Teacher plans to swim from Sanford to Jacksonville

LAKE MARY, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - A local teacher is setting out his most ambitious effort yet -- he's swimming from Sanford to Jacksonville.

Luther Davis is a different kind of science teacher. The Lake Mary High School veteran is known for doing everything out of the box. One of his students even said that "He is so crazy. He does things you would never think of doing."

For example, Luther once built a full-size medieval catapult just to throw watermelons across a field. He also once built a full-size hovercraft that he brings out on the water. And sometimes, he takes his students to football games to observe the players, cheerleaders, and band, claiming that it's a lesson on the physics of motion.

Luther Davis is also an accomplished distance swimmer. He is currently training on Little Lake Mary. 

While his fellow teachers spend their spring break relaxing or vacationing, Luther will swim from Sanford to Jacksonville -- a 164 mile journey that will take over 8 days -- the gator-infested St. John's River.

Luther joked "Some people call them alligators, I like to call them obstacles."

Luther hopes to demonstrate a single rain drop's journey through the vital St. John's river basin. He says that it is "something that I think is underappreciated. It is something that really needs to be enhanced and promoted."

Luther also hopes that this journey puts inspiration in the hearts of students. "Maybe they'll say I had that physics teacher in high school and he is willing to do something like that. You know, maybe I can do something like that."