English Channel

The English Channel, also for some time known as the British Sea (French: La Manche, "the sleeve") is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 563 km (350 mi) long and at its widest is 240 km (150 mi). The Strait of Dover ("Pas de Calais" to the French) is the narrowest part of the channel, being only 34 km (21 mi) from Dover to Cap Gris-Nez, and is located at the eastern end of the English Channel, where it meets the North Sea.

Notable Channel crossings

On 7 January 1785 Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travelled from Dover to Calais in a gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air.

Related Topics:
7 January - 1785 - Jean-Pierre Blanchard - American - John Jeffries - Balloon

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The first person to swim the channel was Matthew Webb in 1875. On 6 August 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to accomplish this feat, breaking the men's record of the time by two hours. This was quite a feat.

Related Topics:
Matthew Webb - 1875 - 6 August - 1926 - Gertrude Ederle

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In July 1972, Lynne Cox became the youngest person to swim the English Channel at age fifteen, breaking both the men's and women's records. She swam the channel again in 1973, setting a new record time of nine hours and thirty-six minutes.

Related Topics:
1972 - Lynne Cox

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In 1909, Louis Blériot (France) was the first person to fly over the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft.

Related Topics:
1909 - Louis Blériot - Aircraft

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In 1979, a 32 kg aircraft called the Gossamer Albatross won the £100,000 Kremer prize for being the first human-powered airplane to fly over the Channel. The pilot Bryan Allen pedalled for 3 hours to accomplish this feat.

Related Topics:
1979 - Gossamer Albatross - Kremer prize - Bryan Allen

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On 31 July 2003, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner, wearing high-tech carbon wings, jumped out of a plane 30,000 feet (9 100 m) above Dover, glided over the Channel, and opened his parachute above Calais.

Related Topics:
31 July - 2003 - Felix Baumgartner - Carbon

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On 14 June 2004, Sir Richard Branson broke the world record for crossing the Channel in an amphibious vehicle. The Gibbs Aquada, a two-seater open-top sports car, in which he did it, broke the record by some 6 hours.

Related Topics:
14 June - 2004 - Richard Branson - Aquada

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