‘Crazy, beautiful’: Crossing False Bay twice is these swimmers’ toughest endurance test yet

Just beyond Cape Town, on South Africa’s southwestern coast, False Bay opens up between Cape Point and Cape Hangklip. Between Miller’s Point and Rooi­els, swimmers attempt the 33km False Bay solo crossing, known as the “Everest of Cape swims”.

In the closing stage of 2024, after months of preparation and training, the window for favourable conditions swung open and Chris Oldnall and Peet Crowther got the go-ahead to try the swim. However, it was about to be the most gruelling swim for Oldnall yet.

Days before the pair were scheduled to cross, Oldnall, who is the deputy headmaster of Pretoria Boys High School and, like Crowther, an old boy of the school, caught a stomach bug. He went on a drip to keep hydrated and, despite doubt from family and friends, decided to swim.

“So, we launched the boat and off we went, and in the first 20 minutes I started vomiting,” Oldnall told Daily Maverick.

For nearly six hours he battled through illness in the water, his struggle compounded by severe seasickness. “Every time I’d try to take in a feed, I would just vomit up whatever they were giving me. So, I started to dehydrate in the water,” he said.

Eventually, he began to recover and was able to keep food down. But as Oldnall regained strength, the toll of the long hours in the water began to surface for Crowther, whose exhausted body edged towards disorientation. It came to a point where Derrick Frazer, their captain, almost called it quits.

But then, something incredible happened. They were joined by a pod of dolphins. For Oldnall, who had a connection to his grandmother through dolphins, their appearance was a sign to continue.

“The sun had set and it was flipping cold and uncomfortable, and these dolphins joined us and I just had this rush of energy because I felt this presence of my grandma,” he said.

Then, as they drew closer to Rooiels, Oldnall felt the ocean transform around him as bioluminescence started to appear. “Even the sea life as it swims and moves you, there’s bioluminescence. So, there’s this whole other world happening below you.”

Exhausted and in pain, Oldnall could have given up. But witnessing the spectacle re­­invigorated him. “I was in this state of absolute exhaustion and suffering, but I was not prepared to give up. Then something like that happens and it’s just crazy, beautiful.”

Oldnall and Crowther completed the crossing on 22 November 2024 in 13 hours.

The Trilogy Ocean Challenge

The crossing forms part of what Oldnall and Crowther have named the Trilogy Ocean Swim Challenge, which they decided to embark on in 2024. It is a series of daring, record-breaking swims aimed to raise awareness and funding for scholarships through a partnership between Pretoria Boys High School and the South African Hall of Fame.

In early 2024, Crowther, Oldnall’s friend since they were together in Boys High’s boarding house and also a fellow University of Pretoria Triathlon Club member, visited and invited him to the Cape Town Freedom Swim in March.

Oldnall, seeking an outlet from work stress, agreed. “While we were doing the swim, we were having such a blast in the water,” he said. “I mean, we literally were just enjoying being alive.”

After breakfast and their usual debrief, Crowther asked Oldnall: “What are you thinking? Did you enjoy it?”

“I think we must do something bigger,” Oldnall replied.

This conversation gave birth to the Trilogy Ocean Swim Challenge. Oldnall pitched it to the South African Hall of Fame, whose partnership with the school predated the swims, and the organisation immediately embraced the idea as one of its legacy projects.

In April 2025, the pair completed the ­second leg of the challenge – a 53km swim from Robben Island to Dassen Island, which had not been completed as a solo crossing before.

To date, they have raised more than R2.5-million and supported 55 pupils through this partnership.

Originally slated for November 2025, the third and final swim was delayed to 2026. Oldnall suggested aligning it with Pretoria Boys High’s 125th anniversary to build “momentum and hype” and raise more funds. It will take place in May and comprises a double False Bay Crossing of 66km, which has also not been completed solo.

Logistical layers

What may appear, at first glance, to be just another stretch of ocean is, in reality, a profound test of human endurance and technical precision. Months in advance, the pair gathered in Langebaan for training camps with Frazer.

Whereas Crowther can train freely in the open water near his Cape home, Oldnall relies on the 50m pool at the University of Pretoria, which can only do so much for him. In addition, to complete swims of this calibre, conditions need to be favourable. Frazer monitors the weather for pockets of opportunity: the wind cannot be too strong or the waves will be choppy, and the water temperature should ideally be about 15ºC.

Despite the False Bay crossing being a “dogged” swim, Oldnall said it taught the team invaluable lessons and prepared them well for the swim from Robben Island to Dassen Island. “I learnt that I get incredibly seasick when it gets choppy and I tend to vomit a bit,” Oldnall said. “Now, I’ve got the right meds to calm the middle ear, and it works, and seasickness has been eradicated.”

He also refined his nutrition. “If I mix my concentrated pure carb too strongly, I get reflux. So, I reduced my carb intake, added some protein shakes, apple Purity and little chocolate Whispers and treats and things,” Oldnall explained. “You build this base that protects the stomach, which protects the body, which protects the mind, and you swim.”

Their post-swim recovery was another ­brutal experience. After False Bay, Oldnall battled a urinary tract infection, septicaemia and staph infections. “Every single little camp swim, every single time it was a cold front and the wind is gusting at 60km/h and you’re vomiting and you’re swimming, it’s all preparing you for something bigger,” he said.

Marine life adds another logistical layer. “We’ve seen a lot out there with whales, seals, dolphins, some sharks as well, but not great whites,” said Oldnall. “I think the obvious thing is that the behaviour of sea life is indicative of what’s going on around you. If we are swimming with dolphins and there’s seals around us, then we know there’s no predator around.”

He added: “You’ve got to trust the people on the boat are doing their job.”

When night falls and the ocean turns black, fear sometimes creeps in. But for Oldnall, it is also one of his most tranquil moments. “It’s incredibly calming,” he said. “That flow state that people talk about, for me at night, that’s when I experience it.

“The stars, the moon, all of that out in the middle of the ocean with no one around you, and when you stop for a feed and you’re aware of where you are... and you realise how privileged you are to be in a situation like that and to be out there, it’s actually quite beautiful.” DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.