Swimming from SP to RJ: group encounters whales during 32-hour crossing A swimming crossing between the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro brought eight swimmers face to face with some of the challenges of the open sea: a night of almost total darkness, whales appearing close to the group and even a point of light that accompanied them for part of the journey. The expedition was carried out at the end of May between Ilhabela, on the North Coast of São Paulo, and Ilha Grande, in Angra dos Reis (RJ). The route was completed in around 32 hours of relay on the water. The story gained repercussion after a video published by the participants went viral on social media. ✅ Click here to follow the g1 Vale do Paraíba and region channel on WhatsApp The idea for the challenge came from a conversation between friends. According to swimmer and coach Marta Izo, the group already had experience in water ultramarathons and decided to create an unprecedented expedition between the two islands. "I always wanted to do a challenge swimming from Rio to São Paulo or from São Paulo to Rio. When an athlete came to talk to me about a crossing, we put our ideas together and thought: why not do it between Ilhabela and Ilha Grande?", he said. The direction of the crossing was defined only in the days leading up to the start, after analyzing sea currents, winds and weather conditions. Swimming from SP to RJ: group finds whales and records mysterious light in the sky during 32-hour crossing Personal file Whales and night of tension During the course, swimmers encountered jellyfish, dolphins and whales. According to Marta, the presence of the animals was already expected, as the crossing took place during the whale migration season to the Brazilian coast. What surprised the group was the proximity of the animals. "We expected to find mainly whales, because it's the season. But we didn't expect them to be as close as they were," he said. For the swimmer, the most difficult moment of the crossing happened during the night. In addition to the wind, which increased during the early hours of the morning, the athletes had to deal with the tension caused by the whales, which appeared for the first time as the sun began to set. "We all swam very tensely at night. The whale appeared at the beginning of dusk and, in the middle of the night, it appeared much closer behind another athlete. Each stroke was an emotion", he recalled. According to her, at times it was possible to hear the animals breathing, but not see them. "At several moments we heard the sound of her breathing. But we didn't know where she was because it was the night of the new moon. It was incredibly pitch black," he said. From SP to RJ by swimming: group records mysterious light in the sky during 32-hour crossing Mysterious light in the sky In addition to encounters with marine animals, a curious episode caught the attention of participants during the early hours of the morning, near Ubatuba (SP) and Paraty (RJ). According to Marta, a point of light appeared in the sky and seemed to accompany the group during part of the crossing. "It was a very dark night, a new moon. And a little dot appeared and followed us. We don't know what it is," he said. The moment was recorded on video by the participants - see above. "It's very close. I'm talking about a UFO, I'm not kidding. That's crazy, boy. For those who were scared of whales now, I can't explain that. Nature doesn't explain that!", say the athletes in the video when reacting to the light in the sky. Boat broke down near arrival When there were around 22 kilometers left for the group to reach Ilha Grande, an unexpected problem placed another obstacle in the way. The sailboat that accompanied the swimmers throughout the expedition had a mechanical failure and had to be replaced by a smaller vessel, which was kept as emergency support. "We had approximately 22 kilometers to go when the sailboat broke down. Good thing we had a fast support boat and it was decided together to finish the challenge on it", said Marta. Despite the setback, the athletes managed to complete the crossing. From SP to RJ swimming: group finds whales and records 'mysterious' light in the sky during 32-hour crossing Personal file See more news from Vale do Paraíba and the Bragantina region