Oldest person to swim the North Channel

Pat Gallant-Charette (USA, b. 2 February 1951) swam across the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland, UK, on 24 August 2016 aged 65 years 204 days, as verified by the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association (ILDSA). She completed the swim in 14 hours 22 minutes and was escorted by pilot Quinton Nelson in the vessel Guy and Clare Hunter.

As per ILDSA rules, the route must follow the Admiralty Chart 2198, Southern Part, which measures 18.6 nautical miles (21.5 miles; 35 kilometres).

The average ocean temperature during the swim was 13°C (55°F). According to Gallent-Charette, who only started marathon swimming in her 50s, the hardest stretch of the crossing was the final mile due to increasing tidal currents, although she also had to endure many jellyfish stings along the way!

At the time, this was Gallant-Charette’s third stage of the Oceans Seven challenge, which is overseen by the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA); it involves swimming across seven of the world’s most challenging waterways (as of Sep 2019, Gallant-Charette had completed five of the seven channels).

Veteran marathon swimmer Gallant-Charette also holds the records for oldest person to swim Loch Ness and oldest person to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.