Madhu Nagaraja, an Ontario software developer, became the first Canadian to swim across treacherous Strait of Magellan, the natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, on November 29.
The 47-year-old Oakville, Ontario, native is the 23rd person to complete the 3.9-kilometre swim. He took one hour and 19 minutes. Nagaraja tried to swim across the stretch in 2015 but his attempt failed as he suffered from severe hypothermia and the Chilean navy had to come to his rescue to pull him out of water after two hours.
According to La Prensa Austral website in Chile, American swimmers Michelle Macy, Elizabeth Fry and Nagaraja had been training for a few days in Punta Arenas, accompanied by the outstanding Chilean swimmer Julieta Núñez, famous for her expeditions in Antarctic waters. Punta Arenas is a city near the tip of Chile’s southernmost Patagonia region. Nagaraja said American swimmer Michelle Macy also completed the challenging route on the same day.
Earlier that day, the Chilean Navy had not permitted the swim due to unfavourable weather conditions. However, at the end of the day, they were informed that there was a ‘window of opportunity’ that they would have to take advantage of, said La Prensa Austral.
According to the Canadian Press, the experienced open-water swimmer who had previously crossed the English Channel and completed long-distance challenges in Lake Ontario, said several factors prompted him to make another attempt on the Strait, which serves as a route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. “In addition to a desire to honour Canada’s 150th birthday this year”, he said ‘he wanted to pay tribute to the 16th century explorer for whom the Strait is named after’.
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) used the passage during what became the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe, a mission he launched but did not live long enough to complete as he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines in 1521.
In 2004, Nagaraja crossed the English Channel in 12 hours and 31 minutes. He spent 10 months in training to cross the Lake Ontario and beat fatigue and strong winds to complete what is considered to be one of the three toughest swims in the world, becoming the 50th person to achieve the feat.
