Craig Lenning, who has successfully crossed the North Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel and Lake Tahoe as well as completed the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and 24-mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim, took his talents to Japan and gave the Tsugaru Channel a good shot today.

But currents were too strong and came up short after a reported 10 hours in the channel.

Like Lenning, English Channel speedster Christof Wandratsch also reportedly took off from Toi Village on the Eastern Peninsula under the watchful eye of Haruyuki Ishii and will also try to achieve the Asian leg of the Oceans Seven.

Earlier this year, Darren Miller and Stephen Redmond successfully crossed the Tsugaru Channel from the Western Peninsula on a separate route. With its usual shape, the Tsugaru Channel offers different courses and demands different strategies by its challengers and their support crews.

Later this summer, Anna Carin-Nordin, Pat Gallant-Charette and several others will be making their own attempts from either the Western Peninsula with the Tsugaru Channel Swimming Association or from the Eastern Peninsula with the Tsugaru Strait Swimming Association.

Copyright © 2012 by World Open Water Swimming Association