Pat Gallant-Charette, 60, has reached the shore of France, successfully swimming across the English Channel, according to a blog post at 3:14 p.m.

She now holds the record for the oldest American woman to cross the channel. The previous record was 59 years old. Gallant-Charette started her swim at 11:11 p.m. Sunday.

2:16 p.m.

The latest from Pat Gallant-Charette’s boat crew is that “water conditions are still very rough, but a finish looks possible,” according to a blog post at 1:24 p.m.

12:20 p.m.

The Westbrook woman attempting to cross the English Channel has run into trouble in the last few miles of her swim.

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“I just heard from the boat crew. Pat (Gallant-Charette) is not making much progress due to issues with tides. Wind and waves are starting to pick up,” her daughter, Sarah Midgley, wrote on her blog.

11:45 a.m.

Pat Gallant-Charette, 60, of Westbrook, who is attempting to be the oldest American woman to cross the English Channel, was within 4 miles of the shore of France at 9:50 this morning.

A post on her blog about 11 a.m. said she was starting to fight currents as she headed into the final stretch of her 21-mile swim, which started in Dover, England, about 11 p.m. Sunday.

10:27 a.m.

A 60-year-old Westbrook woman attempting to swim across the English Channel had left Dover, England, and was halfway to the shore of France as of 6:30 this morning, according to a post on her blog.

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If Pat Gallant-Charette makes it all the way across, she will be the oldest American woman on record to do so.

Gallant-Charette is making her third attempt to cross the 21-mile channel. She left at 11:11 last night, or 4:11 a.m. England time, in less than ideal conditions, according to her blog, patgalant.blogspot.com

In the most recent post, her daughter Sarah Midgley wrote that Gallant-Charette was halfway across the channel after seven hours in the water.

Gallant-Charette said in an interview earlier this month she expected the swim to take her about 18 hours.

In 2008, in her first attempt to cross the channel, Gallant-Charette came within 2 miles of the French shore, but a strong current kept her from progressing further, and her crew of family members riding in a boat alongside her decided to pull her out of the water.

She never was allowed in the water for her second try, because conditions were too poor in the 10-day time slot allotted to her.

This time, Gallant-Charette had from Aug. 18-28 to start her swim. She wrote on her blog on Sunday that “conditions are not the best,” but said, if she didn’t get in the water soon, she likely would go home without swimming.

In the interview before she left, Gallant-Charette said, if she was allowed to swim, she would make it across.

“I am not getting out of the water until I’m climbing onto the beach of France,” she said.


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