Experienced swimmers know it is relatively easy to escape the narrow channel of the fast moving water by floating and allowing it to drag you further into the ocean or by swimming alongside the shore.

有经验的游泳者都知道，要想从湍急的水流中逃离狭窄的水道相对来说比较容易，方法是让水漂浮起来，让它把你进一步拖入大海，或者沿着海岸游泳。

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On Aug. 25, 1875, Captain Matthew Webb, a 27-year-old former English naval officer, accomplished a feat many thought impossible: swimming across the English Channel.

1875年4月25日，27岁的前英国海军军官马修·韦伯上尉完成了一项许多人认为不可能实现的壮举：游泳横渡英吉利海峡。

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To the stimulus offered by the English Channel some people have reacted by staying at home; others have crossed it in rowboats, sailing ships, steamers, or, in modern times simply by swimming.

面对来自于英吉利海峡的刺激，有的人选择呆在家里，而有的人选择划艇、帆船和轮船渡过去，现在有的人甚至能直接游过去。

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The current record for a woman swimming the Channel, according to the Channel Swimming Association, is seven hours and 40 minutes by Penny Lee Dean in 1978.

BBC: Patten aiming to swim the Channel

William was spotted more than two miles offshore in the Santa Barbara Channel, swimming toward oil rigs, according to an incident report.

CNN: Horse rescued after swimming 2 miles into ocean

"There have always been two things that I have wanted to achieve - running a marathon and swimming the Channel, " said Patten, from Liskeard.

BBC: Patten aiming to swim the Channel