Strait of Gibraltar

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Asociación Cruce A Nado Del Estrecho De Gibraltar governs solo and relay crossings across the Strait of Gibraltar
Zach Margolis and Mányoki Attila tandem swim course in red across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco. The stylized map was created by Zach Margolis.
Tadeusz Golembiewski (31), Ana Villanueva (37), Adrian Roszak (28), and Grzegorz Monczak (43) crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in a 4-person tandem swim under the auspices of the Strait of Gibraltar Swimming Association
Héctor Ramírez Ballesteros swam butterfly across the Strait of Gibraltar in 7 hours 5 minutes
Asociación Cruce A Nado Del Estrecho De Gibraltar's Laura Gutiérrez Díaz with record-setting Nicolas Knap (in middle) and Ben Welsh in Tarifa, Spain after Knap's 3 hour 17 minute 19 second crossing from Spain to Morocco on 15 June 2019 across the Strait of Gibraltar

noun - The Strait of Gibraltar (Spanish: Estrecho De Gibraltar, Portuguese: Estreito de Gibraltar) is the body of fast-moving water between Spain and Morocco. It is also one of the 7 channels that comprise of the Oceans Seven challenge, part of the four-part marathon swimming series called the Chorizo Four, and is one of the World's Top 100 Open Water Swims.

Swimming the Strait of Gibraltar

The history of swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar is documented in the extraordinarily detailed tome called Nadando El Estrecho, Sus Orígenes Y Su Historia. The Strait of Gibraltar Swimming Association or the Asociación Cruce A Nado Del Estrecho De Gibraltar is the governing body that certifies, promotes and organizes solo and relay crossings of the Strait of Gibraltar. Its president is Rafael Gutiérrez Mesa with Antonio Gil Bravo serving as Secretary, Antonio Montiel Martin as Vice President, and Fernando Diaz Piñero and Sebastian Sanchéz Rios as members.

Animation of the Strait of Gibraltar Crossing

Distance

The shortest distance across the Gibraltar Strait is from Punta Oliveros (Spain) to Punta Cires (Morocco) with a total distance of 7.8 nautical miles (14.4 kilometres) . Because of the characteristics of the crossing between these two points, it is not the most suitable course for the swimmer. Most of the attempts have been made from Tarifa Island to the vicinity of Punta Cires having to swim between 09 to 12 nautical miles (16.5 to 22 kilometres) due to the influence of the strong currents which prevail in the Strait. Only in the case where the swimmer attempts the double crossing (round trip) can the start of the crossing from the Moroccan coast be envisaged. The swimmer has the possibility to touch the African coast from Cires point till Almina point, near Ceuta (this is the last possibility to arrive).

Difficulty in crossing

The fundamental factor to be remembered in the crossing are the currents which at any moment of the trip, may reach more than 3 knots (5.5 Km/h) taking care that this moment coincides with the final part of the event, in such a say as to help the swimmer to reach the Moroccan coast, increasing considerably the advance speed. This Association has registered currents until 7 knots (near 14 Km/h) in some periods of spring tides.

Generally the selected hour for the crossing is two or three hours before high-water and, if possible, with a medium coefficient of tide (the tide coefficients may vary in the Tarifa area between 0,4 to 1,2) which does not mean that the trip may not be made in any other hour and tide conditions, depending on the swimmer’s fitness and stamina and the availability of staying time in the zone.

The currents in the Gibraltar Strait are, generally, eastbound since the influence of the water contribution from the Atlantic to Mediterranean seas prevails (due to the high evaporation of this sea) over its own currents by the difference of tides. All these influences as well as the special orography of the area cause us to find throughout the course currents of different intensities and directions and also different temperatures and or salinity.

At selected departure hour, normally, we can find a westbound counter current very close to the Spanish coast which must be taken advantage of by the swimmer to reach advance toward the west. Around high-water the current practically disappears and it is from one hour after the high-water when the current increases its intensity with an east direction, the moment in which the swimmer must be located in a good situation from Tarifa Island to finish the crossing helped by the strong eastbound currents of the south part of the Strait.

The last crossings carried out in this way have given a high index of success and it is reflected in the navigation charts (issued by the Association) by a concavity curve westward with an almost straight part with arrival in Punta Cires or vicinity and, sometimes, almost a straight line joining Tarifa Island and the point before mentioned in Morocco.

As a conclusion we will say that the swimmer starts the crossing two or three hours before high-tide on an average coefficient day and coinciding this hour at dawn with a southwestbound course until high-water. After that, the swimmer will take a southbound course which one will keep until the swimmer is located west of Punta Cires, where he/she will swim towards the Moroccan coast. The tracking of the swimmer is plotted on the nautical chart of the escorting boat as well as on the radar screen of Tarifa Traffic all the time. At any moment we may change the swimmer’s course if he/she is separated from the initial previsions in any way.

The selected day for the crossing will be based on the high-water/low-water hours (which should coincide with the dawn) and the coefficients of the tide (which should be within acceptable margins); as such conditions usually prevail for several days, for a certain month, a series of days which fulfill the suitable crossing conditions, are determined. We must only then wait for the wind and sea conditions to be appropriate. This, however, is impossible to forecast until at least one or two days before the event. Many swimmers have had to go back to their country without crossing the Strait after having stayed many days in Tarifa and even have had to refuse the event due to a sudden change of wind when they had been swimming for several hours.

Swim To Africa Trailer


By Skyscraper Productions with Ky Hurst and Brendan Capell

André Wiersig's Strait of Gibraltar Crossing


On 9 June 2019, German André Wiersig completed a 14.4 km crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar in 4 hours 17 minutes, swimming between Spain and Morocco to complete the Oceans Seven. Video produced by Dennis Daletzki.

Spanish

La distancia mas corta del Estrecho de Gibraltar es desde la Punta de Oliveros (España) hasta Punta Cires (Marruecos) con una distancia de 7.8 millas (14.4 Kilómetros) aunque, por las características del cruce, no es la travesía mas idónea para el nadador. La mayoría de los intentos se realizan desde la Isla de Tarifa hasta las proximidades de Punta Cires debiéndose de nadar entre 10 a 12 millas náuticas ( 18.5 a 22 Km.) debido a la influencia de las fuertes corrientes que imperan en el Estrecho. Solo en el caso de intentar la doble travesía (ida y vuelta) se puede contemplar el inicio del cruce desde la costa marroquí.

El factor fundamental que ha de tenerse en cuenta para la travesía son las corrientes que en algún momento del cruce puede alcanzar mas de 3 nudos (5.5 Km./h) procurándose siempre que dicho momento coincida con la parte final de la travesía y de ese modo ayuden al nadador a ganar la costa marroquí aumentando considerablemente la velocidad de avance. Esta Asociación ha llegado a registrar corrientes de mas de 7 nudos en algunas travesías en periodos de mareas vivas y a la hora de mayor intensidad.

Generalmente la hora elegida para el cruce es dos o tres horas antes de la Pleamar y a ser posible con un coeficiente de marea medio (los coeficientes de marea varían en la zona de tarifa entre 0.4 y 1.2), lo cual, no significa que la travesía no pueda realizarse en cualquier condición de hora y corrientes dependiendo de las características deportivas del nadador y disponibilidad del tiempo de estancia en la zona. En caso de la no coincidencia de horas se puede intentar el cruce saliendo desde la Isla de Tarifa con corriente esperando que durante la travesía dicha corriente desaparezca y permita al nadador alcanzar la costa marroquí, es decir el caso contrario, saliendo desde la bajamar.

Las corrientes en el Estrecho son generalmente de dirección Este ya que predomina la influencia que tiene el aporte de agua desde el Atlántico al Mediterráneo por la alta evaporación de este ante las propias corrientes por diferencia de mareas. Todas estas influencias, así como la especial orografía de la zona, hacen que a lo largo de la travesía nos encontremos con corrientes de diferentes intensidades y sentido así como diferentes temperaturas y/o salinidad.

A la hora elegida para la salida normalmente nos vamos a encontrar con una contracorriente de dirección OESTE pegada a la costa que debe de ser aprovechada por el nadador para ganar espacio hacia poniente conforme se acerca la hora de la pleamar la corriente prácticamente se anula y es a partir de una hora después de la pleamar cuando esta va incrementando su intensidad con dirección ESTE momento en el cual el nadador debe de situarse en mitad de la travesía y en una adecuada situación desde la isla de Tarifa para ir terminando la travesía ayudado por la corriente de la franja sur del Estrecho. La conclusión de esta Asociación, en los múltiples cruces que ha organizado, es que no existen dos días de corrientes iguales aunque se cumplan las mismas condiciones de hora y coeficiente de marea por lo que la experiencia y pericia de los pilotos así como las ayudas tecnológicas irán adecuando la travesía para que esta acabe con éxito. Las últimas travesías realizadas por este sistema han dado un alto índice de éxito y se reflejan en las cartas de navegación extendidas por esta asociación en una pequeña curva de concavidad hacia el oeste con una parte final casi recta con final en Punta Cires o sus proximidades y en algunas ocasiones casi en una recta que une la Isla de Tarifa y el punto antes mencionado.

omo conclusión diremos que el nadador comienza la travesía dos o tres horas antes de la Pleamar en un día de coeficiente medio y coincidiendo dicha hora con las primera luz solar con un rumbo SW hasta la hora de la pleamar que lo hará con rumbo Sur el cual mantendrá prácticamente hasta que se encuentre al oeste de Punta Cires donde nadará hacia la costa. La trayectoria del nadador es ploteada en todo momento tanto en la carta náutica del barco de apoyo como en las pantallas de radar del MRCC Tarifa lo cual puede llevar en cualquier momento a variar el rumbo del nadador si este se apartara de las previsiones antes descritas.

La elección del día para el cruce se hace basándose en la horas de pleamar y/o bajamar (que estas coincidan con las primeras horas del amanecer) y los coeficientes (que estén dentro de márgenes aceptables); como quiera que dichas condiciones se suelen cumplir para varios días, se determinan, para un mes concreto, una serie de grupos de días para los cuales se cumplen las condiciones idóneas de cruce. Solo cabe esperar que las condiciones de viento y mar sean las adecuadas ,pero ello es imposible predecirlo hasta al menos uno o dos días antes de la prueba, muchos nadadores han tenido que volver a su lugar de origen sin poder cruzar el Estrecho después de haber permanecido muchos días en Tarifa e incluso algunos han tenido que suspender la prueba debido a un repentino cambio de viento cuando llevaran varias horas en el agua.

Oceans Seven

The Strait of Gibraltar is also part of the Oceans Seven challenge, a global 7-channel challenge that was first proposed by Steven Munatones in June 2008 and first achieved by Stephen Redmond in July 2012. It consists of the following waterways:

1. North Channel between Ireland and Scotland
2. Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand
3. Molokai Channel between Oahu and Molokai Islands in Hawaii
4. English Channel between England and France
5. Catalina Channel between Santa Catalina Island and then Southern California mainland
6. Tsugaru Channel between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan
7. Strait of Gibraltar between Europe (Spain) and Africa (Morocco)

Butterfly Crossing

Héctor Ramírez Ballesteros crossed the Strait of Gibraltar swimming butterfly. Coached by Jose Diaz, he swam the entire 14 km crossing butterfly in 7 hours 5 minutes in August 2013:

Neda el Món

Neda el Món is an open water swimming management company in Spain that takes swimmers across the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco.

Oldest Swimmers of the Oceans Seven Channels

As of September 2016, the oldest swimmers to have successfully crossed each of the Oceans Seven channels are as follows:

Cook Strait:

  • Tom Hecker (USA) age 60 in 10 hours 36 minutes from north to south in 2012
  • Toshio Ogawa (Japan) age 60 in 11 hours 51 minutes from south to north in 2015 [shown above]
  • Dr. Marilyn Korzekwa (Canada) age 58 in 11 hours 34 minutes from south to north in 2016

English Channel:

  • Dr. Otto Thaning (South Africa) age 73 years in 12 hours 52 minutes from England to France in 2014
  • Sue Oldham (Australia) age 65 in 17 hours 11 minutes from England to France in 2010

Tsugaru Channel:

Molokai Channel:

  • Mike Spalding (USA) age 60 in 15 hours 15 minutes from Molokai to Oahu in 2007
  • Linda Kaiser (USA) age 57 in 15 hours 0 minutes from Molokai to Oahu in 2007
  • Liz Fry (USA) age 57 in 17 hours 30 minutes from Molokai to Oahu in 2016

North Channel:

  • Graeme Lowe (Jersey) age 50 in 12 hours 27 minutes from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 2015
  • Fergal Somerville (Ireland) age 50 in 12 hours 21 minutes from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 2013
  • Pat Gallant-Charette (USA) age 65 in 14 hours 22 minutes from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 2016

Strait of Gibraltar:

  • Dr. Euler Konrad Paul Herbet (Germany) age 74 in 4 hours 9 minutes from Spain to Morocco in 2009
  • Carol Sing (USA) age 64 in 5 hours 27 minutes from Spain to Morocco in 2005

Catalina Channel:

  • Jim McConica (USA) age 64 in 10 hours 48 minutes from Catalina to the mainland in 2015
  • Pat Gallant-Charette (USA) age 60 in 14 hours 11 minutes from Catalina to the mainland in 2011

External links

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