Voices Of Channel 10 And 69 Across The Strait Of Gibraltar
Courtesy of Asociación Cruce A Nado Del Estrecho De Gibraltar, Strait of Gibraltar, Spain – Morocoo.
Laura Gutiérrez Díaz of the Asociación Cruce A Nado Del Estrecho De Gibraltar gave tribute to the centers of Tarifa Tráfico and Tangier Traffic for their work in helping swimmers cross the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco. “For those who do not know the valuable work of these centers, they are in charge of controlling the dense sea traffic of the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as many other tasks, the rescue and salvage.
Without them, it would be impossible [enable swimmers to cross the strait]. They are responsible for ensuring the safety of swimmers and their crossings. [They are in] constant contact with the Association’s escort boats and the large vessels that cross the strait. They give guidelines to large vessels so they do not interfere with the crossings and safety of the swimmers. They allow crossings [while] warning of swimmers in the water.
They are the non-visible face, or rather the voice of channel 10 and 69, which protects and watches over those who do not stop swimming and fight for their dreams.”
Their work enabled 60 successful crossings by 152 swimmers of the Strait of Gibraltar during the 2018 season. 40 swimmers (4 females and 36 males) swam without wetsuits and 104 swimmers (16 females and 88 males) swam with wetsuits. This year, there were only 8 swimmers who attempted the crossing, but did not finish.
Some of the swimmers with significant crossings of the Strait of Gibraltar during the 2018 season included:
* Clemens Duft (Austria) fastest male without a wetsuit in 2 hours 58 minutes on July 7th 2018
* Barbara Milenka Hernández Huerta (Chile) fastest female without a wetsuit in 3 hours 5 minutes on October 8th 2018
* Carlos Báez Ruiz and Rodrigo García-Baquero García de Paredes (Spain) fastest males with a wetsuit in 3 hours 5 minutes on May 22nd 2018
* Irina Zelenkova (Russia) fastest female with a wetsuit in 3 hours 45 minutes on July 18th 2018
* Gad Baruch Benjamin (Israel) oldest male without a wetsuit in 4 hours 23 minutes on August 15th 2018 at the age of 71 years
* Zena Herrmann Courtney (USA) oldest female without a wetsuit in 3 hours 31 minutes on June 14th 2018 at the age of 57 years
* José María Raventós Negra (Spain) oldest male with a wetsuit on 4 hours 1 minute on May 10th 2018 at the age of 66 years
* María Paz Corominas Guerin (Spain) oldest female with a wetsuit on May 10th 2018 at the age of 65 years
* Theodore Charles Hirst (UK) youngest male swimmer without a wetsuit in 4 hours 11 minutes on April 24th 2018 at the age of 28 years
* Muna Al Sharari (Canada) youngest female swimmer without a wetsuit in 3 hours 17 minutes on May 31st 2018 at the age of 22 years
* Rafael Megías Rafael (Spain) youngest male swimmer with a wetsuit in 4 hours 11 minutes on June 22nd 2018 at the age of 21 years
* Blanca Cartanyà Gutiérrez (Spain) youngest female swimmer with a wetsuit in 4 hours 6 minutes on September 2nd 2018 at the age of 24 years
* Itai Orenstein and Guy Galili (Israel) first from Israel without a wetsuit in 3 hours 45 minutes on August 8th 2018
For more information, visit ACNEG’s new website: www.acneg.com.
Photos by Manual Caminero.
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