Tsugaru Strait
- 19.4 km
- Distance
- Honshu ↔ Hokkaido
Nakajima Shōichi, August 27, 1967
The first documented crossing of the strait was by Nakajima Shōichi, a student at Kokushikan University, born in Fukushima, on the coast of Hokkaido. On August 27, 1967, he entered the water at 7:00 from a rocky coast about 1 km (0.6 mi) west of the Shirakami-misaki lighthouse, with the air at 24 °C (75.2 °F) and the water at 21 °C (69.8 °F). He swam well for five hours, reaching the middle of the strait; then he encountered the current that fishermen call "ōshio," heading northeast, which was extremely strong. The boat pulled him out three times and put him back into the water where the current had taken him. He arrived at the Tappi fishing port at 17:20, after 10 hours and 20 minutes. "I had crossed the ōshio," he wrote, "despair turned into hope". By today's rules, it would not be a valid crossing, but it is the first. The story was reconstructed by the scholar Uda Yasushi from the university newspaper of September 1967.
Obasako Chieko, August 6, 1994
The first woman was Obasako Chieko, a piano teacher from Aomori, who had started swimming due to shoulder pain. In 1987, she had crossed in a relay with five companions. On August 6, 1994, at 43 years old, she set off alone from Gongenzaki and arrived in Fukushima after 12 hours and 28 minutes; every half hour she would drink while floating. "More than happy, I felt I had finally arrived," she said. The Hokkaido newspaper the following day headlined "A piano solo at sea".
1990, and then the Ocean's Seven
In July 1990, two Americans crossed solo, including David Yudovin^4. Since 2008, Ocean Navi has been organizing the crossings. On July 14, 2012, after a withdrawal the day before, the Irishman Stephen Redmond arrived in Hokkaido in 14 hours and 32 minutes: it was the last of the seven, and he was the first in the world to complete the Ocean's Seven. He said that the Tsugaru Strait, with its current, had been the toughest.
In the Ocean Navi register, there are also the crossings that were not successful: the attempts stop after daylight hours, or when the wind and waves grow too strong.
Timeline
Computed from the recorded crossings: the first, the first by sex, the first from each country and every record broken.
- First crossingTeam２４TV（24時間テレビ）12:23
- RecordTeam２４TV（24時間テレビ）Wetsuit and other assisted swimwear · Relay · 12:23
- RecordTeam Ocean-Navi（オーシャンナビ）Wetsuit and other assisted swimwear · Relay · 9:38
- RecordTeam Ocean-Navi（オーシャンナビ）Wetsuit and other assisted swimwear · Relay · 6:44
- RecordTeamKizuna（チーム絆）Wetsuit and other assisted swimwear · Relay · 6:40