{"id":89219,"date":"2018-08-30T12:09:34","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T10:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=89219"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:04","slug":"deze-alumnus-zegde-zijn-baan-op-om-het-kanaal-over-te-zwemmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/08\/30\/deze-alumnus-zegde-zijn-baan-op-om-het-kanaal-over-te-zwemmen\/","title":{"rendered":"This alumnus took a sabbatical to swim the English Channel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ignacio Vaccaro<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The only thing Ignacio Vaccaro needs to worry about is the weather. The wind might sabotage his intention of swimming across the channel at some point next week. This is because only a limited number of swimmers are permitted in the waters separating England and France. If the weather conditions are too poor in your allocated period, you might have to wait a year for your next opportunity. \u201cI am definitely hoping that\u2019s not a decision I\u2019ll need to make, even if the only reason is that I\u2019m a selfish athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately for him, the weather forecast looks good for the time being. \u201cI\u2019m properly prepared and I\u2019m feeling better than ever\u201d, reports the 38-year-old Vaccaro, born and raised in Argentina. I know I\u2019m ready because I\u2019ve already done a test-run from Medemblik to Stavoren \u2013 swimming for seven hours in a force 5 wind. I was able to complete the swim and I survived.\u201d<\/p>\n

Platinum card holder<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018I felt like I was living at the office; sometimes it felt like my head was going to explode\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

At some point in 2016 he\u2019d had enough. Working at least 30 weeks a year away from home, work weeks of at least 50 hours, sometimes even 80 hours. As a KLM platinum card holder he knew pretty much all the airports like the back of his hand but was rarely home. And then there\u2019s his one-year-old son, which made his decision much easier. Ignacio Vaccaro resigns from his job at BTS Consultancy \u2013 where he had been employed since obtaining his doctorate at ERIM in 2010. He gets a job closer to home in Amsterdam working for one of his clients, Liberty Global, and cautiously takes up open water swimming.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, his new job ends up taking up just as much of his time as his previous job, so it\u2019s not long before Vaccaro also bids this employer farewell and the swimming extravaganza can begin. \u201cI felt like I was living at the office; sometimes it felt like my head was going to explode. I realised that something really had to change and luckily my wife agreed, because she too could see how miserable I was at work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outdoor<\/h2>

Vaccaro reminisces: \u201cWhen I was still working on my doctorate, I didn\u2019t realise that my quality of life was quite good. I had time to go swimming, running, time for recreation. But once I entered the world of consultancy, the only thing in my life was work, work, work. I had four weeks of holidays each year but never even had the time to go on holidays. In those days I spoke more and more often about long-distance swimming with a colleague. He had already swum the Channel and we decided to go for an early morning outdoor swim together a couple of times a week. At that time I immediately registered for swimming the Channel. Not because I had a definite plan, but because the waiting list is at least two years and you never know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Een lijst van afbeeldingen<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t
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