Edie Markovich - Vis to Korčula

Island Vis to Island Korčula

31.2 km (19.4 miles)

13 hours, 21 minutes on 27-28 July 2024

Observed and documented by Andrija Pavisic

First

Contents

Swimmer

  • Name: Edie Markovich
  • Gender: female
  • Age on swim date: 18
  • Nationality: United States
  • Resides: Los Angeles, California

Support Personnel

  • Deni Blaise - feeder
  • Toni Papic - pilot 1
  • Toni Nikole - pilot 2

Observer

Andrija Pavisic

Observer on Edie Markovich’s previous swim around island Šolta.

Escort Vessel

Name Type Port
Karnic 2455 Storm Supetar, Island Brac
unnamed Galia 630 Open Milna, Island Brac

Swim Parameters

  • Category: Solo, nonstop, unassisted.
  • Rules: MSF Rules of Marathon Swimming, without exception or modification.
  • Equipment used: Textile swimsuit (Jolyn - Vent top, Dreya bottom), cap, goggles (Speedo Vanquisher).

Route Definition

History

No known previous swims of this route.


Swim Data

  • Start: 27 July 2024, 18:37:53 (Central European Summer Time, Europe/Zagreb, UTC2).
  • Finish: 28 July 2024, 07:59:00
  • Elapsed: 13 hours, 21 minutes, 7 seconds.

Summary of Conditions

Feature Min Max
Water Temp (F) 68 78.8
Air Temp (F) 74 79
Wind (mph) 2.5 6.5

GPS Track

Trackpoint frequency: 20 minutes. Download raw data (CSV).

Click to expand map.

Speed Plot

Feed Log


Observer Log

Download PDF


Swimmer Statement

by Edie Markovich

The Adriatic keeps calling me back…and I simply cannot resist. I’ve spent the past few summers slowly traversing the unexplored group of islands in Dalmatia, off the coast of mainland Croatia. This summer, I wanted to uncover a new section of the Adriatic, the stretch of water between the Islands of Vis and Korcula. What I didn’t know, however, is that it is a notoriously difficult channel in regard to weather and currents. The hardest in the Adriatic, according to the locals. But that wouldn’t deter my efforts.

As is the case with any swim, the first step was finding a pilot, which proved to be a quite difficult task given the busy summer season and general lack of excitement with going at a swimmer’s pace for many hours on end. Eventually, with the tremendous help of our neighbor, we got lucky and stumbled upon 21-year-old free diver and spearfisherman Toni Papic. However, after tracking the currents and having a conversation with Slaven Sitic, president of the Long Distance Swimming Club SPLIT, we realized that we needed two boats. The channel between Vis and Korcula has unpredictable currents that can drag a boat out into open sea in no time. So, we got a second boat and another pilot, whose name also happened to be Toni.

Because of the potential for strong winds (Bura and Maestral) that usually pick up in the early afternoon, we decided to swim primarily at night. After an hour and half boat ride to Vis, I dove into the water and started the swim at around 6:30 on Saturday, July 27th. The sun dipped below the horizon 2 hours later, leaving an incredible sunset in its wake…Usually, night swimming in the Adriatic is a pleasant affair, but this time things were different. Especially since my kayaker, Darko, who was by my side every second of the other swims I’ve done in the Adriatic, had a job obligation and couldn’t join us. The first few hours of the night were spent attempting to establish some sort of synchronicity between the boat and I. And on top of that, the gas fumes from both motors were incredibly overwhelming, making it difficult to breathe, let alone focus. Eventually, we were able to find a configuration to where the wind didn’t push the fumes directly toward me.

The weather conditions were surprisingly good, given the channel’s reputation and all feeds went smoothly. For the first 6 or so hours, I fed every 45 minutes and then cut it down to every 30. Each feed consisted of a variety of GU’s, honey stingers, bits of pretzel, and some Coke and chocolate for a bit of energy near the end. See the feed schedule for more details.

After the sun rose, I could see Korcula and knew we were close. However, there is another small island called Proizd that was blocking our way. So, we decided to send the other boat, that I wasn’t following, to make a quick excursion past Proizd, to make sure that we were going in the right direction. 20 minutes later, they returned, saying that we just needed to keep a straight course and we’d be there soon.

For the last couple hours, the conditions were eerily flat, almost lake-like. Which is usually a bad sign, since conditions like that are known to invite underlying currents that I’ve had experience with during past swims. But thankfully that wasn’t the case, and although I did have to a swim against a faint current as I approached Korcula, I soon saw vegetation at the bottom and knew that this adventure was coming to a close. I conjured up all the remaining strength I had left and sprinted to the finish.

But the story doesn’t end there. Taunting me, in the distance, loomed Susac. A small island with only one human inhabitant and many sheep. All the locals seem to be wary of its barren allure, but that’s only what draws me closer. A circumnavigation is immanent…


Video