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In the past 2 weeks there were 2 successful crossings of the English Channel by members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. Abhejali Bernardová completed her 3rd solo crossing of the Channel on July 28-29. She finished in a time of 17 hours 38 minutes, swimming breaststroke. She is the 5th woman and 18th person to complete a breaststroke crossing and the only person in the world to have swum the Channel in both freestyle and breaststroke.

A week later, on August 7th, Jayasalini Abramovskikh crossed the Channel in a time of 18 hours 27 minutes, becoming the only person in the world to have completed both the Everest of long distance running, finishing the 3100 mile race in 2014, and the Everest of open water swimming, the English Channel. Her pilot Eddie also piloted Vijaya’s successful swim and he knows our team very well.

The two swimmers were helped by a great support crew: Dhavala, Shyamala and Nina (from Czech, for Abhejali’s swim).

Related

List of successful channel crossings

100 years ago, on August 6, 1926, barriers were broken in open water marathon swimming, when 19-year-old Gertrude Ederle from New York, an Olympic gold medallist of German descent, became the first woman to swim solo across the frigid English Channel. To honour this Centenary, three accomplished women ultra-athletes of our Sri Chinmoy Marathon team felt inspired to swim as a relay across the English Channel. A swim slot was booked last minute for mid-June, when the water is usually still quite cold, but doable for a relay. All later slots were already booked out.

When Abhejali Bernardova (2x English Channel solo plus Oceans 7 finisher, CZ), Jayasalini Olga Abramovskikh (3100 mile runner, Lake Zurich finisher, RU) and Vasanti Niemz (69, 2x EC solo, several ultra-triathlons, DE) arrived in Dover, the water was still 13-14°C. Cold acclimatisation was needed even for a relay, where you rotate in hourly shifts, always in the same order. With a 3 person-relay the challenge is to have to get changed and then back into the cold water after very little time to warm up and rest in between, and with a risk to get seasick on board - which happened to Abhejali and helper Edwige for a few hours, in spite of seasickness patches and pills.

Watching the weather forecast is, apart from training, eating and resting (and meditating), one of the major activities before a swim, be it relay or solo. As usual, the forecast kept shifting - first we were supposed to start in the evening and swim through the night, but luckily the weather changed again and we were told to meet in the marina in the morning of Sunday, June 14th around 8 a.m., for the swim to start around 9. It is so much easier to get "into the groove" with the sun out. Edwige from France was our enthusiastic and happy last minute helper. Our boat with the uplifting name of High Hopes, was expertly piloted by Simon Ellis and Marilyn Critchlow. The water had warmed up slightly to 15°C.

For more positive vibes we had decided to dedicate our relay to peace and gave it the name of "Sri Chinmoy Peace Dreamers". After all, teamwork makes the dream work - and with all the war memorials and remains along the British and French coast it felt so appropriate to visualise a peaceful world of friendship, cooperation and mutual support during our swim  - actually this is the way English Channel relays work! We brought a Torch of our Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run with us on board, shared it with the crew and meditated briefly on it before every new rotation. 

Since our tide was a spring tide with stronger currents, and two of us were slower swimmers, we had brought enough food and drinks for at least 18 hours - you never know what the Channel will throw at you! "Prepare for the worst and hope for the best", is one of the famous Channel swimming mottos. But we were lucky and blessed: the wind was pushing us from the north, the currents were behaving, and with no time lost for feeding breaks in the water, as opposed to solo swims, we were cruising along much faster than expected. The wind started to settle down, and after 6,5 hours we were already in the middle of the separation zone. Half way geographically normally does not mean halfway timewise.

But with the wind pushing us, and Abhejali, our swimmer no 1 in the rotation, powering through the tidal change around 12 hours into the swim, just off Cap Griz Nez, while the sun was setting, she made it across the currents into the calmer bay during her 5th hour. Next was my turn again, my 5th "dip" - and I could not believe it!  I only had less than one kilometer left to swim - just 18 minutes more in the dark, absolutely calm and peaceful, even with some bioluminescence. The water was warmer on the French side (around 16/17°C). Guided by the light beam from the boat, the rest of the team was allowed to swim in with me to a shallow and sandy French shore, "La Courte Dune", just between Wissant and Cap Griz Nez. They brought the Peace Torch, fuel and a lighter in a dry bag and we lit the torch and held it happily all 3 of us together, cheering, grateful and with a peace prayer in our hearts. The camera only recorded our cheers and a tiny flicker of the flame in the dark. With happy hearts, almost exhilarated, we made our way back to the boat.  and we even had some bioluminescence in the dark!

Two days later, after some rest, we made our way to Kingsdown, east of Dover, to visit the Gertrude Ederle memorial at the place where Gertrude had come ashore in 1926 (she had obviously started in France, which is not allowed any more) at the end of her record-breaking 14 hour 31 minute crossing. A 20 minute dip in the sea in front of the memorial, stroking against the current almost in place, showed us the full strength of the spring tide, which we blessingfully did not have to experience during our relay!

For all three of us, the relay also was a kind of "training swim". Abhejali went on to attempt another English Channel solo, breaststroke (!) - which will be a different post, hopefully. I finished my 11th Lake Zurich marathon swim 4 weeks later (26 km in 12 hours 08) - and more may be to come for all of us.

For our Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team it was the 5th successful English Channel relay and the 4th all women relay: 6 p-relay back in 1989, 4-p-relay in 2009, 5-p-relay in 2014 and 3-p-relay now in 2006. Men's 6 p-relay in 2010.
Details and list of all team swims: https://channel.srichinmoyraces.org/members#node-4320

Our relay motto and theme song, which served as a beautiful mantra also during the swimming, was: "Only the Peace-Dreamers, Peace-Lovers and Peace-Servers can transform the world." - Sri Chinmoy

On Sept. 12, 2025, Vasanti Niemz, a Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team member from Heidelberg, Germany, became the oldest woman to complete the iconic 20 Bridges marathon swim around Manhattan Island at age 68, in a time of 9 hours 34 minutes. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of her first open water marathon swim, an English Channel solo on Sept.9, 1985, she dedicated the swim to Peace and the ideals of the United Nations in honour of their 80th anniversary.

"Swimming around Manhattan was an old dream of mine," she explains. But only since a few years, when the swim started to be organised in smaller groups of similar speed by New York Open Water (NYOW), did slower swimmers also get a realistic chance to complete the 48,5 km (28,5 mile) challenge, which has to be timed well with the tidal currents.

The inspiration to sign up came after a DNF in the English Channel September 2024, when Vasanti's third EC solo was aborted after less than 8 hours for safety reasons by the pilot near the separation zone in the middle of the Channel, because the wind had picked up more than predicted against a strong current, and 5 more Channel boats decided to turn round at the same time. Swimming around Manhattan is considerably easier than swimming the English Channel and less weather dependend, but it has its own challenges - and beauty. Tidal currents are powerful around Manhattan, but they carry you, if timed correctly. However, especially at the beginning into the East River and at the end in the Hudson a strong headwind plus chaotic waves from boats, ferries and jet skies can make the swim quite "interesting" with big swells and lots of chop.

Of course it is very special to go on such a "sightseeing tour" around the Big Apple from the water, and particularly so with so many memories from over 40 years of visiting New York, running the NYC marathon, participating and performing in the Peace Meditations at the United Nations, remembering carrying the Peace Torch in so many Peace Runs starting or ending at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in front of the UN with UN ambassadors etc.

On the day of the swim, swimmer, helpers and kayaker were taken by boat from the North Cove Marina down to Pier A in Lower Manhattan, where the swim started around 10:20 am into a nice sunny day, along with another slightly faster swimmer from Brazil with her own support team. Water temperature was 22-23 °C, air similar. No ferries were crossing the path, which would have meant either sprinting or waiting, but turning from the Hudson at the tip of Manhattan into the East River the wind picked up and the swells were considerable.

The first 2-3 hours are crucial. If the swimmer cannot stay on schedule and keep up the predicted speed, we were told, the swim can be aborted early, because tides would be missed. Vasanti was aware and focused, using "PEACE" and "GRATITUDE" as mantras, basically throughout the swim, just swimming as calmly and powerfully as possible without worrying about the conditions. At the United Nations a friend working there came out to cheer us (swims can be followed online via a tracker) - but remained invisible from the water. Still it was nice to know someone was there, especially as the water outside the UN was quite "troubled" - what a metaphor! 

Towards Wards and Randalls Island, where our Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team used to have multi-day-races for a number of years, and into the Harlem River the water became calmer - calmer even than Lake Zurich! And we were ahead of schedule, what a boost! The 15 bridges of the Harlem River started flying by! Feeding rhythm was every 30 minutes from the kayak, all very easy-going. At the Spuyten Duyvils swing bridge, where the Harlem River meets the Hudson, our kayaker needed a short break, but when we tried to wait for her the current just pushed us gently through the open bridge into the vastness of the mighty Hudson. It was so incredibly calm and welcoming - just peace and freedom!  And we were one hour ahead of schedule.

45 minutes later we passed under George Washington Bridge, the last intermediate goal, again faster than expected. From here it is just downhill - or not?

Towards Lower Manhattan, into the sunset, the wind started to pick up again against the current, as per the forecast, and for the last hour or so the water become quite choppy again with bigger swells. Warm miso soup and some ginger tea with honey helped during the last few hours. And it seemed like everyone enjoyed the journey into the sunset with the glittering lights of the Manhattan and Jersey skylines - and some bioluminescence in the waves towards the end for the swimmer.

Green saftety lights were attached to swimmer and kayak for the last few miles. And then Pier A came again faster than expected, to enthusiastic cheers by onlookers along the dark promenade. Finish time  9 hours 34 minutes - over an hour ahead of our official schedule and more than 2 hours earlier than we had been prepared for, just in case. Thanks to great currents :)

The next day, Vasanti took a friend's spare bike by subway into Manhattan, to bike from Pier A with the Peace Torch to the UN and potentially all the way around Manhattan. (The idea was a symbolic triathlon, but it did not happen.) Due to gear problems, she just enjoyed a different kind of leisurely sightseeing along part of the swim route along the Hudson and East River and lit the Peace Torch at the United Nations for a moment of silence and a prayer for peace. Since it was a weekend, there were no flags and no visitors allowed inside. Then she biked back to the Hudson to finish the loop. Moderate biking is definitely a great recovery activity after a long swim!

The English Channel and Manhattan 20 Bridges are part of the "Triple Crown of Open Water", the third "crown" being Catalina Channel in California. This may be the next goal. One enthusiastic helper already volonteered. Wish us luck :)

More photos in the slider above. See also the report with some more photos on  https://www.peacerun.org/us/news/2025/0912/5606/

And a short video: 

New York Open Water:  https://www.nyopenwater.org/

On Sunday, Aug. 7th, 2022, 58 swimmers from 15 nations started again the beautiful but challenging 26 km journey from Rapperswil to Zurich Tiefenbrunnen lido (29 solos and 10 relays) – with some DNS due to Covid after effects. The water was an unusually balmy 25°C, with an overcast sky most of the way and a breeze from the east/north-east that created small uncomfortable waves in some patches, slowing swimmers down. It also pushed boats and swimmers to the middle of the lake by the time they reached the half way cut-off at the ferry in Meilen, where you are supposed to stay close to the shore. Which resulted in 6 solo and 2 relay DNFs – as opposed to 2019, where in spite of a chilly 19°C water temp the success rate was 100 %!

First overall was non-wetsuit lady Kirsten Cameron of NZ (living in NL) in fantastic 6h 56m 05 sec. She was so fast her kajaker could not keep up, but luckily a motor boat with motor problems in the morning got fixed and was able to come to their rescue!) Second finisher was wetsuit-swimmer Euan Dow from Glasgow in 7h 27m 44s. Tom Knight from London (Serpentine) and  Andrea Marcato - Italian, but a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team Zurich - finished within 11 seconds of each other in 1st and 2nd place men non-wetsuit in 8h 57m 56s and 8h 58m 07s respectively. More results: Results Sri Chinmoy Marathon Swim Zurich 2022

Remarkably, Andrea Marcato is an ultrarunner who is getting ready again for the 26th edition of the 3100 mile Self-Transcendence Race in NY starting September. (He won the 3100 miles in 2020 and 2021 and ran a number of ultras including a 6 and 10 day race this year). His swim training in preparation of this year's marathon swim (his 5th Lake Zurich finish, non-wetsuit!) was minimal but smart, including visualisation. Here a short interview with him right after his finish: https://vimeo.com/737607904. More below.

Special mention: Chaitanya Tulasi from India– who went on to accomplish his Triple Crown in N.Y. a few days later (which consists of English Channel + Catalina Channel + Manhattan 20 Bridges) - forgot his feeds in the hotel and swam a bit slower than usual, feeding only on water - including drinking some of the very clean lake water!

There were many noteworthy swimmers, like Margarita Llorens Bagur, a Menorca, Majorca and Ibiza Channel swimmer, or Mostafa Said Zaki from Egypt (wetsuit category, who chose to swim without it in "skins") coached by IMSHOF inductee and Zurich lake record holder Mohamed Marouf whose record of 5h 51m 41s from 1993 is still unbroken!

For results, photos and video (to come) see: Results, video and photos 2022

A few "secrets" by ultrarunner and marathon swimmer Andrea Marcato: body weight training, visualisation and mantras

Q: Could you tell as a bit more about your limited swim training for Lake Zurich this year?

Andrea: This year I swam very little. I guess only 15-18 times, as I travel often. Probably one pool swim every 2 weeks on average. Many sessions were just 1 km, 1,5 km or 2 km- around 20/30'- up to 3,5 km / 1h max. Only a few days before the race I had a 4,7 km training in the pool and a 2,7 km session at the lake.

Q: How do you keep your swim muscles in the shoulders and upper body, and also your wrist strength - by doing weights or just lifting heavy things at work?

Andrea: This year I drastically reduced lifting weights (we have a small gym at our enterprise with basic equipment) to avoid bulking up - that would very likely be counterproductive for my running form. Moreover inwardly I felt it's not so useful, therefore I switched to body weight workouts. I have a 100 push up routine before bedtime. Plus I try to stretch often, especially lower back and shoulders muscles. That helps.

Q: How helpful for a marathon swim is the cardio training you get from long distance running?

Andrea: Even more helpful than the cardio is to consistently race in ultradistance events, even in a short span of time. That gives you the right mindset.

Q: Can you tells us a bit more how your meditation practice helps you, apart from staying calm and feeling good before the race?

Andrea: One or two weeks before the race I try to visualise myself reaching the finish. That was my fifth edition so I have a vivid perception of how it looks like. I keep a photographic memory of the critical points of the race. Intuitively I see some reference points (a church, an harbour, a big tree) and I know approximately how many km I already swam and how many I have still to go. Plus I repeat mantras trying to distract the mind when it gets difficult. It's all a mind game. Concentration, visualization and meditation are the tools which help you to go through. I have been meditating with students of Sri Chinmoy for a few years now. That helps, as the Spiritual Master himself practiced and advocated the philosophy of Self-Transcendence - going beyond one's own limits.

Q: Did I hear you say, if you trained more you could be 1,5 hours faster in this swim?

Andrea: You must know I have a big mouth! How can I really know? It was an estimation based on my best finishing time - around 7h40', plus the accumulated experience I get in every edition. But I cannot predict it in advance. Mr. Trapattoni - a well known Italian football coach - once said: "Non dire gatto, se non c'è l'hai nel sacco", which means you can't really boast until it's done. It is so true.

Q: Is running giving you more joy than swimming, and if so, why? Or is it just this feeling of "inner duty" or "inner call"? Sri Chinmoy often used to say he did not really love weightlifting (he loved running), but it was his inner call that he "had" to do it after his knee injury limited his running. Probably the swim would also be more joyful with more training?

Andrea: I don't take joy as a main reference for the time being. That doesn't mean I don't derive satisfaction from what I am doing. If I'd rely on Joy I would have probably swam one edition or two. One year you feel a little discomfort before the race, or you didn't manage to train much, and you don't do it. The joy is not there and you don't do it. What works for me is the inner duty. The inner duty pushes me beyond likes and dislikes. That's a kind of military approach. I have to, I have to. (note. it is also a spiritual attitude to listen to one's inner guidance and go beyond likes and dislikes).
At the moment I give priority to running long distances, swimming comes second. At the same time I know people's mind is ever changing. As you age, different priorities, different approaches come in. Let's see what's happens in the future ....

Thank you Andrea!

Here the link to the 3100 Mile Race starting Sept. 4th, 6 a.m. N.Y. time, where you can follow Andrea: https://3100.srichinmoyraces.org/

44-year-old Abhejali Bernardova, a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team from Zlin in the Czech Republic, swam the English Channel and then biked and ran all the way to Prague - an extreme ultra-triathlon that covered a total of 1111 km and took her 7 days, 12 hours and 5 minutes.

She started on Monday September 13, 2021, at 3am from Dover. In very challenging conditions, with the wind at force 5, she swam the English Channel in 15 hours and 33 minutes. The only other successful crossing on the same day was a 5-person relay team. It was her last chance to swim this year and the swim had already been postponed a few times.

Current restrictions did not allow her to stay in France, so she had to take a detour back to Dover and then take a ferry to France. She then cycled from Calais to her hometown of Cheb, near the Czech/German border. The cycling leg, which took her 4 days, was approximately 900 kilometres through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. She arrived in Cheb on Saturday afternoon, then ran 182km to Prague, arriving on Monday afternoon. Her daily average was 220km cycling and 2 marathons running.
 
The Czech athlete successfully completed her first English Channel swim 10 years ago. In 2018 she became the 1st Czech, the 10th person in the world, 4th woman and the 1st person from a landlocked country to complete the Oceans Seven - a series of seven difficult long-distance swims around the world.

With her ultra-triathlon she aims to connect people and places and inspire others to break down and cross barriers in their own lives. If she can go from the UK to the Czech Republic under her own steam, then we really are closer to each other than we realise, we just put up unnecessary walls between us. She also tries to inspire others to overcome their own limits and show that these limits are often self-created.

Video: Abhejali gives a TEDx talk earlier this year in Prague

Abhejali Bernardová (43), from the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in the Czech Republic, is the 10th person in history to complete the Oceans Seven series of open water swims. In a recent interview with Steven Munatones on the World Open Water Swimmming Association website, shares highlights of her incredible Oceans Seven ultramarathon swimming journey, which began in 2011 when she swam the English Channel. She also talks about her journey from a competitive swimmer to one of a prolific marathon swimmer who travels the world and loves to inspire others to develop their own true potential.

Abhejali is ranked as one of the World’s 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women, having completed swims in the English Channel, North Channel, Tsugaru Channel, Catalina Channel, Molokai Channel, Cook Strait, Strait of Gibraltar, International Self-Transcendence Sri Chinmoy Marathon-Swim Rapperswil-Zurich, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, and Robben Island in South Africa. She also founded the 6 hour indoor swimming challenge in Zlin, which has become a hugely popular event for relays and solo-swimmers, organized by the Czech Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.

Here a summary of her Oceans Seven Journey in pictures:

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team has been involved in open water swimming since the 1980's. In 1985 the first two members of our team swam the English Channel under the CSA (Channel Swimming Association), and since then members of the Marathon Team have completed the crossing almost 50 times, the second-most of any team.

• Article on World Open Water Swimming Association website

After becoming only the 4th woman to complete the Oceans 7 Challenge - swimming seven of the world's iconic open water swims, including the English Channel and the North Channel - Abhejali Bernardová from our Czech Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team has now been nominated for the 2018 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year. Abhejali completed her seventh and final swim this year on February 24, 2018, by conquering the Cook Strait between the North and South Island of New Zealand in quite challenging conditions. Voting is open to the public until January 1 2019, and can be accessed here.

Her nomination reads: Abhejali Bernardová is a peace ultrarunner (6-day runs + 24-hour runs + 100 km runs) turned swimmer who promotes endurance sports and self-transcendence via media appearances and speeches to the public and at school. The member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team became the 4th woman to complete the Oceans Seven. After achieving the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, she crossed the English Channel (14 hours 37 minutes), Strait of Gibraltar (4 hours 35 minutes), Catalina Channel (9 hours 46 minutes), Tsugaru Channel (11 hours 7 minutes), Molokai Channel (21 hours 52 minutes), North Channel (10 hours 23 minutes), and Cook Strait (13 hours 9 minutes) between the ages of 34 and 41 to become the first person from the Czech Republic - a landlocked country - to swim across 7 iconic channels, all successful on her first attempt. She organized a record number of swimmers in a new popular 6-hour pool swim in the Czech Republic shortly after her last channel swim. She teaches about the importance of a calm mind for success in the open water and on dryland. For being a Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team ambassador who achieved the Oceans Seven, for continuing to serve as a peace runner, race director and an organizer of extreme sports that gives others an opportunity to experience their own challenges under safe conditions, and for lending a helping hand and friendly smile with a passion for long distance swimming as a mentor for people of all ages and abilities, Abhejali Bernardová of the Czech Republic is a worthy nominee for the 2018 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.

Other nominees include such distinguished marathon swimmers as Pat Gallant-Charette (67), cold-water swimmer Jaimie Monahan and multiple world champion Ana Marcela Cunha for the women's award, or United Nations Environment Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh and trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific stage swimmer Ben Lecomte for the men's award.

Question (from interview on Daily News of Open Water Swimming): During your Oceans Seven channel swims, what point did you feel the absolute worse? How did you overcome this situation?

Abhejali: It was during the Molokai Channel crossing. The swim started at around 5 pm, it got dark by 7 pm, and I started to be really seasick. We arrived just 3 days prior to the swim - it was before my swim period, so I was tired and jet lagged on top of being seasick and depleted. After being seasick for quite a few hours, I asked how far we were. I usually don't do it, or much later, but I felt so exhausted physically - we also had to battle some strong current at the beginning of the swim. I was told we are not yet in the middle. I remember thinking that some miracle will have to happen for me to have enough physical strength to continue for another maybe 10 hours - it turned out to be much more. The team on the boat notified our friends around the world and they all ate on my behalf, sent their good wishes and prayers. Once the sun came out after maybe 12 hours of darkness, I was fine and could start eating. When all seemed back to normal I got badly stung by a jellyfish and then there was another strong current that had us moving only 1 mile per hour, but the worst was past. Read full interview »

On September 24, 2018, Adriano Passini from the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team became the first person to swim from Laje de Santos - an islet known all over Brazil for its marine life - to the coastline, a distance of 25 miles (40 km). Adriano reached his goal at 7pm, after a journey of almost 12 hours.

Located a couple of hours away from São Paolo, Laje de Santos was the first ever marine park created by the state government, and is a favourite haunt of divers as well as people who visit for the local biodiversity. Adriano, who grew up in the nearby city of San Vicente, got the inspiration to do the crossing some years back on a a plane trip from Curitiba to São Paulo, when he saw Laje de Santos from the airplane. The conditions for the crossing are generally quite difficult, and there is only a narrow window to make the crossing before the waves become too rough - in May 2016, Adriano spent 3 weeks waiting for the waves to calm before ultimately having to abandon the attempt. This time, he had to wait until the last possible day before he would have had to return to his day job as an engineer.

Adriano was inspired to start swimming by his meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy, who loved sports and saw that it was a field in which the practise of meditation could be put to powerful use. In particular, Sri Chinmoy encouraged his students to practise the philosophy of self-transcendence, to experience the liberating feeling of challenging one's percieved limitations. In 2013, Adriano swam the English Channel in a time of 11 hours and 10 minutes. (Members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team have crossed the channel 47 times to date - the second most by any team). He later wrote a book about his experiences.

During the crossing from to Laje de Santos to the city of Santos, Adriano had an experienced team accompanying him in the boat - Ashirvad Zaiantchick, who had previously assisted him in his Channel swim, and Adriano's father, Aurélio Passini Júnior, as well as two local navigators, Cesar Elvin Laso and Marcio Pires Lopes Jacaré from the local ATM diving club, both of whom had much experience in navigating the treacherous waters. The area near Santos lies on one of the busiest shipping lanes in the Americas, and Adriano passed around 50 large ships during his swim. The crew departed from the city of Santos at 5:30 a.m, arriving at Laje de Santos at 7:10 am to begin the swim. During the swim, the conditions were partially cloudy with no wind. The water temperature was around 22ºC, with waves of about 1 metre high throughout the crossing. Upon completion, Adriano remarked "Today a dream has been realised, the impossible has become possible; after a lot of effort, I'm really happy to arrive in the city of Santos and complete my goal."  

On Saturday, February 24th, 2018, in the wake of cyclone Gita, Abhejali Bernardova, a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team from Zlin in the Czech Republic, successfully conquered the Cook Strait of New Zealand in rough waters and challenging currents, becoming only the 10th swimmer and 4th woman - and probably the first vegetarian! - in the world to complete the Oceans Seven challenge since its inception in 2008.

The Oceans Seven challenge is the aquatic equivalent to the 'Seven summits' challenge of climbing some of the world's highest mountains. It includes swimming the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar, Catalina Channel in California, Tsugaru Channel (Japan), the Irish Channel between Ireland and Scotland, Molokai (Kaiwi) Channel in Hawaii and the Cook Strait. All of the swims are done in accordance with traditional English Channel rules: no neoprene, only a regular swim suit, cap and goggles, maybe some grease, and unassisted (no touching the boat etc.).The first person to complete it was Stephen Redmond from Ireland in 2012, and the first woman was Anna Carin Nordin from Sweden in 2013.

Starting at 8:11 a.m. from the North Island in strong swells that made her seasick for hours, and challenged by rough conditions and strong currents that slowed down her progress almost to a standstill, Abhejali stayed focused and positive and finally managed to complete the swim in 13 hours, 9 minutes and 48 seconds, arriving at the tip of the South Island in the dark around 9.20pm. For over three hours during the swim she was fighting strong currents merely to hold her position and not be pulled back towards Wellington. Finally, however, the sea settled and she was able to break through the currents and touch the shore of the Southern Island. Water temperature started out with 20°C, falling to 17°C near the Southern Island.

The timing to complete these crossings is extremely tight, as the swimmers can only attempt during either the full moon or on the half moon. At these times the currents and tides are at their calmest. With cyclone Gita hitting New Zealand on Tuesday and Wednesday, Abhejali had to cancel the planned swim on Thursday due to rough seas. On Friday the boat was not available. Even on Saturday the seas were still rough. It was hard to decide whether it would be wise to start or not, but the swim went off. Right from the start, Abhejali was challenged by high swells, seasickness and a jellyfish that got stuck in her swimsuit. There were moments where she doubted her decision to start that day - but she never thought of stopping. Had she not been able to start or complete the crossing, her next opportunity would have been two weeks later at the earliest, creating logistical, financial and other difficulties.

Abhejali is not only the 10th swimmer and 4th woman to achieve the Oceans Seven challenge, but also the first Czech swimmer. Whereas over 4,833 people have summited Mount Everest (8,306 summits) and around 1800 people have swum the English Channel, not even 100 have crossed the Cook Strait. It took Abhejali 8 years to complete the Oceans Seven swims. Coming from a running background, her first major aquatic adventure was a 4 person English Channel relay in 2010, followed by her first long solo challenge - the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Swim from Rapperswil to Zürich (26,4 km) in 2011. This gave her the courage and inspiration to go for the English Channel (2011), then on to swim around Manhattan Island (New York, 2012) and  from Europe to Africa (Gibraltar Straits, 2013). As a natural next new challenge, Catalina came up (2015), followed by an icy and iconic 2 hours 35 minute Robben Island swim in 9°C waters (2016) which gave her the confidence to believe the cold North Channel (2017) was achievable. Before that, however, Tsugaru (2016) and then Molokai Channel, her most difficult swim (2017, almost 22 hours), were ticked off.

What is remarkable about her swims is not only the achievement in itself - battling seasickness, jellyfish, strong currents, cold water and many other challenges on the way - but also the fact that she was successful on her first attempt in each swim. As opposed to running a marathon or ultramarathon, you never really know with all of these Channel swims when and if the weather and tides will actually allow the swim to take place. Also, the swimmer may be forced to abandon the attempt for safety or other reasons after just a few hours into the swim, or even only a few metres from the finish. A clear asset in all her aquatic adventures has been her ability to keep a positive, cheerfully determined attitude, trusting in the power of Grace from above, the supportive prayers and good vibrations sent from her teammates and friends from all over the world, as well as the inner focus and calmness gained by years of regular practice of meditation. Her meditation teacher Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007) was himself a pioneer in the world of sports who inspired many people to believe in their unlimited inner potential and reach unprecedented goals. For his inspiration and service to open water swimming, he was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) posthumously in 2012.

Abhejali was crewed on her Cook Strait swim by Harita Davies, who in 2017 became New Zealand’s first woman to complete the world’s longest race – the Self Transcendence 3,100 mile race in New York - and who also took part in an English Channel relay in 2014 and has crewed for Abhejali on other swims as a helper and kayaker. Helena Royden, a Czech speaking New Zealander, Stacey Marsh, P. Thorpe and Vera Sevestiyanova were also part of the helper team.

Asked, how she feels after her great achievement, Abhejali simply said: "Grateful and happy." And she is looking forward to more running again - especially in the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, which she helps organizing.

Related

• Abhejali - biography on openwaterpedia
• More information on the Oceans Seven challenge
• Video: Swimming the English Channel Abhejali talks about the inner aspects of her challenges - what she gets out of them, how she started, and how meditation helps her in difficult situations.

On Aug. 29th, 2017, Tatiana Kvasova (32) from Moscow became our first Russian Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team swimmer (male or female) to conquer the English Channel -  marking the 47th solo crossing by a member of our international team, and the 4th Russian woman overall.

Background

Born in 1985 in Siberia in Novokuznetsk, Tanya learned to swim from the age of 6 and from then on loved to spend hours and hours swimming in quarry lakes and a huge fresh water reservoir in her region. Her sister used to call her "crazy dolphin".

After meeting Sri Chinmoy in 2004 on his visit to Russia she became his meditation student. Studying at the Pedagogical University in the Ural region in Tchelyabinsk to become a teacher for English and French, she read about swimming the English Channel for the first time on the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team website. Immediately it gave her a feeling of joy and a sense of freedom – the idea of swimming as long as you wanted to! She talked about the idea with her friends, and they advised her to start training right away if she really wanted to do it. So she started to train - a little bit. However, it all seemed as unreal as going to another planet.

Then, after graduation, Tanya moved to Moscow. During the following years, as an active member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, she did more running: quite a few marathons (10 or so), a 50 km ultramarathon, a 24 hour race, a 13 hour run. Running just became part of her daily routine and spiritual practice, but she was also inspired by Sri Chinmoy`s motto of "self-transcendence" in general.

As she started to organise SCMT races and other events in Moscow and was working more with athletes, the dream of swimming the English Channel came back again. In October 2013 she started her swim training again, this time more seriously, and in June 2014 she decided to book a boat for the English Channel at the earliest possible date - which was the end of August 2017.

For August 2016 she planned a great training swim, the 26 km Rapperswil-Zurich Sri Chinmoy Marathon swim in Switzerland - but as it turned out she was far slower than expected. In spite of having trained with a coach and gone to Croatia and other places for training, she underestimated her speed in the open water and did not make the halfway cutoff. Instead of 6 hours, it took her about 7:30 hours to reach the 14 km cutoff point in Meilen. Her teammates advised her to postpone her English Channel swim for another year to 2018 – but Tanya was determined.

She took a 4 week rest and then upped the intensity of her training, her mileage and speedwork, and became even more serious about her discipline under the guidance of her new coach Maxim Korshunov. Training in Moscow on a tight budget, eating properly and continuing to organise sports and Peace Run events etc. was quite a challenge for her. In early May 2017, when she had planned a long cold open water swim in the Black Sea during a meeting in Eupatoria on the Crimea, the water was still too cold for a 20 or 30 km swim, so she came back again at the end of May, booking a boat for a couple of days to get some proper training in Channel temperatures and conditions. Her longest swim in the Black Sea was 11.5 hours in quite challenging conditions.

In retrospect, she feels: "This (intense) training already made me another person, I have learned to understand myself better, my mind, my body. By working hard in the training and going forward step by step overcoming difficulties you really become a different person, more determined, more confident, and at the same time you become more patient and learn to understand others better."

Dover and the Swim

Booked for the neap tide (neap = between 5.3-6.1m tidal difference, weaker currents than on spring tides) between Aug. 28 to Sept. 4, she decided to go to Dover a few weeks early to acclimate and do some more serious training in Channel waters. A 10 hour swim in the harbour that went very well increased her confidence that she would be able to do it.

Then, on Aug. 27, the day before the neap tide would start, the call from pilot Eddie Spelling came: be ready for a 3 p.m. start the next day. The weather forecast was extremely good for a couple of days, so good that Chloe McCardel from Australia had already started on her unprecedented quadruple (4-leg) solo-attempt of the English Channel. Everything including two helpers (Manogati and Olga from Belarus) was ready – and on Aug 28 at 4 p.m. Dover time, the big adventure finally started.

We got the news while on our annual international celebrations retreat in New York, and so hundreds of wellwishers from N.Y., UK and Russia, including her family in Siberia, supported Tanya`s swim inwardly, praying for her and sending good vibes – with a few of us outwardly following the tracker on the internet deep into the night and again early in the morning (she started 11 a.m. N.Y. Time).

Tanya knew she was in for a 20 hour swim or more, and she told so to her pilot when he asked about her estimated time. She reached the separation zone dividing the Channel into the two NE and SW shipping lanes only after about 7 hours, in the middle of the night (the halfway point geographically but not necessarily timewise). Around 4 hours later, almost in the middle of the French shipping lane, the tides changed as expected and currents pushed her back northeast, away from the Cap, away from the receding French coastline, but she just ploughed on, undeterred, through the colder hours of the night into the morning dawn. Pilot Eddie posted: "Coming up on our 15th hour she's still smiling". She had looked at a lot of swim tracks of over 20 hour swims in her preparation, and so she was also mentally and psychologically prepared to seemingly go backwards and to do a few "extra laps". However, conditions stayed very favourable and only 4 hours after the first big tidal change the currents started to slacken again, and with the next change of tides, about 16 hours into the swim, she entered French inshore waters where the currents are less strong, moving closer and closer to Cap Griz Nez. However, it would still take her four more hours! The last challenge was to pass the Cap once again, tantalizingly close but out of reach, yet slowly and steadily making headway towards the coast. When we called again from New York at 6:30 a.m. our time (11:30 a.m. Dover time, 12:30 French time), Eddie told us "only 30 more minutes to go" – what a relief! And finally, after 20 hours 13 minutes of determined effort, Tatiana reached her goal, stepped on dry land and manifested her long cherished and hard worked for dream: she had become a true English Channel swimmer (solo, no wetsuit), the 4th Russian woman and the first Russian swimmer in our team - in the 40th anniversary year of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.

Tanya was blessed with amazing conditions right from the start: Eddie posted: 19.9°C water temp (Tanya thinks it was more like 18.5°C - 19.9°C maybe just on the surface, but still), 22°C air temp, waters calm, wind 2 knots NE. Her observer was King Kevin Murphy himself, with 34 EC crossings, the most for a male swimmer. And with Eddie Spelling, she had one of the best pilots who had already helped fellow SCMT member Vijaya Claxton reach her treasured goal in 2007, and took our relay safely to France in 2009 and myself on my Channel-triathlon in 2010.

Tanya`s personal report about the swim is still to follow, and also Kevin Murphy, who never forgets to mention that he was honoured and lifted overhead by Sri Chinmoy in London, promised to write a few words about Tanya`s great swim.

Be courageous,
Be determined,
Be self-giving.
The Goal will be all yours.
           - Sri Chinmoy

Tanya also took some inspiration and helpful information from Adriano`s book about his English Channel solo swim 2013, entitled "The Challenge of the English Channel - a spiritual approach to the Mount Everest of Swimming".

Here a nice article with video footage of the swim in Russian: http://tvn-tv.ru/news/society/novokuznechanka_pereplyla_la_mansh.html

Dancing with the Lion Mane Jellyfish: Abhejali swims from Northern Ireland to Scotland (35 km) in 10 hours 23:48

On Aug 15, 2017, Abhejali Bernardova, a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team from Zlin, Czech Republic, completed her 6th Oceans Seven challenge by conquering the North Channel from Donaghadee in Northern Ireland to Portpatrick in Scotland (35km - about the same distance as the English channel) in an excellent time of 10 hours 23:48, assisted by her experienced crew (Catalina, EC, Tsugaru): her sister Jana from London, Scottish team member Dhavala Stott and Jayalata from N.Y. According to the ILDSA (Irish Long Distance Swimming Association) it was the fastest crossing of the six solo swims so far of 2017.

The North Channel is widely regarded as one of the hardest sea swims in the world, due to low water temperatures (10-14°C, warmest in August), ubiquitous Lion mane jellyfish that surface with the sun, strong currents and very unpredictable and changeable weather. Abhejali is the first Czech swimmer – male or female - to swim the North Channel, the 17th woman overall and only the 49th person in the world to successfully complete the swim.

A 50:50 chance of a swim

The night before her actual swim, pilot Quinton Nelson said there was a 50:50 chance for a swim the next morning. Some forecasts were good, some predicted strong winds. It was agreed to meet at the boat at 5 a.m. in the morning to assess the actual weather conditions and make a final decision. On Tuesday morning, conditions on the Irish side were very calm, so it was a go – still with conflicting forecasts for the rest of the day and the distance. The team asked all her supporters to pray for conditions to stay good and swimmable - and maybe it helped. The wind only picked up a little to force 3 or 4 for a few hours later on, even though some forecasts had predicted force 6 or even 7. The sun came out quite soon, and rain came only an hour or so before the landing (it rained heavily on the way back). A few days after the spring tide, the currents were still quite strong and Abhejali was asked to swim hard, to feed only every hour to avoid wasting time and being swept off course, and even hours from the finish the pilot told her to keep up the pace and to give it her all. Still, currents pushed her back south past the nearest landing point, the lighthouse, adding another ½ mile. Water temps hovered around 14°C – but she had trained for that with ice baths at home and arriving early to the Irish Sea to acclimate, plus swimming hard all the way also helped.  Special blessings were a dolphin and seal near the start and a beautiful rainbow over the landing point. Jellies were present – but the 12 stings on her arms were nothing compared to the painful stings she got in the Molokai Channel, Abhejali said.

The first successful swim across the cold North Channel actually took place exactly 70 years ago by Brit Tom Blower. The first woman in 1988 was Alison Streeter, the Queen of the English Channel. Abhejali said after the crossing: "I knew it was going to be challenging, because of the cold water, so I put on 12 pounds in preparation. The weather was not perfect, but it was the only slightly possible day in my swim window. In the end I was the only swimmer to attempt a North Channel swim that day. I encountered a lot of Lion Mane jellyfish and got stung by about a dozen of them, luckily not in my face. The weather worsened and the water was really cold, so I tried to swim as quickly as possible. Eventually we were caught up in heavy rain."

The Oceans Seven Challenge

Having swum 6 of the toughest Channels in the world: the English Channel (2011), Strait of Gibraltar (Europe to Africa, 2013), Catalina Channel (USA, 2015), Tsugaru Strait (Japan, 2016) and the Kai'wi Channel (Molokai to Oahu, Hawaii, 2017), only the Cook Strait in New Zealand is missing for Abhejali to complete her Oceans Seven, the marathon swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge, which only 7 people (3 women) in the world have achieved so far.

Abhejali has been practicing meditation and a vegetarian lifestyle since 1995, and she clearly feels that wholesome plant-based nutrition and the inner peace, poise and focus gained by her regular meditation practice are helping in her athletic endurance challenges in many ways. She also is a multiple Czech running champion for 100k and 24 hours and completed a six-day race in New York with 616 km.  In March 2017 she organised the first 6 hour indoor swim race in the Czech Republic, which was quickly fully booked out. In her free time she also runs in and organizes the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, the longest relay run for Peace and Friendship in the world.

Through her channel swims Abhejali tries to connect places and people and inspire others to overcome their own perceived limitations.

For more information or to interview Abhejali, please contact: [email protected]

And here a very inspiring video about Abhejali's North Channel swim:

Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team member Abhejali Bernardová completed her 5th 'Oceans Seven' swim on March 28, 2017 – the 42 km (26 mile) wide Ka'iwi Channel between the two Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Oahu.

Abhejali celebrated her 40th birthday with a rather atypical Hawaiian holiday - swimming the Ka'iwi Channel (also called the Molokai channel) protected by nothing more than a swimsuit, goggles, cap, sunscreen and a light stick at night, supported by her crew of helpers and hundreds of wellwishers from around the world.

Abhejali is the first Czech person to complete this noted swim without a wetsuit and unassisted, following English Channel rules. Only 46 swimmers in the world (with 50 swims), 19 of them women, had ever succeeded before (see list). Many swimmers’ attempts over the years had to be aborted, sometimes only after one or a few hours of swimming, due to life-threatening jellyfish stings, sharks, currents and numerous other factors. But Abhejali was very lucky, in spite of at times very difficult conditions.

The beeline route between the Pacific islands of Molokai and O'ahu is exactly marathon distance - 42 kilometers or 26 miles. Abhejali did not have an easy time during her 21 hours and 52 minute challenge, and was pushed quite a bit off the straight line between the two islands. Her first challenge was to swim to the beach for an official start at 5:21 p.m. through a huge surf. She was then pushed to the north for a few hours, with the currents changing just in time to allow her westward journey (It seems our prayers worked in this regard – the pilot told her helpers to ask for higher support, and then the currents started to change!) Swimming through the pitch black new-moon night for 12 hours, with nothing to see apart from the lightsticks bobbing up and down on the kayak, made her seasick until the morning dawn. (The start was timed so as to allow her predicted landing to coincide with the slack or rising flood tide on Oahu.) Then for the last 9 hours, her progress was slowed down to 1 mile per hour by unfavourable currents again.

Her crossing of the Ka'iwi channel is Abhejali`s 5th successful Oceans Seven swim. The Oceans Seven challenge is the ocean equivalent to the Seven Summits (climbing the highest peaks on the seven continents) and involves conquering some of the toughest channels and straits around the world. With the English and Catalina Channel, the Straits of Gibraltar and Tsugaru in the bag, the next steps for Abhejali will be the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland in summer and the Cook Strait between the North and South islands of New Zealand at some later point. In addition, Abhejali is currently still the only Czech holder of the “Triple Crown” of open water swimming (English Channel, Catalina Channel and Manhattan island).

Abhejali, who works in a publishing company as a translator, has been a vegetarian for 20 years and practices meditation, which definitely helps her in preparing and enduring her athletic challenges. She is also a multiple Czech running champion over 100km and 24 hours and ran the 6-day race in New York, covering 616 km. Less than 3 weeks before her Molokai swim she organized the first Czech 6 hour indoor pool swim in her home town of Zlin, with over 100 solo and relay participants. She had this to say about her crossing: "You might say this is Hawaii - so what could be difficult? But believe me, it was definitely not about 'hanging loose'. Even swimming to the start, over enormous waves, was a challenge. Then came the current pushing us north after it got dark, plus I got really seasick during the whole 12 hours of the night, unable to take anything in and throwing up for a long time. Only after daybreak was I able to normally eat and drink and get some energy again. Then I swam into two box jellyfish. I knew this could happen and it would be painful and dangerous, but I had no idea it would hurt so much and for such a long time. For the last 9 miles (about 15km) the waves and currents were against us, so the last part took me nine hours instead of the usual four.

I was very grateful to have a shark shield attached to my helper kajak, supplied for free by e-sharkforce, a company based in Hawaii. Sharks were one of the great topics before my crossing, especially since they had appeared in recent swims, so I was grateful for the protection and peace of mind that it brought. Luckily we did not encounter any sharks, but we saw humpback whales and dolphins. Bottom line: it was a beautiful and unique experience, but I'm glad - at least for the moment - that it is over and I made it across. Swimming in the mighty Pacific Ocean with its enormous power and erratic currents, wind and waves, was definitely an unforgettable experience.”

Dedicated to Peace and Self-Transcendence

With her long distance swims Abhejali is trying to connect places and people, and to inspire others to transcend their own perceived limits and boundaries. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run this year, an global torch relay which Abhejali helps to organise in her spare time, she dedicated her Molokai Channel swim to peace, international friendship and world harmony. “You can say, every stroke in such a swim is a prayer - a prayer invoking and sending out positive energy, peace and harmony. Just as conquering an ocean takes an enormous amount of inspiration, dedication, determination, physical training, mind power as well as heart power, courage and persistence against all odds, plus the faith and conviction that something seemingly impossible can be made possible, so also peace-building is a slow process against many odds where every little effort counts and adds up, where the power of the heart is needed – by more and more people! And both are always team efforts!”

Speaking of team effort, she is extremely grateful to all her inner and outer supporters, including her helpers Harita (New Zealand), Rupasi (USA), Jayalata (Czech Republic) and Jayasalini (Russia), as well as the experienced boat captain Mike Twigg-Smith, co-Captain Mike Scott, kayakers Ecar Roush and Chris Harmes, and Jeff Kozlovic from the Ka'iwi Channel Association. 

For Adriano Passini from Brazil, with a longstanding love for triathlons and warm water, the cold English Channel was something like a myth in his youth – fascinating, but impossible to achieve. 

However, Adriano's life changed when he started to practice meditation. Inspired from within, and by his teacher Sri Chinmoy`s philosophy of inner and outer self-transcendence, he decided to take up the challenge of the Channel. In his new book The Challenge of the English Channel: A Spiritual Approach to the Mount Everest of Swimming, Adriano shares the joys and hardships of his two-year-journey of physical and spiritual preparation and reveals to the reader how, with sincere dedication, the power of the heart, and God`s Grace, seemingly impossible dreams can become a reality.

How to order (print and e-book) »

The English Channel is often called the Mount Everest of Open Water Swimming. There may be longer or more difficult swims, but the challenge of swimming the English Channel remains stupendous. Swimmers will have to brave not only the vastness of the sea and all the elements, but also face their inner demons and weaknesses. Cold water, currents, waves, fog, sudden weather changes, cargo ships, jellyfish, seeweed, swimming in the dark, increasing fatigue, doubt, fears and hours of solitude force the swimmer to dig deep to be able to reach the “Golden Shore.”

Praise

"This book is one of the best I have seen on the subject. It covers how to increase chances of success, what is out of the hands of the swimmer and what will likely contribute to failure. ... A most inspiring telling with great tips that are very readily applied to other sporting and life events....The attempt to capture the inner lessons, seeing everything as a practice session for the next life adventure, was remarkable in its sensibility and practically."

Adhiratha Keefe, fellow SCMT member and first United Nations staff member to swim the Channel solo in 1985.

Video: Interview with Adriano after his English Channel swim in 2013

Famous Channel quotes

"An English Channel swim will always be a battle of one small, lone swimmer against the savage vastness of the open sea." - Michael Read, MBC, King of the English Channel (1979 - 2005) with 33 EC solos, President of the CSA

"Nothing great is easy." - Famous quote by Captain Matthew Webb, first person to successfully swim the English Channel unassisted in 1875

"If you want to successfully swim across the English Channel – you have to leave any doubt on the beach." - Lewis Pugh, pioneer swimmer and ocean advocate

"Self-transcendence-joy
Unmistakably knows
No equal." - Sri Chinmoy

How to order:

• The e-book version is available on Amazon Kindle und the print version on German Amazon.(The Amazon.com print version will come soon).
• The print version can also be ordered via Heart-Light (USA/Canada) and The Golden Shore (Germany/Europe)

Related articles

• Adriano Passini - bio on openwaterpedia

Prayers, focus, visualisation and serious preparation nicely worked together! After the strong wind conditions caused by a typhoon blew out any chances for swimmers only few days earlier, Abhejali Bernardova (39) of our Czech Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team had almost perfect conditions for her attempt to cross the Tsugaru Channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan, which is about 19.5 km wide at its narrowest point.

In the early morning of Friday, Aug. 12, 2016, at 3.30 am, shortly before sunrise, the accomplished English Channel swimmer and "Triple Crowner" (EC, Manhattan Island and Catalina Channel) stepped into the unusually warm (23°C) waters of the strait on the shores of Tappi Misaki, taking advantage of the calm after the storm, to tackle the 30km distance. As you can see on the map, Tappi Misaki is not the closest point to the other shore, but experience shows it is one of the best points to start a swim factoring in the currents constantly pushing from the west through the straits.

Expertly guided by captain Mizushima of the Tsugaru Channel Swimming Association, who uses a white underwater "streamer" to help the swimmer stay on course, and supported by a great team with observer Mika Tokairin from Tokyo, sister Jana Bernadova from London, sister`s fiancé Tiago, and good friends Uddyogini Hall from Australia and Harashita of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team Japan, Abhejali experienced one of the calmest swim days of the year. Her helpers texted: "There were only tiny waves and almost no wind. In the middle she was visibly slowed down by the strong current passing through the strait, but she managed to stay west of the perfect line, which was ideal to avoid any tricky currents at the end." She had a perfect finish at the foot of the lighthouse in a time of 11 hours 07 min 58 sec. According to the captain, only some 3 swimmers or so have managed to land right at the lighthouse before.

Abhejali is the first Czech swimmer to successfully cross the Tsugaru Channel. Having completed 4 Oceans Seven solo swims now (the "classic way" without wetsuit!) - English Channel (2011), Gibraltar Strait (2013), Catalina Channel (2015) and Tsugaru Strait (2016) - she is already planning her next big swim adventure. Abhejali is inspired on the one hand by the challenge of the "Oceans Seven" launched by Open Water visionary Steven Munatones, as well as by the philosophy of self-transcendence of her late meditation-teacher Sri Chinmoy, founder of the international Sri Chinmoy Marathon team, who is known for his pioneering inner approach to athletic endurance feats in running, swimming and beyond.

 "Our philosophy
Is progress.
 In our self-transcendence
Is our tremendous joy."

Sri Chinmoy

Abhejali Bernardova (39), a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team from Zlin, Czech Republic, completed the famous crossing of the strait between Robben Island and Cape Town in South Africa on 12 March 2016. Abhejali became the first Czech person to cross the strait, taking 2h 35 minutes to cross a distance of 7.5 km at a water temperature of only 9-11° C.

The first swim from Robben Island to the mainland to Cape Town was completed by South African Henry Hooper in 1909 in a time of 6h 55min. Robben Island is famous for being the site of the apartheid-era prison of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former South African President Nelson Mandela, and current President Jacob Zuma.

According to Abhejali: "The water was really very cold, I was hoping for a temperature of 13° C. Nine degrees is really low (The English Channel has a temperature of 15 to 18 degrees), we were worried that I could contract hypothermia. After about an hour, I was not sure I could endure it. But I thought that if Nelson Mandela could endure so much, then I could handle this swim. During the swim, I had to occasionally repeat my phone number - if I could not do it, it would mean hypothermia."

"President Mandela for me was always a great inspiration. His dream of a free society is still alive and we need to commemorate it and work for its fulfillment. His ability to forgive his captors and cooperate with all to build an equal society is incredible. Our world needs more people like Nelson Mandela."

Abhejali is also currently the only Czech person to complete the triple crown of long-distance swimming (crossing the English Channel, the Catalina Channel in California, and the round trip of Manhattan Island). In addition, she has also swum the Gibraltar Strait and completed a six-day ultradistance race in New York with a total of 616 km.

In addition to the physical training, Abhejali also meditates, which helps her to maintain her endurance capacities and concentration to overcome physical and mental fatigue and pain, as well as a way to work on herself and be a better person.

(This article is an English translation of this report on the Czech Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team site)

This year's event featured 23 teams as well as individual swimmers. Below you can view a nice video shot by members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team from Hungary. Maybe it will inspire you to join us next time!

Event page for 6 hour swim »

On August 18, 2015, Abhejali Bernadova (age 39) from Zlin, Czech Republic, became the first member of our international Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team and first Czech swimmer overall to achieve the “Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming”. Starting around midnight and swimming through the night from Catalina Island to California mainland, she conquered the Catalina Channel faster than expected in 9 hours 46 min. - after swimming the English Channel solo in 2011 and successfully swimming around Manhattan Island (MIMS) in 2012 (always without a wetsuit). Having crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in 2013, she now also has three of the “Oceans Seven” swims in her pocket. (⇒ Oceans Seven Openwaterpedia)

She said it was a very nice and peaceful swim for her, easier than expected, with calm and unusually warm waters (EL Niño!), lots of bioluminescence and even dolphins accompanying her for some time. She was supported by a great team inlcuding her good friend Harita Davies from New Zealand and Jennifer Cluck from San Diego, as well as the experienced crew on Outrider, the pilot boat.

Catalina Channel Swimming Federation observer Monica Bender reported: “Abhejali and her team were wonderful to team up with across the channel. We had smooth waters for most of the journey except a little chop in the middle. The water was mostly 70/71°F (21°C) the entire way. Huge pods of dolphins were spotted near the finish, and they swam around her for a small portion of the swim. The phosphorescence was beautiful." (see more photos here)

Abhejali – like most of our team members – has been a vegetarian since she started practicing meditation over 20 years ago. Her daily meditation practice, she feels, not only helps her in training by increasing focus and improving regeneration, but also it helps to keep the mind calm and positive during the swim, allowing her to experience the peace and beauty of open water swimming on an even deeper level.

Abhejali is not only an accomplished swimmer, but also a great runner with multiday experience (10 day race New York). She also loves to carry the Peace Run torch across many parts of this world.

Sept. 6-11, 2014: Angikar Djordjevic from Serbia finished his second English Channel solo on Sept. 6th, 2014, in 18 hours 41 min. as part of a personal EC ultra triathlon, continuing, with some rest in between, to bike 560 km and run 3 marathons via Brussels, Maastricht, Aachen, Koblenz and Bingen to Heidelberg, Germany, on Sept. 11. More on www.channel-triathlon.com

Below: Map of Angikar`s 2nd EC solo swim of Sept. 6, 2014:

July 30, 2014 - Karteek Clarke, member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon and Swimming Team swam the slowest and toughest of his 11 Channel crossings on 30 July (19 hours and 1 minute). He is indeed a champion of champions. Looking at the map of his route, you’d think he really didn’t have a clue where France was, or else was getting awful advice from his crew. This drunken arc is all the work of the tides: his swim was made all the more challenging for falling on a Spring tide, the strongest and most wilful of ocean currents.

Imagine swimming in a pool on the roof of a building. While you are swimming, King Kong picks up the building, puts it onto a gigantic swing, and starts rocking the swing through an enormous arc in the sky. You think you’re swimming in a straight line which you sort of are but your position on a GPS goes all over the place. For the whole 19 hours, Karteek was swimming straight towards France, yet the tide ensured his predominant motion was always sideways. There were times when – even though Karteek was always swimming forwards and towards France due to the tide and the curvature of the coastline, he was actually moving further away from the shore.

Don’t even start to imagine what this can do to your mind and your will! Now imagine that the ‘pool’ you are swimming in is actually a huge washing machine or butter churner (oh yes, and it’s also very, very cold in there). No two strokes you take are the same—one moment you breathe to your left and a mammoth wave smacks your face; the next you stroke to the right and flail in thin air at the edge of a heaving precipice. Especially at night, your universe above, below and all around – is a constant unstable relentless surging disarray. Only the shore is certain: it can be seen, always apparently just ahead (at night you see the lights) — but where and when it will be reached is not worth guessing at.

To me, the most impressive and amazing thing about Karteek’s performance, is that he never once – not once – asked where he was or how far or how long he had to go. That seemed almost irrelevant. Yet how the mind – in the midst of constant sickness, disorientation and discomfort – must have been screaming to know “How far??” For hour after hour after hour, he could see the shore ahead. As the sun set, France was looming – and all through the night, the lights were just there before us – though day had dawned before the pilot finally declared the water too shallow for the boat to proceed and bid Karteek to swim ashore alone. 

On the 27th of July 2013, Adriano Passini completed the 44th successful English Channel crossing by a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon in a time of 11 hours 10 minutes. It was the first successful crossing by a Brazilian member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.

Adriano was supported by a dedicated and experienced boat pilot (Chris Osmond on Seafarer II, left) and his two main helpers Ashirvad Zaiantchick and Karteek Clarke (a veteran of 10 channel crossings himself, right)

Adriano began his swim at 2h37min, reaching the French coast 11h10min later, on the beach of Wissant Bay.

Unofficial success on 27 July: 1-way solo Adriano Passini, time 11:10, pilot Chris Osmond. http://t.co/EXwIGLi6ur

— CS&PF (@csandpf) July 28, 2013

- Adriano's longer story by his helper and Channel veteran Karteek Clarke on Karteek's blog: "Determination Wins the Day"

- List of complete EC swims by members of the International Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team

From Adriano's Press Release:

Conquest of the English Channel by Brazilian Adriano Passini

Dover / Sao Paulo

On Saturday, 27th of July 2013, Adriano Passini from Sao Paulo completed the 20th English Channel crossing by a Brazilian swimmer, in a time of 11 hours 10 minutes. It was the first successful crossing by a Brazilian member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, his swimming club, that also currently holds the most crossings by any team, 43 (by 27 individual swimmers).

The distance of the crossing from Dover to France is 21miles/33km in a straight line, but with wind and water currents this distance can be largely increased (see map). He finished in 11h10min23s, which is this year’s fastest time so far.

Adriano began his swim in the very early hours of Saturday morning at 02:37 from Samphire Hoe at the western end of famous Shakespeare Beach. Conditions proved to be a mixture of relatively "warm" sea temperatures, rain, mist and thunderstorms, with little wind. Adriano had to also contend with jellyfish and large sea vessels at close distance. However, as he approached the French coast, weather conditions became favourable with the sun coming out.

Adriano was supported by a dedicated and experienced pilot boat (Seafarer II with Chris Osmond) and his two main helpers, Ashirvad Zaiantchick from Brasil and Karteek Clarke from Edingburgh (a veteran of 10 channel crossings himself - who now feels inspired to maybe do it again...). His helpers proudly mentioned that Adriano never complained, but cheerfully stuck to the task in hand.

Adriano has been dreaming of achieving this swim for the past couple of years. Recently, he has completed a few long swims in preparation. This included the Zurich Lake Self-Transcendence Marathon Swim in August 2012, a 26km race from Rapperswil to Zurich. He trained at night, after a regular working hours, covering between 5 and 8 km everyday, with several longer swims in the sea, accompanied by his father in a small boat.

From the founder of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team:

“When we are inspired, we try to swim the English Channel. When we are inspired, we go from one country to another country to inspire people and to be inspired by them. I feel that when we inspire humanity, we automatically become good citizens of the world. This is my philosophy.” [2] - Sri Chinmoy, Mystic Journey in the Weightlifting World

Congratulations Banner at Varne Ridge Caravan Park

The swim course - courtesy Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation (CS&PF)

- Adriano's longer story by his helper and Channel veteran Karteek Clarke on Karteek's blog: "Determination Wins the Day"