Strait Of Messina
June 27, 2023
Ready to dive into water heralded in legends for centuries? You’ll swim across the Messina Strait from Punta Faro in Sicily, to Cannitello, Calabria in Italy with strong currents in your favor. With water at 73-77 degrees Fahrenheit, you can shed that wetsuit and soak up the blue Mediterranean – and the delicious food and wine in the region! You’ll be joined by our Italian Coaches Alessandro, as well as Coach Pedro.
Details
- Only approved swimmer applicants
- $550 (U.S.Dollars) per swimmer (non-refundable)
- After January 1st $625 (U.S.) Dollars
- Water World Swim crossing on Summer 2023
- Day of swim to announced end of January 2023
- Applicants must be 14 years old on swim day.
- Limited to 30 swimmers
- Mandatory briefing
- You’ll get a high tech finisher’s tee, certificate of completion!
Included
- Mandatory briefing Place and Time TBA
- Certificate & Finisher’s Tee
- Optional Award ceremony lunch Place: TBA
- Your name immortalized in our finisher list
AFTER THE SWIM: There will be a get together at LA PUNTA. We will have a small ceremony where certificates will be given to all finishers (and non-finishers). Additionally, we will be joined by the pilot and record holder Giovanni Fianaca!
Recommendations
- We recommend staying either Hotel Donato or Gechi di Mare B&B.
- We recommend swimmers go in the morning, the day before the swim, to Torre Faro Beach at la Punta to try the waters in The Strait of Messina.
- Call the hotels directly about discounts for swimming Messina with Water World Swim
- Fly into Reggio Calabria Airport (REG) and take the ferry to Messina
- Or fly into Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) and take a bus or rent a car
Your Boat
You’ll be on the Colapesce, named after Messina legend Nicola “Cola” who turned into a fish and carries Sicily on his shoulder. When he switches shoulders – earthquake!
Your Pilot
Giovanni Fiannacca will pilot the swim. He holds the record for swimming the strait – 30:50 – and has held it since 1975!
Marlins in Messina: Raising money for Pediatric Cancer
Swimming the Strait of Messina is a remarkable feat, and doing so in the fight against pediatric cancer is truly inspirational. Sydney Herr, Natalie Gockerman and Chloe Otten will take this challenge in the Mediterranean Sea, and it requires both physical and mental toughness to cross the waters. We want to raise funds as pediatric cancer is a devastating disease that affects thousands of children and their families every year.
We are excited to take on this challenge and raise as much money as possible and our goal is to raise $50,000 and we cannot do it without your help. We believe in this testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of collective action in making a positive impact on the world.
You can make a credit card donation by clicking on one of the members of our team below, or send a check to: Swim Across America, 8508 Park Rd. #389, Charlotte, NC 28210
Thank you for helping us #MakeWavesToFightCancer.
2022
Laura Alexander USA
Lisa Hughes USA
Scott Sympson USA
Abdullah Paksoy Turkey
Halit Babucci Turkey
Rob Meyer USA
Jane Dominic USA
Bruce Belfiore USA
James Boggs USA
Madeleine Bronstone USA
Isabella Chavira USA
Calum Hudson UK
Jack Hudson UK
Robbie Hudson Slovakia
Drew Waldbauer USA
2019
Emily Abernathy Austria
Carlos Alcantara Peru
Demetrio Babul Chile
Pia Chang Chile
Tim Cowdrey USA
Wendy Davies UK
Paulina Echeverria Chile
Virginie Eskenazi USA
Richard Fria USA
Alberto Intebi Argentina
Carola Khouri USA
Annika Khouri USA
Paul Mason USA
Adam Mays USA
Tom Mcguire Canada
Michael Montgomery Chile
Luis Noriega Peru
Jerry Orten USA
Jamie Orten USA
Ruben Perez Diego Spain
Douglas Preisse USA
Marcos Quiros USA
Matias Reyes Chile
Gary Smith USA
Sofie Vandeputte USA
Clare Whitelam UK
Amy Whittaker USA
Nazar Zhdan USA
Yuliya Hungate USA
2018
Joseph Dieber USA
James David Ireland
Denise Carr USA
Fernando Boeri Chile
Carolina Calleja Rosas Mexico
Anthony Rowedder USA
Andres Isaias USA
Kevin Hayes USA
Francis Grillo USA
Tom Parette USA
Irene Pietropaoli UK
Almer Agmyren UAE
Felicia Agmyren UAE
Micheal Manno USA
William Schabas UK
Robert Roos USA
John Perkins Jr. USA
Vytas Sliesoraitis USA
2017
Angela Andelson USA
Bradley Albert USA
Ricardo Arenas Ecuador
Elisabeth Berge Switzerland
Fannie Berge Switzerland
Francois Berge Switzerland
Hugo Berge Switzerland
Laura Berge Switzerland
Alan Coleman Ireland
Steve Fillipow USA
Alban Fleury Switzerland
Dominic Gallelo USA
Annika Khouri USA
Carla Khouri USA
Mitali Khanzode USA
John Newbury UK
Trevor O’Shea Ireland
Patrizio Tomada USA
Roberto Tjandra UK
Andrea Vuturo USA
Peter Weyrich Switzerland
2016
Richard Cipolla USA
Francesco Gastaldi Italy
Damian Matich UK
Lenonid Neganov Russia
Luisa Pavia Italy
You must be at least 14 years of age to swim the Strait of Messina or the Bonifacio Channel. In addition, you must have an Echocardiogram (EKG) and Stress test performed by a doctor, valid within one year of your swim date. Without meeting either of these requirements, you will not be able to swim.
We highly recommend travel insurance – and not just for your stuff! Swimming in the open water can be dangerous. While we haven’t encountered any, there are jellyfish and you want to be covered in case the unexpected happens. We are not responsible for any swim or open-water related injures.
Before completing your International Application, please take a moment to review our Confidentiality & Minors policy, as well as our Required Supplemental Documents expectations. Thank you very much!