BY PEPPER FISHER

Port Angeles – John Curley, an endurance swimmer from Ireland, is celebrating today after completing the brutal swim across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Tuesday.

Curley is attempting to be the first swimmer to complete what’s known among open water swimmers as The Toughest Thirteen , a group of 13 swims that span the globe.

For this leg of the challenge, Curley started at Twin Rivers Beach in Clallam County and made the crossing to Harrison Point in British Columbia with an official time of 8 hours and 13 minutes.

We spoke with Curley’s coach, Ger Kennedy, riding aboard the escort boat, when Curley was about two-thirds of the way across the strait in frigid 52 degree water. https://dehayf5mhw1h7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/958/2025/09/02161008/090225-ke

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