Mme Walburga von Icacescu, who started from Calais on Wednesday morning at half-past 7 with the object of swimming to Dover, made a magnificent swim of just over 20 miles, and there is no doubt that if it were possible to swim from point to point in a bee-line this remarkable swimmer, who is the first of her sex to attempt to swim across the Channel, would have been able to accomplish her object.
A Dover correspondent who had an interview yesterday with Mme.von Icacescu at the Hotel de la Cloche, Calais, states that she appeared well and talked cheerfully of her attempt, although she was naturally disappointed that she had not been able to accomplish her object. She stated that when she made her start from the Calais sands at 7:30 the weather conditions appeared good, but very shortly afterwards a fresh easterly wind sprung up, which caused a rather broken sea and inconvenienced her a good deal. In the open channel, also the rapid eastward drift of the tide carried her out of her course, nine miles had been completed, she was informed by her pilot, M. Levavasseur, the chief pilot of Calais, that they were in sight of the Waldon Lightship, which is considerably east of the port from which she started. The wind which was felt more on the French than on the English coast increased as the day wore on and the small waves breaking in her face proved very trying to her. The tide turned, and, in spite of all her efforts, she was carried much out of her course. The French coast had now been out of sight for about an hour and the only sign of life was some shipping passing in the distance. Her pilot informed her at this time that they were heading towards Dover. She was much encouraged by this news, and continued her swim with fresh determination. As the afternoon wore on she became somewhat chilled, the air becoming quite cool, whilst the temperature of the water was only 60. She, however, decided to continue to swim, and for nearly four hours longer she kept steadily on. By half-past 5, however, a very heavy mist enveloped the Channel, and, acting on the advice of the pilot and those accompanying her, at about 6 o'clock left the water. In answer to the question whether she thought it possible to swim from the French shore to Dover, Mme. von Icacescu stated that she did not believe she could accomplish the feat straight off. She had no idea of the strength of the currents in the Channel until she made her attempt but she added, "I shall come back to Calais next season and swim from Calais to Dover within the 24 hours, making brief intervals of rest."
