JUNE 25, 2019 - SOLD OUT

Ready to dive into water heralded in legends for centuries? You'll swim across the Messina Strait from Punta Faro in Sicily, to Cannittello, 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.

Water World Swim is not responsible for swimmers booking and travel, or lodging ahead of time until the swim date is confirmed.

SWIMMING MESSINA

Join us for this Italian adventure.
You won't just scratch it off your bucket list - you'll join a new family.

DETAILS

  • Only approved swimmer applicants
  • Water World Swim crossing on June 25, 2019
  • Applicants must be 15 years old on swim day.
  • Limited to 30 swimmers
  • Mandatory briefing
  • You'll get a finisher's tee, medal, and certificate, and trophies for fastest male & female!

INCLUDED

  • 10:00 am suggested swim training at Punta Faro
  • 12:00 pm suggested lunch and rest
  • 5:00 pm mandatory briefing at Ritrovo Fiumara (Via Consolare Pompea 1403)
  • Certificate, finisher's tee, medal, and WWS International Membership for life
  • Optional Award ceremony lunch (fee will be charged by Giovanni Fiannacca at time of briefing)
  • Your name immortalized in our finisher list

RECOMMENDATIONS

  • We recommend staying either Hotel Donato or Gechi di Mare B&B. 
  • Both are well-located near Punta Faro. Inexpensive and wonderful!
  • 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

What is Water World Swim International Membership?
An amazing thing to have, that's what! By completing an international swim with us (or, by coming from abroad to complete a swim in the San Francisco Bay with us), you are automatically a WWS International Member. This privilege grants you 15% off any swim or trip with us and your swimmer profile on our website where we will store your times and achievements for all to see!

What if I am already a regular WWS member? If you have both regular and international memberships, you'll enjoy the international benefits with the regular membership benefits, like 30% off of any of WWS 6 annual events, and free Swim With Pedro. The discounts cannot be combined.

Need a help booking your travel to Messina? Our italian friends from Private Tour in Italy are full-experienced. With more than 30 years on Touring business, they have reached different places over the world bringing a whole new touristic experience to their travelers.

You can contact Private Tour operator Raffaelle Guida via phone call: 0039.338.78.58.022 (from 6 pm to 8 pm italian time)

THE FINISH LINE

Finish on the charming shores of Cannitello.
Get ready for a quintessentially Italian lunch and award ceremony with new friends!

OUR MESSINA FINISHERS

2017 Messina Strait Finishers

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
Pedro Ordenes USA/Chile
Patrizio Tomada USA
Roberto Tjandra UK
Andrea Vuturo USA
Peter Weyrich Switzerland

2016 Messina Strait Finishers

Richard Cipolla USA
Francesco Gastaldi Italy
Damian Matich UK
Lenonid Neganov Russia
Luisa Pavia Italy

Full swimmer profiles coming soon!

Bay Area Girl Becomes Youngest Person Ever to Successfully Swim Between Italy and Sicily

MESSINA, Sicily (Italy)—June 18, 2017—Water World Swim, the world leader in open water swimming, today announced Mitali Khanzode, a 15-year-old girl native to Sunnyvale, Calif., has successfully completed the swim of the Messina Strait. The 3.5Km (2.1 miles) aquatic traverse between the island of Sicily and mainland Italy took place on Sunday, 18 June, 2017, beginning around 8:50am local time, and took her 1 hour and 20 minutes while she faced rain, wind and challenging currents.

READ MORE

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!

REQUIREMENTS

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.

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