Charles Chapman

Charles "Charlie the Tuna" Chapman (born 1954) is an American distance swimmer specializing in the butterfly stroke, who in 1981 became the first Black swimmer to successfully cross the English channel, and in 1988 set a record for swimming twice around New York's Manhattan Harbor, a 28.5 mile marathon. In 1997, he became the first person to swim twice around Alcatraz Island, departing from San Francisco.

In Buffalo, he had difficulty gaining entry to swim clubs, as there were few open in Black neighborhoods in the winter, so he would occasionally sneak into the Canisius College pool. Buffalo weather offered a short summer outdoor swimming season.

Training in California

Living first in Los Angeles with his sister, Chapman swam for a short period for the L.A. City College team. By 1974, he had moved to Sacramento and was swimming for the Arden Hills Swimming Club in Carmichael, coached by legendary Olympic Coach Sherm Chavoor, who said of Chapman, "He's a good swimmer, even if he's a little old". From his earliest days as a coach, Champman encouraged talented swimmers from diverse backgrounds, religions and ethnicities to swim with his program. Chapman had been invited to swim with Chavoor before he moved to Sacramento.

First Black swimmer to cross English channel

On August 25, 1981, he became the first black swimmer to cross the English Channel. Chapman received financial support for the costly undertaking from his father who had helped organize a small group of Buffalo investors. Chapman completed the crossing from England to France with a respectable time of 13:30.00. With current and tides, it was estimated he swam a rough total of around 37 miles, landing at night at 10:10 pm on the French shore. The swim was recorded as starting in Dover, England at 8:40 am. In July 1980–81, he attempted but did not finish Atlantic City New Jersey's Around the Island Swim.

Alcatraz to San Francisco He swam the roughly mile and a quarter or half from Alcatraz Island to the Dolphin Swim Club in San Francisco on July 28, 1978, in around 39:55, and though far from the record of 27:28, he fought a bitter cold, a strong tide, white caps, 56 degree water, winds and a 53F outside temperature.

In late July 1983, Chapman swam from the beach at San Francisco's Aquatic Park to Alcatraz Island and back to San Francisco in 1:33 using the Butterfly stroke. He was pleased with the results, as he felt confident the swim had never been completed swimming exclusively butterfly, though he had trouble gaining forward momentum initially because of the tides.

In 1987, he became the first man to swim the 14-mile New York Harbor course from the South Street Seaport to the Statue of Liberty to Brooklyn's Coney Island, using only the Butterfly stroke. The previous year, Los Angeles Dodgers vice president Al Campanis had stated that blacks couldn't swim because their bones were too heavy; Chapman, in response, said, "I'm like Jackie Robinson paving the way, except I'll be wearing a little bathing suit", and ""Silly stuff like that, some people believe. Hell, you watch me swim around Manhattan".

On his second attempt at swimming twice around Manhattan Harbor counterclockwise on August 19, 1989, a swim he had become known for, he attained a time of 9:35:21, only 10 minutes and thirteen second off his record swim the previous year. An undercover agent who purchased the cocaine from Chapman arrested him and two others involved in the transaction. The incident did not completely derail Chapman's swimming ambitions, but was a setback, as he had been planning a second English Channel swim. It may have negatively impacted how he was perceived by the public and his success at recruiting and retaining sponsors.

Once around Alcatraz Island

Prior to the sentencing for his arrest, on August 17, 1991, Chapman swam from Pier 27 at San Francisco's Embarcadero Center around the Island of Alcatraz and back to Pier 27, in just over three hours. Chapman was 37 and still able to complete the swim doing only the demanding Butterfly stroke. The water was 61F, comfortable for Alcatraz, but the distance would be approximated at close to six miles with current and jellyfish.

Twice around Alcatraz Island At the advancing age of 43 on September 6, 1997, Chapman became the only person to swim twice around the Island of Alcatraz after departing from and returning to San Francisco. The swim was an announcement to the world that Chapman was back doing swims after serving time for his arrest in 1991. Two weeks earlier, outside his home of Buffalo, New York, he had prepped for the event by swimming seven miles from Peace Bridge to the Erie Basin Marina in 1:40.

In 1997, he was working as a Swimming instructor back in Buffalo and still planning swims in the Alcatraz area. He had kept his promise to bring the sport of swimming and the benefits it offered to young swimmers.