A LONG SWIM

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 135, 9 June 1928, Page 20

A LONG SWIM

: MISS GLIiITZK SWIMS STRAITS OF , V - GIBRALTAR. Viss V.ercedes oioitzc, the London ': tyylirt, succeeded cm iJth April, on her sixth attempt, in swimming the Straits ,■ .of Gibraltar, states a.correspondent of the "Morning Post," She set out i from the Island of Palomas, near Ta- ;' rifa, at 7.50 a.m., aiid walked ashore at ; Pnnttt Leona,' near Ceuta, Morocco, at . 10.40 p.m. Miss • Gleitz returned to " Tarifa by fishing boat at 11.30 p.m., 'f..-'"&«d received.an: .ovation. She left for ;-J;£ondon by the afternoon's train. She IS arrived at Algeciras from Tarifa, ae- :'' companied by the military commandant """ »mil other'notables from Tarifa. Prior to entering the train she granted the correspondent'a,n interview. She said that following her pilot's instructions she left the Hotel Villan-.•.-Tiuva- at Tarifa at 6.30, motoring to the. lighthouse near. ...She started the swim ill 7.30, after, being. giTiisiMl, in the pre-sc-nco of nearly 70 witnesses, including the Mayor of the town and tlio military commandant.. During the lirst hours • of the swim 'she battled strenuously against the currents, but following tho pilot's advice she continued for two hours, after which she observed the Moroccan Mountains covered with mist. Later heavy rain came which calmed tho sea, rendering breast strokes the best method. She was accompanied by two fishing smacks, and by rowing '■boats. Men. in the latter supplied ler with food and played the gramophone and'sang to her. Several ships passed in the Straits from opposite directions, many sounding their sirens as a, sign of greeting. „,. - Night came and the sea became calm. '" - Punta Leona, Morocco, was reached at 10.40. Miss Gleitze after two minutes boarded the fishing smack Victor Hugo and proceeded to 'Jarifa, where she arrived at midnight. She was met by hundreds of. townsmen; and a band played the British Anthem. She remarked' Mint wlien'iShc set foot on African soil the crowds aboard tho accompanying boats cried" out "Cheers for.England, .Spain, and Miss Gleitze." She showed a draft of. tho affidavit signed by the military authorities of Tarifa,.a la/wj-er, and, a notary public, besides the signatures of many eye-witnesses of the swim. './ . .