Six Down, One To Go: Caitlin O’Reilly En Route To Oahu

Caitlin Elizabeth O’Reilly from Auckland, New Zealand, started the her seventh and last Oceans Seven channel crossing at 5:40 pm local time tonight from South Pāpōhaku Beach on Molokai Island under the escort of Michael Twigg-Smith.

Her goal?

Reach Oahu by tomorrow morning and complete the Oceans Seven at the age of 20.

Her start has been quite. Captain Twigg-Smith reported that she covered 10 km in the first 2 hours 30 minutes. More to follow.

“Honestly speaking, this channel – the Channel of Bones – is more properly defined as a swim between two volcanic rocks sticking out of the middle of the Pacific, rather than a channel like the English Channel or the Strait of Gibraltar,” said Steven Munatones. “There is always rough, big water swimming across the Molokai Channel.”

Oceans Seven History to date:

Cook Strait: She became the youngest female to cross the 23 km Cook Strait between the North Island and South Island under the escort of Philip Rush in 2017 in 7 hours 19 minutes at the age of 12. Her coach was John Gatfield who was 13 years 3 months at the time of his own Cook Strait crossing in 2004.
Tsugaru Channel: In 2022, she crossed the 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel from Aomori Prefecture to Hokkaido in northern Japan in 11 hours 37 minutes at the age of 18.
English Channel: In 2023, she completed the 33.5 km English Channel from England to France in 9 hours 34 minutes at the age of 19.
North Channel: 15 days later in 2023, she completed the 35 km crossing of the North Channel from Nothern Ireland to Scotland in 9 hours 57 minutes.
Strait of Gib r altar: The next month in 2023, she completed the 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 6 hours 19 minutes.
Catalina Channel: In 2024, she completed the 32.3 km Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland in 8 hours 56 minutes at the age of 20.
Molokai Channel: Tonight, she started a 42 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai Island, heading for Oahu.