Big Bay Events
South African extreme swimmer and inspirational speaker Ryan Stramrood broke yet another record on Thursday, swimming 33kms across False Bay in a fastest time of 8h39mins.
The previous record of 9h17mins from March 2007 is held by Barend Norjie.
Stramrood is only the sixth solo swimmer to achieve the crossing, which he undertook from Miller’s Point near Simonstown to Rooi-Els near Pringle Bay.
“It was a very tough, but great swim for me," said Stramrood. "I felt strong so I pushed hard, despite it being really rough and the waves side-on. The best part was the relatively warm water at 18.5-19 degrees. I am so happy that it is done, with an unexpected record as well.”
In June last year, Stramrood completed his 109th Robben Island crossing, which broke the record held by Theodore Yach.
He has completed the Robben Island swim a further six times since then and is still the record holder at 115 crossings.
Stramrood has not always been this fit, and considered himself a couch potato when he decided to attempt his first Robben Island crossing in 2003.
Since then he has taken on some of the world’s most extreme swims and pushed boundaries in ultra-extreme cold conditions.
With a small team of South Africans, he swam the World First Official Ice Mile in Antarctica in -1C water temperature, and was part of the team for the World First USA to Russia Relay (mainland to mainland).
He has succeeded in crossing the notorious English Channel and has twice swum across the Straits of Gibraltar from Europe to Africa.
He is also a two time Guinness World Record holder.
