History has been made for Peet Crowther and Chris Oldnall, who recently became the first and second solo swimmers to swim from Robben Island all the way to Dassen Island (over 50kms in fierce conditions). But, this wasn’t just a swim for the sake of it…
Western Cape, South Africa (10 April 2025) — When Peet Crowther and Chris Oldnall told their friends that they were planning on swimming the Robben Island to Dassen Island crossing solo, we’re sure they were met with many sceptical eyebrows.
But the challenge was clear in their minds—do the impossible to make opportunities possible for others.
See, Peet and Chris were not just swimming for the sake of it. As the Deputy Headmaster of Pretoria Boys High School, Mr Oldnall knew that using an extreme sport to garner support could make a world of difference for underprivileged learners. With Chris coming on board, the men channeled all their efforts toward the Trilogy Ocean Challenge and raising funds to make bursaries possible for boys in need through the South African hall of Fame Legacy Project (which has already supported 35 scholars).
The first leg of the challenge tasked them to swim the False Bay Crossing (33kms), which was completed last year. The second took them to Robben Island to fight for a place in history; no one has completed this channel to Dassen Island as a solo open water swim before.
That was until the news came in today that Peet made history, followed by Chris shortly thereafter!
Peet reached the end with a time of 18:23:20.37, while Chris followed with 20:26:21.37 on the clock. Putting this into perspective, they battled blisteringly cold waters for hours on end for around 53kms not to mention the sharks and jellyfish they had to keep watch for.
The risks were high—exhaustion to extreme degrees, dehydration, and, of course, hyperthermia.
As such, the men’s mission has rightfully earned cheers from all over the country and soon, the world.
But this isn’t their last challenge. Leg 3 is pencilled for November, where they’ll attempt another ‘never been done solo before’ through the False Bay Double Crossing.
You can best congratulate them by contributing to the cause, driving it all forward, here.
Sources: South African Hall of Fame; Pretoria Old Boy’s Association
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