Europe to Africa: Sayani Das crosses Strait of Gibraltar, ticking off sixth ocean channel
Telegraph | 20 April 2025
Six down. One to go. Sayani Das of Kalna, East Burdwan, has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, ticking off the sixth ocean channel in her long-distance swimming career.
Starting with the English Channel in 2017, the 27-year-old has already crossed Cook Strait, Catalina, Molokai and North channels in her bid to complete the Oceans Seven challenge.
She now has just the Tsugaru Strait, in north Japan, left to cross.
Sayani reached Spain on April 6 after the World Open Water Swimming Association ratified her bid, and the green light came from the Strait of Gibraltar Swimming Association.
She took the plunge from Tarifa Island in Spain on April 18 at 1.58 pm, escorted by three boats. One was the navigating pilot boat Columba, the second had the observer and the third carried her father Radhashyam Das and coach Tapan Panigrahi.
“I fed her liquid food that she could take while swimming and without touching our boat, which would disqualify her,” said her father.
Sayani touched land at Cires Point in Morocco after three hours 51 minutes.
“I am happy to clock a sub-four hour timing,” Sayani told The Telegraph from Spain on Saturday night.
The longest swim in her career was in Molokai over 18 hours 50 minutes, followed by the English Channel that took 14 hours 8 minutes. But Sayani refuses to call the Gibraltar swim any easier.
“Every sea has its own challenge,” she said. For North Sea, which she was the first Indian woman to cross, she had to gain weight as the water temperature was 12 degrees Celsius.
“Hypothermia is a risk in such cold, so I needed more fat to burn,” she recalled. This time, she reduced her weight by 6kg.
Congratulating Sayani for keeping Bengal’s open-air swimming legacy alive, veteran long-distance swimmer Bula Chowdhury, who had crossed Gibraltar in record time, recalled the strong current in the strait in the first two hours. “Many swimmers give up early,” she said.
Sayani agreed, recalling how one of the two American swimmers accompanying her quit within an hour. For her, giving up is never an option. “When I take the plunge, I know it is my only shot to clear that channel,” said Sayani.
A teacher at a primary school, her father retired two-and-a-half years ago.
“Each expedition costs around ₹13 lakh. We put everything on the line each time,” said Radhashyam.
Sayani started swimming at the age of seven in a 25m pool at a Kalna club.
Her next step was the Ganga flowing by, where she once aced an 81km contest. When she dreamt of crossing the English Channel, she started practising in the sea at Puri.
The 5ft 3 inch girl would often swim for five hours at a stretch, building up stamina and muscles.
“You cannot eat much while swimming as you may throw up. But you need strength to fight the waves. In the open sea, you are your only motivator,” Sayani said.
Back in Calcutta on April 22, she would recover from muscle injury before starting practice again with an eye on the Tsugaru Strait.
With almost no government allocation for open-air swimming, the bigger challenge will be raising funds, father and daughter concur.