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
Rottnest Channel Swim Rottnest Channel Swim The Rottnest Channel Swim is an annual open water swimming event from Cottesloe Beach through Gage Roads to Rottnest Island, off the coast of Western Australia, near Perth. The distance is approximately 20 kilometres and it is one of the largest open-water swimming events in the world, with 2400 swimmers participating in the 2015 event. It is held in February each year and is open to solo swimmers and teams of two or four. A second event, Champions of the Channel for elite swimmers, was introduced in 2016. When Rottnest Island was used as a prison it