- Who
- Ram Barkai, Andrew Chin, Kieron Palframan, Ryan Stramrood, Toks Viviers
- What
- - first
- Where
- Chile ()
- When
On 22 February 2011, during the final stage of the Patagonia Extreme Cold Water Challenge, Ram Barkai, Andrew Chin, Kieron Palframan, Ryan Stramrood and Toks Viviers (all South Africa) each swam 3.18 kilometres (1.97 miles) in the Drake Passage between two peninsulas, marking the two lighthouses on Cape Horn Island, off Isla Hornos, becoming the first people to swim around the southernmost tip of South America. The meeting point between the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans, the Drake Passage is notorious for its strong currents, abrupt wind gusts (williwaws), large waves and icebergs – and has long been deemed a “sailor’s graveyard”.
It took approximately one hour to complete the swim. The water temperature was recorded at approximately 7ºC (45ºF) and the current was logged at 1.5 knots.
The swim was unassisted and the swimmers wore no neoprene (only swimsuits and goggles). On the day of the swim, the swimmers were aged as follows: Barkai (53), Chin (41), Palframan (36, Stramrood (37) and Viviers (47).
The unprecedented Drake Passage swim was the third leg of the Patagonia Extreme Cold Water Challenge. It followed a 4.31-km (2.67-mi) one-way crossing of the Strait of Magellan on 16 February and 2.92-km (1.81-mi) two-way crossing of the Beagle Channel on 19 February.
The swim was nominated for the 2011 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year.
