Swim in progress · ~24h in 16°C water
Donate
Trilogy Ocean Challenge · Final Leg · Live

66km. 30+ hours. 16°C water.
A world first, happening right now.

Chris Oldnall and Peet Crowther are attempting the first solo double crossing of False Bay. They're doing it to fund the Hall of Fame Legacy Programme, which puts 57 boys through Pretoria Boys High on full bursaries. The programme costs R10 million a year. They're going to finish the swim. We need to finish the fundraise.

Live Status
In Water
Distance
66km
Water Temp
16.5°C
Elapsed
~24hrs
Est. Remaining
~5hrs
Latest from the boat · Jacques Kunz
They are back together. Last big push. We all had the worst night, but we know what we are fighting for.
The part you haven't heard

These boys aren't the ones who need rescuing. They're outperforming everyone.

The Hall of Fame Legacy Programme currently supports 57 boys on full bursaries at Pretoria Boys High. Here's what they did last year.

370
Academic distinctions earned by bursary boys in 2025
2
SA national records broken, including the U/17 Para-Athletics 100m and 200m in the T61 class
19
Bursary boys in A-team rugby (U/14 and U/15 combined), five of them on provincial sides
7
Sports with bursary boys in A-teams: rugby, cricket, soccer, basketball, athletics, hockey, water polo
57
Boys currently on bursaries. The programme covers fees, boarding, apparel, tours, medical and character development.
R10M
Annual cost of the programme. Between R80k and R220k per boy depending on family means.

These boys had no opportunity and no resources before this programme. One of them is a double-amputee from an informal settlement, raised without a mother, who now holds two national records and is excelling academically. That's not a marketing story. That's last year's data.

Why they're swimming

Two old boys, an impossible swim, one shared school.

The Trilogy Ocean Challenge is three open-water swims, two of which had never been completed solo before. It started in 2024. Chris Oldnall is Deputy Headmaster at Pretoria Boys High. Peet Crowther is an Old Boy and a fellow ultra-endurance athlete. The two of them finished a casual Cape Town Freedom Swim, and over breakfast asked each other: what if we did something that actually mattered?

The first leg was a 33km solo crossing of False Bay, completed in November 2024. Chris swam most of it while throwing up from a stomach bug. The second was 53km from Robben Island to Dassen Island, a world first, completed in April 2025.

The third leg is happening right now. A 66km double crossing of False Bay, in 16°C water, in shark territory, never completed solo. They timed it for Pretoria Boys High's 125th anniversary on purpose. They're doing it to raise R10 million a year, for boys like the ones above.

Chris Oldnall
Deputy Headmaster, PBHS · Old Boy
Ultra-endurance athlete. Ironman finisher. Has completed multiple open-water swims most people don't believe are possible. Decided this challenge while seeking "an outlet from work stress."
Peet Crowther
Old Boy · Open-Water Specialist
English Channel finisher. Lives for endurance at the edge of what's possible. Both swimmers were boarders at PBHS together. That's the friendship now in its second day in the water.
i
False Bay Crossing
33km · November 2024
Completed
ii
Robben Island → Dassen Island
53km · April 2025 · World First
Completed
iii
False Bay Double Crossing
66km · Today · World First Attempt
In Water
Share

The most useful thing you can do besides donating.

Tap a message to copy it. Send it to a WhatsApp group, post it on LinkedIn, forward it to anyone who'd care about boys, education, or the kind of human endurance that doesn't come along often.