close to Managaha Island. He had two close calls that day when a small boat nearly hit him, and he was pushed aside by the wave from the bow of a large vessel. After those incidents, he started swimming with a balloon attached to his belt by a string, so he could be easily spotted. That practice had been abandoned by the time we took him to Jeffery’s Beach because he said the balloons kept popping.

Jim’s inspiration to swim around Saipan probably came from a goal he accomplished 28 years ago. He swam around the entire reef and shoreline of Guam while he was serving in the Navy. Now, with Saipan under his belt he has ambitions to swim around the islands of Tinian and Rota while waiting for the crocs to settle down before he dives into the waters off of New Guinea.

What motivates a person like Jim Bell to attempt goals that most people would not dream of trying? After his swim around Guam, he retired from the Navy so he could swim the channel between Saipan and Tinian in 1981. The swim to Tinian took over 12 hours, due to a storm and uncooperative currents. After that swim, he says that his life was pretty ordinary and he missed the life of adventure, so he decided he would swim back across the channel from Tinian to Saipan on his 70th birthday, June 9, 2008.

Now, most—make that all—people would take the ferry from Saipan to Tinian to get ready for an island swim, but not Jim Bell. He told us he plans to cross the channel once again from Saipan. The target date for that swim is Saturday, Oct. 4.

Just as Michael Phelps accomplished the almost impossible goal of eight gold medals in a single Olympic, Jim Bell has accomplished something that no other person has been recorded to do, nor will probably ever accomplish in the future. He swam the channel both ways, swam completely around Guam and Saipan, and will make a third swim across the channel prior to going around Tinian and Rota. Oh, and for good measure he plans to swim around Goat Island before he leaves Tinian.

What makes all great leaders and successful people alike is their ability and tenacity to accomplish a goal or achieve a vision. However, there are many people who live quiet lives of desperation because they simply have given up or never had a goal in the first place—except to just survive another day. Thanks Jim for reminding us that it only takes a decision and commitment to achieve whatever you set out to accomplish.

[I]“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream.” —Benjamin Elijah Mays[/I]

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[I]Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is a partner with BizResults, LLC (www.bizresults.org). They can be contacted at biz_results@yahoo.com.
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