WESTBROOK – In several days, Pat Gallant-Charette of Westbrook could become the oldest woman to ever swim Cook Strait in New Zealand.

The grueling 18-mile stretch between the North and South islands of New Zealand is often considered to be one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waterways in the world. Only 22 swimmers have completed the stretch since 2005.

“I’m ready,” said Gallant-Charette, 62, this week before her Wednesday flight. “I’m hoping Mother Nature is on my side. If she is, I’ll make it.”

Gallant-Charette has built an international reputation as an endurance swimmer. She began after her brother, an avid swimmer, unexpectedly died at the age of 34 from a heart attack. Since that time Gallant-Charette has done a lot in the name of her brother Robby, including starting marathon open-water swimming by doing the Peaks to Portland event in 1999.

From that first race, Gallant-Charette was hooked. She has now completed swimming the English Channel, Strait of Gibraltar and the Tsugaru Strait in Japan, along with swims closer to home like Sebago Lake and the Great Chesapeake Bay swim.

Cook Strait in New Zealand is known for its rough currents and changing wind patterns. Gallant-Charette said that means she has to accept she may be swimming in place for hours at a time during the journey.

Gallant-Charette has a week, from Monday April 15, until the following Monday to complete the swim. If she starts but cannot finish because of weather or physical limitations, she’ll have to come back another time.

Pamela Dickinson holds the title of the oldest woman to swim Cook Strait. She was 54 when she completed the swim in 2009.

In August, Gallant-Charette will swim the North Channel, between Ireland and Scotland, and at a future date she will complete what could be her final swim in the Oceans Seven Challenge, when she swims between Oahu and Molokai Islands in Hawaii.

Pat Gallant-Charette is heading for New Zealand. File photo