5 THINGS ON SWIM ACROSS FAMED STRAIT

1 A CANADIAN FIRST

An Ontario software developer has become the first Canadian to successfully swim across the Strait of Magellan. Madhu Nagaraja says he completed the swim across the treacherous openwater stretch on the tip of South America on Nov. 29 in one hour and 19 minutes. The 47-year-old from Oakville, Ont., becomes the 23rd person to complete the 3.9-kilometre swim.

2 NOT HIS FIRST ATTEMPT?

The conditions in the strait defeated Nagaraja once before when he attempted a crossing in 2015. After two hours in the water, the Chilean Navy had to pull him ashore with severe hypothermia.

3 WHY TRY AGAIN?

Nagaraja, an experienced open-water swimmer who had previously crossed the English Channel and completed longdistance challenges in Lake Ontario, said several factors prompted him to make another attempt on the strait, which serves as a route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In addition to a desire to honour Canada’s 150th birthday this year, he said he wanted to pay tribute to Ferdinand Magellan, the 16th century explorer after whom the strait is named.

4 THE CONDITIONS

He said he completed the swim in waters as cold as 4 C with minimum wind speeds of 50 kilometres per hour and waves roughly two metres high.

5 MAGELLAN’S FEAT

Magellan, the famous Portuguese explorer, used the passage during what became the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe beginning in 1519, a mission he launched but did not live long enough to complete.