The Around Beavertail Swim, pioneered by Michael Garr in 2017, is an 11.1 km near-circumnavigation swim around Beavertail Island in Jamestown, Rhode Island, USA (see historical data here). 

It is one of several thousands of island swims to, from, on, near, between, or around islands that dot Planet Earth.

https://youtu.be/i1S6mIvxUJg

In 2019, we posted the most recent World’s Top 100 Island Swims (see list below). Four years is a long time in the contemporary open water swimming community. Now is a good time to update the list with new swims, expanded swims, historical swims that we forgot or are in exotic locations.

The 2019 list of swims posted below is in alphabetical order. If you think an important, excellent, beautiful, highly competitive, long, traditional, or challenging island swims, relays, charity events, or races are missing, email us at headcoach@openwatersource.com and we will compile a new 2023 list.

1. 20 Bridges Manhattan Island Swim, 45.9 km circumnavigation swim around Manhattan Island in New York City
2. 358 Swim, 3 km, 5 km and 8 km along the Hamilo Coast at the Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club, Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines
3. Alcatraz Island swims, 2 km between Alcatraz Island and Aquatic Park in San Francisco Bay, California
4. Apolima Strait Swim, 22.3 km between Upolu and Savai’i across the Apolima Strait in Samoa
5. Atlantic City Around the Island Swim (Absecon Island Swim), a 36.6 km circumnavigation swim around Absecon Island in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
6. Barbados Open Water Festival, 1.5 km, 3.3 km, 5 km, 10 km in Carlisle Bay, Barbados
7. Beach-to-Beach Power Swim, 1 mile, 2.25 miles, 3.5 miles in Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Hawksnest Bay in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
8. Beginish Island Swim, 6.43 km around Beginish Island in Co. Kerry, Ireland
9. Bermuda Round-the-Sound, 0.8 km, 2 km, 4 km, 7.25 km and 10 km in Bermuda
10. BEST FEST, 10-race 7-day competition in Mallorca, Spain
11. BISRA GaddinAbtGarnish, 1 km, 3 km, 5 km and 7 km around Garnish Island in Glengarriff, Co. Cork, Ireland
12. Bonaire EcoSwim, 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, 5 km, 10 km in Kralendijk, Bonaire
13. Boston Light Swim, a 12.8 km swim among the Boston Harbor Islands, Boston
14. Canal de Menorca, a 37 km crossing between the Balearic Islands of Menorca and Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea
15. Caramoan 7K Swim Challenge, 3.5 km and 7 km between islands in Camarines Sur, Philippines
16. Catalina Channel, 32.3 km between Santa Catalina Island and the California mainland
17. Cebu Strait, 12 – 16 km strait crossing from Cabilao Island to Argao on Cebu Island in the Philippines
18. Cocos International Crossing, 3.52 km channel crossing from Cocos Island to Guam
19. Cook Strait, 23 km between North Island and South Island in New Zealand
20. Cork Distance Week, 8-day swim camp including the Body Brain Confusion Swim around Sandycove Island and Sherkin Island in Cork, Ireland
21. Croatian Elaphiti Islands – Dubrovnik, 5-day swim vacation in the southern Dalmatian Coast along Croatia’s Elaphiti island
22. Croatia Open Water Swim Cruise 9-day swim vacation from Split and around Dalmatian Islands in the Adriatic Sea, ending in the Faros Challenge
23. Curaçao Channel Crossing, 26.1 km from Klein Curaçao to Curaçao
24. Deception Island, 1 km in South Shetland off the Antarctic Peninsula
25. El Cruce, 3 km and 10 km from Cancún to Isla Mujeres in Quintana Roo, Mexico
26. Enoshima – Jogashima Channel, 21 km island-to-island crossing in eastern Japan
27. Escape from Mañagaha, 2.4 km channel crossing between Saipan and Mañagaha in the Northern Mariana Islands
28. Escape from Spike Island, 1.8 km in Cobh Harbour, Ireland
29. Fastnet Rock, 6.5 km on the most southerly point of Ireland
30. Fiji Swims, 1 km, 2.7 km and 18 km at Treasure Island and Beachcomber Island, Fiji
31. Five Islands Challenge, including 7.4 km Manono Island Swim, 5 km Fanuatapu – Namu’a Islands Swim, ​5 km Namu’a Island to Lalomanu Swim, 5.3 km Nu’usafe’e Island Swim, 3.5 km Matautu Island Swim in Samoa
32. Flowers Sea Swim, 1.6 km, 5 km and 10 km on Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands
33. Freedom Swim, 7.4 km from Robben Island to Big Bay in Cape Town, South Africa
34. Generation Homes Sand to Surf, 2.6 km and 1.25 km around Moturiki Island in Mt Maunganui, New Zealand
35. Greek Symi Swimming Odyssey 7-day swim vacation on Symi Island in the Dodecanese group located near Rhodes, Greece
36. Guernsey, 48.28 km around the island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy
37. HK360, 45 km around Hong Kong Island.
38. Île d’Oléron, 3 km to French mainland
39. Inchbaggers Island Swims, a series of lake swims in Loch Lomond, Scotland including 200m, 800m, 1.3 km, 2 km, 3 km, 5 km, and 7 km group swims to and around Inchmurrin Island, Inchcailloch Island, Inchconnachan Island, Inchmoan Island, Inchcruin Island, Inchtavannach Island, Isle of Inveruglas, and Island I Vow
40. Inisbofin Swim, 12.8 km from Inishbofin to Connemara, County Galway, Ireland
41. Kapiti Island Swim, 5.6 km between Kapiti Island and North Island in New Zealand
42. Lake Toba Festival – World Super Swim 3-day 117.6 km circumnavigation relay around Samosir Island, North Sumatra, Indonesia
43. Linden Scott Swim Around Gasparee Island, 5.6 km around Gasparee Island, Trinidad & Tobago
44. Malta-Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Competition, 5.5 km and 11 km in Malta in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily, Italy
45. Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli, 36 km from Capri to Napoli, Italy
46. Marnaton eDreams Formentera, 4 km and 11 km on the island of Formentera, Spain
47. Maui Channel Swim, 15.9 km relay between the islands of Lanai and Maui in Hawaii
48. Mercer Island Marathon Swim, 20 km around Mercer Island, Washington
49. Moz Coral Open Water Race, 10 km from Haapiti – Site Tiahura on Mo’orea, Tahiti
50. Naples Island Swims, 200m, 500m, 1 km, 1.6 km and 4.8 km in Long Beach, California
51. Navarino Challenge, 1.6 km in Navarino Bay at the port of Pylos in Greece’s Ionian Sea
52. Nevis to St. Kitts Cross-Channel Swim, 4 km from Nevis to St. Kitts in the Caribbean Sea
53. FINA/HOSA Marathon Swim World Series, 10 km professional marathon swim in New Caledonia
54. Okinawa Uruma Hamahiga Open Water Swim, 0.4 km, 0.8 km, 1.6 km and 3.2 km on Hamahiga Island in Okinawa, Japan
55. Palk Strait, a 59 km [[channel crossing]] between India and Sri Lanka
56. Paxos to Antipaxos, a 6 km [[expedition swim]] in Greece
57. Pennock Island Challenge, 13.2 km circumnavigation swim around Pennock Island in Ketchikan, Alaska
58. Perhentian Island Marathon Swim, 16 km circumnavigation swim in Pulau, Perhentian Besar in Malaysia
59. Quicksilver Reef Swim – Green Island, 1.5 km and 3 km from Green Island over the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland in northeastern Australia
60. Race For The Conch Eco-SeaSwim, 0.5 mile, 1-mile and 2.4-mile in Turks & Caicos
61. Rathlin Swim Challenge, 11.3 km from Rathlin to Bellycastle in Northern Ireland
62. Rattlesnake Island Swim, 3.1 km and 7 km across Okanagan Lake in Peachland, British Columbia, Canada
63. RCP Tiburon Mile, 1.6 km from Angel Island to Tiburon, California
64. Rottnest Channel Swim, 19.7 km from Perth in Western Australia to Rottnest Island
65. Round Jersey, 65.9 km circumnavigation swim around the Island of Jersey in the middle of the English Channel
66. Sado Channel Crossing, 40 km prison island swim from Sado Island to Niigata Prefecture on Honshu in northern Japan
67. St. Croix Coral Reef Swim, 1.6 km, 3.2 km and 8 km in St. Croix in the Caribbean Sea
68. Saipan Swim Club Ocean Swim, 0.6 km, 1 km, 1.3 km, 2.5 km in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
69. Sandycove Island Challenge, 2 km around Sandycove Island, Kinsale, Co Cork, Irelan7
70. Santa Barbara Channel, 19.6 km between Anacapa Island and the California mainland
71. Santa Cruz Channel, 30.5 km between Santa Cruz Island and Oxford on the California mainland
72. Santorini Experience, 1.6 km on Santorini Island, Greece
73. Sherkin Island Swim, 2 km from Sherkin Island to the Cork mainland, Ireland
74. Shonan Open Water Swim, 800m, 2.5 km and 10 km from Zushi to Enoshima in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
75. Singapore Open Water Swim Stars, 1 km and 3.5 km at the Sea Sport Center in Singapore
76. Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union Sea Swim, 3.2 km in, Colombo, Sri Lanka
77. St Lucia Channel Swim (Saint Lucia-Martinique Channel Swim), a solo and relay 33.5 km channel swim across the St. Lucia Channel between Martinique and St. Lucia in the Caribbean Sea
78. Strait of Bonifacio, 11 km between Corsica (France) and Sardinia (Italy) in the western Mediterranean Sea
79. Strait of Messina, 3.1 km between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in southern Italy
80. Strel Swimming Adventures Croatian Island Hopping, 7-day swim vacation in the Adriatic Sea along Croatia´s Dalmatian Coast based on the small island of Krapanj
81. Swim Around Charleston, 19.3 km circumnavigation swim around Charleston, South Carolina
82. Swim Around Key West, 20.1 km circumnavigation swim around Key West, Florida
83. Swim Around Lido Key, 11.2 km circumnavigation swim around Lido Key in Sarasota, Florida
84. Swim for Haiti, 1.5 km and 10 km on Ile des Arcadins in Haiti
85. Swim The Island, 1.7 km, 3.5 km, 5 km in Isola di Bergeggi, Italy
86. SwimTrek Crete Discovery, 7-day swim vacation on Crete, Greece
87. SwimTrek Red Sea Liveaboard – Egypt, 8-day swim vacation in the Red Sea in Egypt
88. SwimTrek Galapagos Islands, 8-day swim vacation in the Galapagos Islands
89. SwimTrek The Maldives, 6-day swim vacation in the Maldives
90. SwimVacation Abacos Bahamas, 6-day swim vacation in the Bahamas
91. SwimVacation British Virgin Islands, 6-day swim vacation in the British Virgin Islands
92. Tahiti Swimming Experience, 4 x 200m relay, 2 km fun race, 5 km multi-day event in Tahiti
93. Travesía La Bocaina, a 15 km swim from Lanzarote to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands
94. Travesía a Nado El Río, 2.6 km inter-island swim from the Playa de Bajo Risco in Lanzarote to the Caleta de Sebo in La Graciosa on the Canary Islands
95. Travesia Media Maraton de Tabarca, 22 km in Tabarca, Spain
96. Valentia Island Circumnavigation, 25.8 km circumnavigation swim around Valentia Island in western Ireland
97. Vanuatu Ocean Swim, 1.5 km and 3.2 km in Port Vila, Iririki Island, Vanuatu
98. Waikiki Roughwater Swim, 3.8 km across Waikiki Beach on Oahu in Hawaii
99. World Heritage Okinawa Safa-utaki Open Water Swim Race, 500m, 1 km, 1.5 km and 3 km relay in Azama Sunsun Beach, Nanjo City, Okinawa, Japan
100. Xiamen-Kinman Swimming, 7.1 km from Tiamen, China to Kinmen, Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait

© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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