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
Bristol Channel The first person to swim across the Bristol Channel was Kathleen Thomas, a 21-year-old woman from Penarth who swam to Weston-super-Mare on 5 September 1927. She completed the swim, nominally 11 miles but equivalent to 22 miles because of tidal flows, in 7 hours 20 minutes. In 2007 the achievement was marked by a plaque in seafront in Penarth. In 1929 Edith Parnell, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, emulated Kathleen Thomas's swim from Penarth to Weston-super-Mare in 10 hours 15 minutes. Edith later became the first wife of Hugh Cudlipp the Welsh journalist and newspaper editor. The first person to swim the