Kautz Swims Across English Channel

Murphys, Ca — Developer Jack Kautz of Calaveras County successfully swam 33 miles across the English Channel in 15 hours and 11 minutes.

Kautz began the swim at around 3:45am in Dover, England back on September 8th, and was monitored by a boat that followed closely behind.

?I swam the first three hours in the dark, and it was pretty rough seas the whole way through,? says Kautz. ?About every half hour they would throw me a bottle on a rope, and I would drink the fluids in about 10 to 15 seconds, and that would give me about 600 calories each half hour.?

It hasn´t been the first outdoor adventure for Kautz, who in the past 12 months has also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and competed in two Iron Man triathlons.

?I started training seriously for the English Channel during the first part of May and was swimming somewhere in the ballpark of 50,000 yards each week,? adds Kautz ?I´m getting older, my shoulders aren´t as good as they used to be, and I figured that if I didn´t do it now my opportunities may be far less in the future.?

Kautz says he still has a long term goal of climbing to the peak of Mt. Everest by 2011, noting that he believes only three or four have ever scaled Everest and swam the English Channel.

Kautz is the son Ironstone Vineyards owners John and Gail Kautz.

Written by BJ Hansen