Bula Chowdhury crosses fourth of seven seas

With a timing of 8 hours 11 minutes, Choudhury finished seventh among 29 participants who swam across the gulf braving inclement weather, according to reports received in Kolkata.

Chowdhury swam across the gulf at Nikiti Chalkidiki - a small Macedonian town - and covered the 26-km distance up to Cassandra, thus conquering the fourth of the seven seas.

The 35-year old Chowdhury, who holds a 16-year old national record in the women's 100m-butterfly event, would in August set out to conquer USA's Catalina Channel.

She would return to Kolkata on July 27 and leave for the USA in the second week of August to swim the 38-km channel from Manhattan beach.

Taranath Shenoy, the deaf and mute swimming sensation, is the only Indian to have crossed the Catalina Channel.

Chowdhury is the first Asian woman to have crossed the English Channel twice in 1989 and 1999.

In 2000, she set a women's world record by covering the 20-km Gibraltar Straight from Spain to Morocco in 3 hours and 35 minutes.

Last year, she successfully swam the Tyrannian Sea in Italy.