Syo Azuma did it. His crossing of the Tsugaru Channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan started off normally off the Kodomari peninsula on Aomori Prefecture, but then things changed – for the better, then for the worse, then for the better.

Instead of being swept eastward as every other soloist and relay has done since 1990, Azuma found unusually great conditions and an extremely mild Tsugaru Current that flows from west to east. He started by bearing toward Oshima Island after his 3:55 am start, but by over halfway across the channel, he was in a unique position to finish near Matsumae on Hokkaido.

After 8 hours and 30 km of swimming in the 21°C water and a very slight southwest wind of 1 meter under cloudy skies, he cruised to a finish of 12 hours 15 minutes.

But at the 9-hour mark, he hit the Tsugaru Current head on and took a 90° turn towards Hokkaido. He faced the harsh 90° Tsugaru Turn – a dreaded sweep to the right due to the strong Tsugaru Current through the channel.

Usually, successful routes across Tsugaru include recent successful crossings by Australian Oceans Seven swimmer Mark Sowerby (course shown on left) and Chilean Oceans Seven swimmer Bárbara Hernández Huerta (course shown on right).

Observer tracking of Azuma by Masayuki Moriya of Ocean Navi:

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