English Channel latter part of the 19th century when Captain Matthew Webb made the first observed and unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover, swimming from England to France on 24–25 August 1875 in 21 hours 45 minutes. In 1927, at a time when fewer than ten swimmers (including the first woman, Gertrude Ederle in 1926) had managed to emulate the feat and many dubious claims were being made, the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) was founded to authenticate and ratify swimmers' claims to have swum the Channel and to verify crossing times. The CSA was dissolved in 1999 and was succeeded by
English Channel crossed the English Channel aboard the "Élise", ex the Scottish p.s. "Margery" in March 1816, one of the earliest seagoing voyages by steam ship. The paddle steamer "Defiance", Captain William Wager, was the first steamer to cross the Channel to Holland, arriving there on 9 May 1816. On 10 June 1821, English-built paddle steamer "Rob Roy" was the first passenger ferry to cross channel. The steamer was purchased subsequently by the French postal administration and renamed "Henri IV" and put into regular passenger service a year later. It was able to make the journey across the Straits of Dover in