Tomorrow morning at 2 am, Andreas Waschburger (38, Germany, MSF bio here, IISA bio here, World Aquatics bio here, @andreaswaschburger), Jonathan Wall (53, Australia, MSF bio here), Brenda Norman (44, Australia, MSF bio here), and Anel Sytdykova (46, Kazakhstan, MSF bio here) will meet infinity pilots Pádraig Mallon, Jacqueline McClelland, David Hughes, Jerry McGrady, Jack Boyle, and Barry Duffy at the Bangor Marina.

They plan to start at The Gobbins in Northern Ireland and will head off to Scotland with a planne 3 am start. The water temperature in mid-channel is 14.9°C.

Escort Boats

Infinity Channel Swimming and Piloting Services uses their aptly named escort boats ĀNANTYA, INFINITY, ÄÄRETÖN, EILÍFÐ, and ÉIGRÍOCH. Their naming convention is all derived from the word, infinity.

Ānantya (आनन्त्य) is a Sanskrit word meaning infinity, eternity, or endlessness, describing the boundless and limitless nature of time or existence and can also refer to immortality in spiritual contexts. 

Ääretön is a Finnish word that means infinite or endless.  It can refer to the mathematical concept of infinity or be used in a general sense to describe something that has no limit or bound, such as infinite possibilities or an endless amount of time. 

EILÍFÐ means eternity or eternal life in Old Icelandic.

Éigríoch means infinity or endless in Irish, derived from the Irish word críoch meaning limit or end, combined with the negative prefix é.

“These infinity boats are fantastic for channel swimming for a variety of reasons,” observed Steven Munatones. “Firstly, the pilot and crew are close to the swimmer and the visibility is excellent. Secondly, the engines are powerful and can get the successful swimmers and those who DNF back to the marine fast. There are a variety of sizes and layouts that are either ideal for a swimmer with a small team or a larger one or for relays.

It is also excellent that all the pilots are experienced on each of the boats and all the equipment for emergencies or communications are in the same location on each boat.

Pádraig and Jacqueline really thought deeply about providing services for the swimmers from a variety of perspectives.”

Channel Swimming Tracking

McClelland says, “Tracking is with track.rs and is always linked via our website infinitychannelswimming.com for live tracking. Thanks to Evan Morrison of Marathon Swimmers Federation. The official Irish Long Distance Swimming Association observers always help with their invaluable services and heartfelt passion to support and document the swimmers’ achievements.”

Andreas Waschburger

Waschburger is now prepping for his seventh Oceans Seven channel crossing in an AirBnB in Bangor. Similar to his fellow North Channel aspirants Jonathan Wall, Brenda Norman, and Anel Sytdykova tonight, he will eat an early dinner and call in a night much earlier than normal with the 2 am meeting at Bangor marina.

The 38-year-old German is ready to break the overall speed record of 63 hours 2 minutes, currently held by Andy Donaldson (34, Scotland, MSF bio here, @andy.swimming, shown below). His cumulative time (not inclusive of the North Channel) is 41 hours 24 minutes.

Donaldson versus Waschburger

• 33.5 km English Channel: 8 hours 0 minutes versus 6 hours 45 minutes
• 23 km Cook Strait: 4 hours 33 minutes versus 5 hours 12 minutes
• 45 km Molokai Channel; 15 hours 52 minutes versus 9 hours 55 minutes
• 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar: 2 hours 56 minutes versus 2 hours 51 minutes
• 32.3 km Catalina Channel: 9 hours 22 minutes versus 7 hours 58 minutes
• 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel: 13 hours 4 minutes versus 8 hours 43 minutes
• 35 km North Channel: 9 hours 13 minutes versus to be decided…

Jonathan Wall

In addition to the English Channel (13 hours 14 minutes), the 54-year-old Wall has completed 2 Derwent River swims, a Rottnest Channel Swim, and 2 Port to Pub Swims.

Brenda Norman

Norman has the English Channel (11 hours 53 minutes), the Catalina Channel (10 hours 36 minutes), 5 Derwet RIver swims, and a 20 Bridges Manhattan Beach circumnagivation swim under her swim cap.

Anel Sytdykova

Sytdykova has 3 Oceans Seven swim done (English Channel in 15 hours 15 minutes, Catalina Channel in 18 hours 19 minutes, and Strait of Gibraltar in 4 hours 43 minutes). She has also done thhe SCAR Swim Challenge and the Battle of Carlingford

North Channel Honour Roll

infinity maintains the North Channel Honour Roll here.

Updates

Stay tuned here for updates on tomorrow’s four North Channel swimmers.

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.