GIRL SWIMMER'S FEAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20288, 22 June 1929, Page 13

GIRL SWIMMER'S FEAT.

CROSSES ENGLISH ESTUARY.

THIRTEEN HOURS' BATTLE.

EXHAUSTED ON LANDING.

Australian Press Association—United Service LONDON, June 20.

Miss Mercedes Gleitze,' in a third attempt, swam the Wash, from Boston, Lincoln, to Snettisham, Norfolk.

The swimmer covered 30 miles. She was exhausted after a 13-hours' battle with the currents and crawled up on to the beach. She quickly recovered, however.

The Wash is an estuary of the east coast of England, between the Counties of Norfolk and Lincoln. It receives the rivers, Witham, Welland, Ouse, Nene and Nar. It contains many shoals, which are left dry at low water. For the greater part of its extent tho Wash is less than five fathoms deep. There are only two navigable channels for sea-going vessels. One of these is tho Lynn Deeps in the middle forming the approaches to Lynn and Wisbech (the mouths of the Ouse arfd Nene) and tho other the Boston Deeps toward the west, leading to the mouths of the Witham and Welland. The length of the Wash is 22 miles and its breadth 15 miles. The extra distance swum by Miss Gleitze would be duo to tho currents.

Numerous plucky swimming performances are down-to the credit of this young London typiste. She swam the English Channel from Franco to South Foreland on October 7-8, 1927. She was in the. water 15h 15m. She had made seven previous unsuccessful attempts to perform that feat. Subsequently sRe failed again in an effort to retrieve the honour of English women swimmers after tho hoax perpetrated by Dr. Dorothy Logan. Six times Miss Gleitze tried to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar. She succeeded at the sixth attempt, She also made an unsuccessful attempt to swim the Irish Sea. Miss Gleitze was born at Brighton, in tho south of England, and learned to swim there before she was 10 years old. Rho was educated at the East Hoe Higher Grade School and went to London nine years ago. She has never been keen to attempt swimming speod records, her interest being in long-distance events.