Ben Oshel Bridgers

Swimming the Hellespont Ben Oshel Bridgers

Here is the story of a man who never forgot the lessons of his high school English teacher. His memory of her inspires him to attempt his boyhood 'impossible dream' at the age of sixty - to swim the Hellespont. In homage to his teacher and in imitation of Lord Byron and Richard Haliburton, the author explores the romantic history and mythology of the Hellespont, then trains and travels to modern Turkey to swim the dangerous strait himself. This story about pursuing a dream is also about youth and maturity, about past and present, about success and failure and what they have in common. Here is a poignant, inspiring tale of the effect of a teacher on the life of a student for more than forty years, a story that will make the reader begin their own short list of the things they most want to do in life.