Briton Ben Hooper postpones expedition to swim from Senegal to Brazil

British swimmer Ben Hooper has indefinitely postponed his attempt to swim across the Atlantic ocean from Senegal to Brazil.

The 38-year-old who began his attempt in Senegal some 33 days ago wrote on his Facebook page that due to some technical problems, he had postponed the attempt.

Hooper has in the past 33 days swam a distance of 87 miles, having lost 15 days to bad weather, medical and technical problems he wrote on his page.

He noted that his support boat sustained heavy damage during storms at adding that the damage has been severe enough to warrant a reappraisal of the expedition.

“Thursday 15th December 2016, we were subjected to our fifth day of Atlantic storms as a result of which the expedition support vessel the sailing catamaran Big Blue suffered damage to her steering and standing rigging,” Hooper wrote on Facebook.

“Unfortunately the damage has been severe enough to warrant a reappraisal of the expedition,” he added.

Postponing the expedition Hooper added was “in the interest of the safety of all souls on-board Big Blue” adding they will “sail directly to Natal in Brazil via the shortest route”.

“Continuing to support the expedition with a vessel carrying known faults would not be in the interest of best maritime practice and professional seamanship,” he added.

Hooper a former military policeman has been training for the challenge since 2013.

The swim has however suffered several delays and in November three crew members dropped out before the planned start.

Hooper was hoping to use the event to raise a million pounds for charity.