Caroline Block: Breaking Records & Barriers With Every Stroke

But planning an English Channel swim, England to France, is not an easy thing to do. Typically, you need to reserve a spot two years in advance because it’s the world’s busiest shipping lane, and the window of time to attempt a crossing is very small when you add in weather conditions. Only a certain number of boats are allowed to accompany someone across the 21-mile waterway. Though Caroline had little experience with long-distance open water swimming, she did her homework, and determined what she needed to do to get ready. Along the way, she made friends who helped guide her, and eventually would point her towards her next big challenge. “I kept meeting people in the community and wanting to spend time with them, and enjoyed the traveling as well. And I kept hearing about the North Channel.”

Swimming across the North Channel, 22 miles from Northern Ireland to Scotland, is far more difficult than an English Channel crossing. The water is colder, weather conditions can be even more formidable, and there are tons of lion’s mane jellyfish – ready to sting indiscriminately. But Caroline Block was lured by the challenge, and in 2016, during the same summer as her English Channel crossing, became the 36th person to swim solo across the North Channel, completing it in less than 15 hours. Feeling great after both swims, she had another thought: What about a two-way on the North Channel? So far, she’s had two unsuccessful attempts, the first time stopping just shy of 29 hours when there was no clear sign as to how many more hours before she could reach land due to treacherous weather conditions. The second time, while on her way back after 26 hours, she chose to stop due to an unusual density of jellyfish. “I’m actually not a big risk taker and am pretty conservative about things like that. But I’m not done with this. It just wasn’t the right day.”

There’s no doubt that Caroline will succeed in completing a double North Channel swim in the future, but that’s not her only goal. After finishing at Cornell Law School in June, she’s currently studying for the bar exam (postponed from July to October due to Covid-19), and moving to NYC this winter to start a new career as a litigator. She’s also a champion for diversity and accessibility. “The fact is that women are the ones doing the most interesting things in open water swimming these days, but there’s still a need to open it up to make it welcoming to underrepresented groups,” she says.

Kellie Latimer entertains Caroline Block on Lake George. Photo Courtesy: Elaine Howley

And, though she is deaf – just as Gertrude Ederle the first woman to swim the English Channel was – Caroline says that fact has not limited her ability to compete athletically. But, accessibility and attitudes matter, and she says that not everyone is as accommodating as they should be to people who would like to take part in the sport. As to potential communication issues with her own crew when they’re out on the water, they always carry a white board where they can write messages to her.

Santa Barbara Channel, 2019. Photo Courtesy: Robin Rose

Conditions were so windy on Lake George between September 16-18, that using the white board was out of the question, and then night temperatures dipped into the 40s (water temps were in the upper 60s). None of that stopped Caroline from completing the first two-way crossing of Lake George by any person in history, and only 13 swimmers have swum it one way. She credits her outstanding five-woman crew, and superior piloting by the crew from WaterHorse Adventures (scuba diving center) in Glens Falls, with her success. Caroline Block also established a new world distance record for a multileg lake swim; the third-longest freshwater swim of all-time (behind Sarah Thomas’ – one of her heroes – Lake Champlain and Lake Powell swims), and the seventh longest swim ever by duration.

Whether choosing new swim routes to challenge herself physically, or selecting new career paths to pursue, Caroline Block is driven by an internal fire that no amount of water can extinguish. Her willingness to attempt these seemingly impossible physical achievements, all within a five-year span after years of not swimming, is a testament to courage, belief in herself, and the indomitable spirit that exists within each of us – should we choose to tap into it. Thank you, Caroline, for showing us the way!