Dolphins in the English Channel

Crossing the English Channel is widely regarded as the pinnacle of open water swimming. More people have climbed Mt. Everest than have successfully swum between England and France. I would argue that swimming from the Farralon Islands to San Francisco is a more dangerous, arduous, and rare endeavor. However, there's no question that a solo swim across what the French call "La Manche" is a crowning achievement.

The shortest distance between England and Europe is across the Dover Strait. This is a narrow band of water that forms an hourglass pinch in the English Channel. The bulk of cross-channel swims start at Shakespeare beach, just southwest of Dover Harbor since France has disallowed starts from their shores. The most favorable landfall would then be at Cap Gris Nez in France, a rocky promontory south of Calais, which pokes its grey nose towards England. A straight line from Shakespeare Beach to Cap Gris Nez is 18.15 nautical miles. As with most measures, international standards bodies have been tweaking the various definitions but, as of 1929, a nautical mile is the equivalent of 1.15 statute miles, making it 20.89 miles or 33,123.75 meters across for us landlubbers.

Captain Matthew Webb was the first English Channel swimmer. He succeeded using breaststroke in 1875 with a time of twenty-one hours and forty-five minutes. The fastest verified swim crossing is just under seven hours in 2007, a record held by a Bulgarian, Petar Stoychev. Michael Phelps set a world record in the 200 meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 with a time of slightly less than one minute and forty-three seconds. If Mr. Phelps could string one hundred sixty-six of these performances together in open water, he could cross the English Channel in about four and three-quarter hours.


Twenty-five Dolphins have completed this solo swim. Toufie Blaik was the first to succeed when he crossed in 16 hours and 5 minutes in 1953. Twenty-two years later, in 1985, Suzanne Heim became the second Dolphin to accomplish this feat in 10 hours and 11 minutes. The next year, she improved her time to 10 hours and 2 minutes. In 1990, John Davies bested this by one minute, a mark of which he was extraordinarily proud. In 2004, Si Bunting lowered the Dolphin record to 9 hours and 44 minutes. The latest fastest time is 8 hours and 33 minutes, swum by Laurin Weisenthal in 2009. The oldest swimmer was Peter Urrea when he crossed in 1996 at the age of fifty-six.

A large plaque in the Staib Room of the club honors all the members who made this swim. Unlike the Polar Bear plaque, there is more than enough room for future English Channel swimmers. Ninety-five open spaces await tomorrow's successful aspirants. At the current rate, Dolphins may not fill all the available spaces until the next century.