Earliest swim crossing of the English Channel (calendar date)

The earliest date in the calendar year on which the English Channel has been swum is 16 May by Howard James (UK) in 2016. He achieved a time of 13 hours 13 minutes in water as cold as 9ºC (48.2ºF). Less than six months later, on 3 November, James crossed the English Channel in 11 hours 38 minutes, setting a new record for the latest English Channel swim ever completed, a record last set by Kevin Murphy (UK) on 30 May 1990. The records were set under the auspices of the Channel Swimming Association.