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 was rumoured that some of the prisoners swam back to the mainland, although there is no proof that any did. However some may have crossed by resting on Carnac and Garden Islands. The first documented crossing by a swimmer was Gerd Von Dincklage-Schulinburg, on 24 January 1956. This led the Weekend Mail newspaper to hold the first organised race to the island in March later that year, which was completed by four participants. The first woman to swim to the island was Lesley Cherriman on 13 April 1969. The youngest swimmer to compete was Kutraleeswaran from Tamil Nadu, India, who