Tsugaru Strait complete: Waschburger overcomes the fifth stage of the Ocean’s Seven
Andreas Waschburger is a big step closer to his overarching goal of completing all stages of the Ocean’s Seven. This time, he took on the legendary Tsugaru Strait in northern Japan. This strait between Japan’s Honshu and Hokkaido islands is considered one of the hardest stretches of the Ocean’s Seven – as Waschi can now also attest.
Tsugaru Strait milestones
The Tsugaru Strait is one of the more recent stretches in the Ocean’s Seven. American swimmer David Yudovin completed the first officially recognised solo crossing on 7 July 1990 – reaching the opposite bank in 13 hours and 10 minutes. The first woman to successfully swim the crossing was Miyuki Fujita of Japan. She completed the distance in 11 hours and 36 minutes in 2005. The current record holder is Steven Munatones (USA) with a time of 6 hours and 11 minutes.
Not for the faint-hearted
The Tsugaru Strait, like every stage in the Ocean’s Seven, is no easy undertaking. This is due to the extreme tidal differences between the Pacific and the Sea of Japan, which can cause sudden changes of current. This is paired with notoriously capricious weather conditions in Mutsu Bay, which can change within a very short space of time. And if that weren’t enough, this sea area is also one of the more active maritime habitats – including potential for encounters with jellyfish, dolphins and various species of shark. As a result, the Tsugaru Strait is one of the most technically challenging stretches in the Ocean’s Seven, requiring lots of strength and time.
Tokio, training, Tsugaru
Mission Japan was launched on 28 June with a flight to Tokyo, where Waschburger and his team then trained for the crossing from 29 June onwards with two sessions a day. The first meeting with the local boat captain was a day later – a vital step in coordinating the actual swimming attempt. Later on, the team transferred to Aomori in the north of the country via the bullet train. 8 July was the big day: it all began in the early hours of the morning, shortly before 4 a.m. local time.
The initial plan was to complete the shorter 20-kilometre crossing, but this is only possible under ideal conditions. Due to local circumstances, he ultimately had to switch to the longer 30-kilometre crossing. In the end, Waschi completed nearly 45 kilometres in the water due to strong currents. His overall time: 8:43:21 hours.
This stretch was a not a comfortable one for Waschburger:
The swim was hard for me. It was a tough struggle with no end in sight. In some places it took me 45 minutes to swim two kilometres.
‘Nevertheless, I am proud to have achieved a good time for a stretch that was nearly double the distance due to extreme currents’, Waschburger proudly added after his arrival.
Mission almost accomplished
More than half of the Ocean’s Seven is now complete. Although Waschi was unable to break the current record in Japan, he is still well on track with his total time for the five stretches swum so far. But he does not have long to rest: Waschburger’s next challenge comes in just four weeks’ time. The penultimate stage is crossing the Catalina Channel by Los Angeles. Then comes the big finish in the shape of the North Channel, between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Ocean’s Seven
The ultimate challenge for Andreas Waschburger
Read about his current world records, insights into his attempts, and other updates in this overview.