Please note, the waters between Rottnest Island and the mainland form part of the Fremantle Port Authority’s outer harbour. As per Port Authorities Regulations 2001, Part 5, Section 89; a person must not swim in the waters of a port without an exemption or risk incurring a financial penalty.
Thinking about completing an Out of Event Crossing? Listed below are the steps you need to follow to get the required approvals from relevant authorities, ensure that your successful crossing can be ratified by the Rottnest Channel Swim Association (RCSA) Board and have it added to the Official Solo Crossing Records list.
Pre-Approval
- Submit an Out of Event Crossing application through Active.
- Please Note: A maximum window of seven (7) days is permitted to allow selection of the best crossing conditions. Once your application has been approved with the FPA you will be unable to change your swim window.
- Fremantle Port Authority (FPA) approval permits one crossing attempt within the approved window only. If swimming in a group, each swimmer must submit their own FPA authority request form.
- Applications for Out of Event Crossings incur a non-refundable $50 processing fee per swimmer.
- If the swimmer is under the age of 18, a parental guardian will need to create the application, by selecting the registration category Swimmer (Under 18) – Parental Guardian and providing their personal details. The parental guardian can then register the under 18 swimmer as an Additional Swimmer.
- Once you have qualified to swim, you will need to submit the FPA authority request form and get your observer, skipper and, if desired, an additional swim to join your application (this is all completed within Active). To ensure your application has enough time to be processed, it is recommended that this is completed within three (3) days of submitting your application.
- Once the FPA authority request form has been received and all team members have been allocated, the RCSA will then submit the application to the FPA.
- The RCSA will contact you to let you know the outcome of your application with the FPA and advise further specific instructions.
Having trouble registering? Check out our How To guides:
Costs Involved
Lead Swimmer: $200.00.
Additional Swimmer(s): $100.00 each.
Skipper: Free, however the RCSA Skipper Training costs $20.00 and MUST be completed prior to registering in Active.
Observer: Free – 1 required per Swimmer.
Approved / Denied
Application denied: If your application is denied, the RCSA will contact you to notify you of the decision. Unfortunately, there is no refund of the processing fee if the application is denied.
Application approved: If your application is approved, the RCSA will contact you to notify you of the decision and will specify the approved window.
Please note: An FPA approval permits one (1) crossing attempt within the approved window only.
The RCSA will send you the following approval documents via email:
- FPA authority request form: Approved and signed by the Harbourmaster
- Approval notification letter/email
- Further specific instructions
Once you have decided on the departure date, time and location, you must notify the RCSA (this must be at least one business day before your swim attempt), who will then relay this information to Fremantle Port Operations and the Fremantle Signal Tower.
If you are swimming on the weekend, you must notify the RCSA by COB the Friday before.
Permitted Periods to complete an Out of Event Crossing
Given the intensive period around the time of the annual South32 Rottnest Channel Swim, unfortunately, the resources of the RCSA will not be available to process and manage Out of Event Crossing applications for a three week period before and following the annual South32 Rottnest Channel Swim. Importantly, this blackout period only extends to applications to attempt an Out of Event Crossing – it does not prevent a solo crossing, with all necessary approvals already received, taking place during this period.
