At the age of 12, Caitlin O’Reilly (@caitlinnoreilly) became the youngest female to cross the 23 km Cook Strait between the North Island and South Island of her native New Zealand under the escort of Philip Rush in February 2017.
Yesterday with the same International Marathon Swimming Hall of Famer Rush on her escort boat onboard the Bottom Scratcher (@the_bottom_scratcher) with escort kayaker Mike Cochrane on the Catalina Channel, O’Reilly completed her sixth Oceans Seven channel in 8 hours 57 minutes.
O’Reilly posted on Facebook, “[It was] a great swim. I pushed myself hard and am happy with how it all went. 6 out of 7 Oceans Seven done [with] only one left, Molokai Channel in Hawaii. Thanks so much to the team Bottom Scratcher for all the support and a great day on the water.
The water temp was about 21°C and I saw a few big pods of dolphins just after sunrise. It was amazing.”
CCFS President and observer Don Van Cleve said, “Caitlin was steady and fast, a terrific swimmer. There were good size swells which were not an inhibiting factor.”
O’Reilly’s Oceans Seven Journey
- February 2017: 23 km Cook Strait between the North Island and South Island in New Zealand in 7 hours 19 minutes
- July 2022: 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel from Honshu to Hokkaido in northern Japan in 11 hours 37 minutes
- August 2023: 33.5 km English Channel from England to France in 9 hours 34 minutes
- August 2023: 35 km North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 9 hours 57 minutes
- September 2023: 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 6 hours 19 minutes
- July 2024: 32.3 km Catalina Channel from Catalina Island to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 8 hours 56 minutes
- September – December 2024: 45 km Molokai Channel from Molokai Island to Oahu
For more information on O’Reilly, visit the Marathon Swimmers Federation LongSwims database here.
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