Fort Myers endurance swimmer to swim the North Channel for charity

Heather Roka is always up for whatever challenge the open water throws at her. That’s why she keeps jumping in.

“With every open water swim being so different, if you could feel like, okay, I can tackle this challenge.” Roka explained. “With okay, I know I can swim 12 hours. Can I go 24 hours? Okay, no, I can swim in water that’s 70. Can I swim in water that’s 60?”

She swam around Manhattan and through the Long Island Sound. But the greatest achievement for the Fort Myers endurance swimmer is what’s called a Double English Channel. That’s where you swim from England to France then back to England. She pulled that off in 2021, becoming the 10th American to do so.

“I felt like I had reached a limit for how long I wanted to be in the water,” Roka said. “I figured, you know, that’s great. I pushed my limit for 25 hours. What’s a different way I can challenge myself to do something hard in a different manner?”

With that in mind, Heather decided to swim the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland. The 21.5 mile stretch presents its own challenges.

“The North Channel is significantly colder than the English Channel, sitting at about 55 to 56 degrees.” Roka explained. “You can’t wear a wetsuit or anything like that. And they also have very intimidating jellyfish called Lion’s Mane jellyfish. And myself, I don’t like jellyfish. I’m a little bit of a coward with them.”

This is more than just pushing limits. It’s also about making a difference. Roka is swimming to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Southwest Florida.

“When you know you’re swimming for something more than yourself, when you want to quit when you want to give up, you’re like, nope, nope, I can keep I can keep doing this,” Roka said.