“I didn’t know I would get seasick,” said Fong, who has already raised HK$5 million and estimates the swim will take between 12 and 14 hours and about 31,500 arm pulls. “And I lost my direction, the waves were a lot. And then I puked, I think I puked because of the heat, and it was in the Chinese newspapers that I puked four times in a row – it was an entertainment headline the next day.”

Fong said that wasn’t even the worst. Although he has long had the nickname “Little Flying Fish”, the first time he got out of the sea after he had finished, his face and tongue had swollen up from the saltwater, and he had a headache due to dehydration.

“I thought seawater would be more buoyant,” he added with a chuckle. “So now every time before I swim I also take a pill for seasickness. I underestimated the ocean.”

Fong has been an ambassador for the local charity since 2007. It is committed to bringing clean water to impoverished areas in Nepal, Cambodia and China.

Fong recently opened the Hong Kong Swimming Academy for children, which teaches courses out of various schools, and initially started training for his island loop last June.

Fong admits he had packaged up swimming as part of his past at that point in his life, content to rest on a resume that includes two Hong Kong records in the 200m backstroke (2:05.47) and 400m individual medley (4:29.02) in Sydney – times he still holds to this day.

“I didn’t have a goal and I knew that I would never be a better swimmer than I was back then. I hadn’t swam more than say 400 metres at a resort in close to 20 years. So the first time I got into the pool and did 800 metres, my arms were so sore I couldn’t lift them any more.”

Fong said one time he headed out alone for a training session from Stanley Pier towards Repulse Bay and Mother Nature, once again, was not having any of it.

“In the pool I can easily swim a 1,000 metres in say 15 minutes, but that time I swam into a tidal current and it basically took me half an hour to swim 500 metres, so it was a bit scary and I was getting a bit worried.”

Fong said there is also another set of variables which includes garbage, gasoline and small bugs that can bite.

While he will have a kayaker guiding him and a support boat passing him food, he still has to contend with some of the busiest nautical thoroughfares in the world. He will also have an official escort from the Hong Kong Marine Department.

Fong said he had experts pick the date and expects the area from Chai Wan around the west side of the island will be the toughest. He will set off from Sandy Bay.

Through it all, he said knowing he is doing it for charity will give him the motivation to keep going. He added he also has the kids at the Hong Kong Swimming Academy, who he doesn’t want to let down. Of course, they also have some interesting questions about being out in open water for around 12 hours.

“The kids, they say to me, ‘Coach Alex, how will you go to the toilet?’ And I just have to tell them – it is just going to happen.”