The Ocean's Seven is a challenge for open water swimmers to swim the seven longest and most challenging ocean swims in the world, solo and unassisted. It is open water swimming's version of the Seven Summits. The swims are: English Channel 21 miles, Catalina Channel 26 miles, Molokai Channel 27 miles, Manhattan Island 28 miles, North Channel 27 miles, Cook Strait 26 miles, and the Strait of Gibraltar 11 miles.
Completing the Ocean’s Seven requires a swimmer to have the ability to swim in both very cold and very warm seas. It also demands that they are physically and mentally prepared to overcome every condition known to defeat open water swimmers, from strong currents to stiff winds, and from jellyfish to sharks to rough seas. The Ocean’s Seven was a subject of a film documentary with Irishman, Stephen Redmond, as the main protagonist. He was the first person in history to achieve the Ocean’s Seven in 2012. Red Bull Media created the film “Defeating Oceans Seven” which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The Ocean's Seven is an incredibly challenging and dangerous endeavor. Swimmers train for years (decades really) and must be in peak physical condition to make an attempt at this feat of endurance. And of course, they must also be mentally strong and prepared to face the many challenges that they will certainly encounter. The Ocean's Seven is a testament to the human spirit and the power of determination. It is an incredible achievement that only a select few have ever accomplished. In fact, completing these swims is, in fact, more of a rarity than climbing the highest mountain on every continent, a.k.a. the Seven Summits challenge. 348 people in history have completed the Seven Summits as of the date of this article. Compared to that, only 22 people in the world have completed all 7 Ocean’s Seven swims. That short list includes 2 people from each of Australia, India, Ireland, Mexico and the UK. But 3 American swimmers have done it. They are Michelle Macy, Elizabeth Fry and Darren Miller.
