by We slide into the water from the port of Stiri Grad, one of the oldest cities in Europe, and swim from the harbor, past the Church of St. Jerome and around a pine clothing to a nearby bay on the north coast of Hvar. We appear like an amphibious invasion group – about 160 swimmers who make their way to the hotel pool, where drinks are waiting. So far so civilized. But that’s just a warming up …
On August 24, 1875, captain Matthew Webb was the first person to swim and beat the canal and struck in animal fat to ward off the cold. At that time it was announced as a performance of the almost super -human endurance. One hundred and fifty years later I signed up for a modern view of the 33.3 km long swimming (the shortest distance over the channel, although webb was blown from the course and finally swimming about 63 km). This Croatian adaptation includes swimming between the islands off the Dalmatian coast, is divided over four days and includes an inviting hotel (the three-star places Hvar von Valamar), which can recover at the end of every day. Fortunately, neoprene seeds replaced.
I recognize a squid within a few minutes
The trip is carried out by Ultraswim 33.3, a new company named after the channel route and which was focused on comfort and support in spectacular places – Croatia, Montenegro, Greece and Switzerland.
“The channel is the everest of swimmers,” says Mark Turner, co -founder of Ultraswim 33.3. “But the window to do it is short, it is expensive and – be honest – not a particularly appetizing water section. With us you get the same distance in a beautiful environment without making it rough.”
I have been to swimming with companies such as SwimTrek and Strel Swimming Adventures, and I swung up to 5 km a day, but with breaks for drinks, lunch and the sun. Ultraswim follows a structured, more challenging approach. Every day starts early – we are in the water at 8 a.m. before the boat traffic takes up – and the swimmers go up to 12 km without pausing more than a quick pit stop.
A detailed training plan landed in my inbox after I had registered, and I quickly realized that I was not fit enough for the full 33.3 km swimming or maybe mentally unprepared. Fortunately, two shorter options were available: the 11.1 -km -“Discovery” and the 22.2 km -“Build” packages, both nodded in front of the Channel Challenge.
On the first day we set off from a jetty near the hotel and within a few minutes I discovered a squid that waved sluggishly sluggishly lazy out of his underwater garden. I would like to linger, but time and flood are not waiting for a swimmer. A few kilometers later I stumble out of the water to the beach of Uvala Veli Dolac, exhausted, but enthusiastic. We are greeted by a spread of energy -efficient snacks and a lot via carbohydrate loading.
I like to swim on the sun -contracted seaweed forests, the calm rhythm of the stroke after stroke
According to the channel swimming and piloting federation, webb has now repeated 3,250 times. The endurance trend is also visible in other areas, from ultramarathons and multi-day cycling to open water relays. Increasingly, people from vacation do not want to return, but with a feeling of success.
On the second days two and three we swim a few proper “channel” specification over 2-3 km of open water, from the Kabal-Landland to the beach from Stiniva and Cape Pelegrin to Palmižana. On the map, these are marked as ferry routes, but the views that I enjoyed from the deck when I came to the water in Hvar in Hvar and turquoise water.
I have never tried something like that and it is not a challenge that I enjoy. But I put down my head and try not to think about how far I am from dry land. There is a GPS tracker in my tow, kayak driver on both sides and a clear course for happiness more uncomplicated than one webb swam, in which strong tides dragged it far away and transformed a 21-mile crossing into a 39 mile las.
When I swim a little more than two hours, it is difficult for me to find out how he continued almost 22. I delete myself by remembering snapshots from the trip: the tvrdalj lock from the 16th century in Stari degrees, where the poet Petar Hekectorović once lived; And the Diocletian Palace in Split, where I spent a relaxing day to explore its golden alleys and several history of history, from Roman and Venetian rich to Yugoslavia and the last 30 years of an independent Croatia.
As soon as we have completed the open-water channels, we return around the Pakleni archipelago in gentler water, covered with pine, wild rosemary and lavender that produce the local honey. The name “Pakleni” comes from PaklinaA pine resin that was once used for the boat building.
Our 160-member group consists of swimmers from all over the world, from as far and wide as Brazil, Dubai and Australia. There are almost the same number of men and women, with the age groups between 20 and 73 years. Some train for an actual channel crossing, others only want a challenge.
“It is fun two,” says Joe von Dublin. “The way that is just fun after it’s over.” I think I’m more of a type one person (enjoy things at the time), but I like to swim across the sun-contracted seaweed forests, the calm rhythm of stroke after the stroke and the quiet pride to end swimming every day.
“We think that people surprise themselves,” says Turner. “The way we structure it with speed and support have swimmers who have never exceeded a few kilometers, the feeling of having done something extraordinary.”
Non-swimming partners are not left out. You can follow the boat, cheer on the coast or explore Stari Grad and Hvar. A non -swimmer told me that he had collected a few kilometers on an Ebike and had visited lavender farms, vineyards and sleepy fishing villages. “Apart from a short dip, swimming is not really my thing,” he flinched. “But my girlfriend loves it, so we are both happy.”
On the last day we strive for the bell tower of the St. Stephen’s Cathedral and swim the last kilometers in Hvar’s Hafor, which next to the Venetian arsenal appeared to a glass of champagne and were handed over to regular tourists after the finishing post.
A few hours later, after a calming massage in a spa hotel, I hike the Labyrinthian streets of Hvar and stop to enjoy fresh fish and Croatian wine without talking more about carbohydrates. I didn’t win anything. I didn’t swim the full 33.3 km. But I completed the 11.1 km course and somewhat comparable like Captain Webb: the slow, steady body triumph over distance, albeit without the icy water of the channel or the beef tea. And instead of the light gray cliffs from Cap Gris-Nez to signal the end of the Golden Lime Stone from Hvar.
The trip was provided by Ultraswim 33.3. Packages from € 1,800 for four nights (In a group of four years, the fourth swimmer goes half a price), including Hotel accommodation, breakfast, lunch after swimming and guided swimming. The next Croatia data are in 2026, but this year places are available while traveling to Montenegro. Greece and Switzerland
