Thank you to Seaford Russell Jr., of the Cayman Compass, for this lovely piece about my most recent swim, a 23.88 mile circumnavigation around the island of Little Cayman.

After swimming 24 miles, encountering everything from jellyfish to sharks and nearing dehydration in the waters off Little Cayman, Sydne Didier said the experience was all worth it.

Didier, 53, from Massachusetts, pushed her body to its limits with the desire to spread awareness on climate change.

“I’ve seen coral change, rising sea temperatures, and I think we can try to draw more attention to those issues, to fight climate change,” Didier told the Compass.

She commenced her journey at 5:30am on Wednesday, 11 Sept., with hopes of finishing by 6pm the same day, but the swim took longer than expected.

A small crew steered her to finish the 23.88 miles just after 8pm, totalling 14 hours and 15 minutes in calm, though at times rough, waters.

Her swim from dawn till dusk made her the first woman to complete the route around Little Cayman – an island she says she has come to appreciate.

“What I saw with Little Cayman is the emphasis on the natural environment, and it certainly didn’t only meet but surpassed my expectations,” she said. “One of the things that is important with these swims, especially in warm water, it will become more challenging in the years to come because of climate change.”

Her mission to bring awareness to the climate change issue is echoed by many activists throughout the world, and here in Cayman, as the oceans continue to feel the effects of rising global temperatures.

Englishman Oly Rush also used swimming to highlight the global issue of plastic pollution, taking just under 37 hours to circle Grand Cayman in 2022 to raise money for Plastic Free Cayman.

Heat stroke

Didier said she was required to drink water more frequently during her swim because she was becoming dehydrated due to the heat.

“I had two challenges in particular; the heat was just extraordinary, the water was 90 degrees, which is a lot for your body to tolerate,” she said.

Earlier this year, the Cayman Islands National Weather Service announced the nation’s hottest June ever, reaching 93.2°F/34.0°C.

Two months before that, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared that the planet is experiencing a global coral bleaching event for the second time within the last 10 years, with heat stress being a major contributor.

The last two years have brought little ease to the phenomenon of coral bleaching. In fact, 2023 was the hottest year ever documented since global records began in 1850, according to NOAA.

“I could have gotten heat stroke or become dehydrated with how hot it was,” Didier said, noting that water and slices of oranges kept her going.

The journey’s wildlife encounters

Outside of the hot temperature, sporadic stomach cramping, and facing mental battles, Didier said she had loads to enjoy while swimming, especially when it came to the sea animals – well, some of them.

“I get excited with everything that I see; I feel like a little kid when I see a green sea turtle,” she said. “I saw a small shark early in the swim, but it was not interested in me and that’s what I typically get.

“People always ask me about sharks all the time after my swims and I say, ‘What about them?’ They don’t bother me, and I don’t bother them.”

One fish that was more than interested in Didier was a curious remora that decided he wanted to be up close and personal for the swim around Little.

“It attached itself to my knee,” Didier recalled as she laughed, adding that the remora wasn’t a bother. “He just wanted to catch a ride. Life is really short, and I want to have as many experiences as I can, and these swims make me happy. I enjoy them.”

The hitchhiking remora was one of a variety of fish seen throughout the 14-hour journey, but not all encounters were as enjoyable when they breached Didier’s personal space.

“I got to have a not-so-pleasant experience with jellyfish but it’s their environment so that’s what comes with it,” she said. “I have to respect them, but the jellyfish was a nice bonus, as if it wasn’t hard enough,” she added, sarcastically.

Outside of preserving the environment and protecting sea life, Didier owns Swimcrest – a programme that helps people learn to swim. The idea behind her programme is having people push themselves beyond their fears.

She started swimming at 26 and has been participating in long-distance open-water competitions since the ’90s, in addition to completing circumnavigations around islands like St. John in the US Virgin Islands, and Culebra Island in Puerto Rico – becoming the first woman to complete both those swims.

Now, after adding Little Cayman to her resume of historic circumnavigations, she hopes that other long-distance swimmers looking for a challenge will choose the Cayman Islands.

Sydne Didier leaves the water just after 8pm on Wednesday 11 Sept., following a 14-hour swim.

“There are so many people in the world but there are only a few that can say that they are the first to do something,” she said. “I was hoping that I could spark more interest to have Little Cayman as a destination for marathon swims.

“I would encourage other swimmers to try it; even if they didn’t do a circumnavigation, they could do a relay. It’s really an ideal destination and can be known for much more than diving and snorkelling.”

As for a return to Cayman, she said that is definitely on the cards.