Nevis to St Kitts Cross Channel Swim

The Nevis to St Kitts Cross Channel Swim is an annual swim across the Narrows, the incredibly attractive stretch of water between the twin Caribbean islands of Nevis and St Kitts. The distance is approximately 2 ½ miles or 4.1 kilometres, and the event is staged between Oualie Beach on Nevis and Cockleshell Bay at the southern tip of St Kitts. Interestingly the water is pretty shallow, only 25 or 35 feet deep, the whole way across – and so you can generally see bottom as you make the crossing, and of course your destination is visible at all times too. The depth does mean that currents do run through the Narrows, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and vice versa, and this can have an effect on speeds and times. While it is not generally rough, a swell can run through the Narrows as well.

The event, which sees as many as 200 entrants of all standards, takes place in late March each year and it is a great day out with extremely friendly people. Well, this is the Caribbean. There are two categories. Racers and Recreational (who are permitted to wear fins and hand paddles). The lead racers make the distance in roughly one hour. See their website here.

James Henderson of A Life of Adventure swam the Narrows (at a different time of the year) and wrote the story for the Financial Times’s magazine How to Spend it. You can read the article here.