Lewis Pugh

"A thought came across my mind: if things go pear-shaped on this swim, how long will it take for my frozen body to sink the four and a half kilometers to the bottom of the ocean?"

"There is nothing more powerful than the made-up mind."

"We made fracking a civil rights issue. Because that is what it is. We all have a right to a healthy environment and to clean water. And so do our children."

"Unless our children have been into nature, it is unlikely they will care about it when they grow up."

"Everywhere water is under threat. It is our most precious resource. And there is no alternative to it."

"The right to have our environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations is our most important human right."

"Sometimes the moments that challenge us the most, define us."

"The English Channel is the perfect stretch of water to truly test the human mind."

"These are areas of unparalleled natural beauty to be handed to our children undisturbed. We are merely custodians. You would not build a toll plaza and an administration block in the Grand Canyon or next to the Victoria Falls or within any other World Heritage Site.”"

"A healthy ocean is an ocean with sharks. Take away an apex predator and it’s like removing the lions from the Serengeti. It won’t be long before the gazelle, zebras and wildebeest have multiplied and eaten all the grass. And when the land is laid bare the grazers will starve to death. Predators are crucial for a healthy ecosystem – be it on land or in the water."

"An estimated 100 million sharks are fished out of the world's oceans every year. Take a minute to mull over that figure. That's over a quarter of a million animals each day … If this number of humans were killed in a year, it would be called genocide. There is a name for what is happening in our oceans today: it is ecocide."

"When we set aside MPAs we protect the marine habitat. When we do that, fish stocks recover. Which supports food security. When we create MPAs, we protect the coral, which protects the shoreline and provides shelter for fish. Marine Protected Areas are places people want to visit for ecotourism, so it's good for the economy. It has, if you'll pardon the pun, a ripple effect. Marine Protected Areas are good for the world economy, for the health of the oceans, for every person living on this planet."

"For us to find lasting peace between people, we must first make peace with nature."

"I always feel nostalgic when I disembark (off a ship). It's not that I don't like land. I just love being at sea."

"To succeed as a pioneer you need two things: ignorance and purpose. Ignorance of just how tough the path ahead will be. And a driving purpose, which keeps you going nonetheless."

"Most Channel crossings are won or lost before the first stroke is even taken."

"Never, ever did I think that there would be a debate in this arid country about which was more important – gas or water. We can survive without gas. We cannot live without water."

"Look around the world. Wherever you damage the environment, you have conflict. We have had enough conflict in [South Africa] – now is the time for peace."

"Now is the time for change. We cannot drill our way out of the energy crisis. The era of fossil fuels is over. We must invest in renewable energy. And we must not delay."

"The right to have our environment protected for the benefit of our generation and the benefit of future generations is our most crucial human right. I do not say that lightly - especially given South Africa’s past."

"We cannot afford the luxury of cynicism or even pessimism in our reaction to climate change. The situation is too serious. We must tackle it head on – and immediately."

"I have seen what the challenge of the impossible does to some athlete's minds - once their minds accept that the impossible is achievable, their bodies soon follow."

"Afterwards, I saw a visible transformation in Pugh, and was reminded again of the power of a single event to change a sportsperson's life radically. I have witnessed this twice in my career - once when Joel Stransky kicked the winning goal in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, and now with Pugh's North Pole swim. Both became more complete and confident people after achieving such sporting milestones."

"Lewis Pugh is a maritime lawyer by training and a pursuer of dreams by inclination. There isn't an ocean he hasn't wanted to swim, or a mountain he hasn't wan't to climb, and it's no surprise that he quit his well-paid lawyer's job in the City of London for a more interesting life."

"He just pulls on his Speedos and gets on with it. It's Britishly mad."