St John man to attempt to swim from VI to USVI
Jeff Miller, a longtime resident of St John in the US Virgin will be attempting to swim the Sir Francis Drake Channel, from the [British] Virgin Islands to the US Virgin Islands (USVI) possibly later this month.
According to Virgin Islands Daily News on May 9, 2023, Miller, who has been training for the marathon swim for the past five months, said the idea to swim the 15.5-mile stretch of water south of Tortola has been on his mind for a couple years.
With the help of two support kayaks and
one power boat, Jeff Miller plans to leave Virgin Gorda at daybreak, and
swim to the eastern tip of St John. He expects the 15.5 mile journey to
take anywhere from eight to 12 hours.Swimming for charity
The swim challenge will also be used as an opportunity to raise funds and awareness for two nonprofits close to his heart, Team River Runner and the St John Cancer Fund.
According to the same publication, it was in 2016 that Miller became the first person to swim around St John, covering just under 23 miles in 12 hours. He raised more than $12,000, which was split between the charities.
Miller has not set a date for his swim but hopes that the weather and current conditions will be favorable in late May, as three members of the Team River Runner will be in St John to participate in the Beach-to-Beach Power Swim. He would like to involve them as a part of his support crew for the Drake Channel swim.
With the help of two support kayaks and one power boat, Miller plans to leave Virgin Gorda at daybreak, and swim to the eastern tip of St John. He expects the journey to take anywhere from eight to 12 hours, Virgin Islands Daily News reported.
