Mom, dad and daughter team, the Prietos, swam the channel from Cozumel to the mainland, at the end of last month, beating the pandemic, high waves, strong currents, jellyfish and a badly cut foot, to raise money for charity.

Starting in the dark at 5am, the three family members crossed the 11 mile (18 km) stretch of open water, also known by swimmers as the "Mexican English Channel", taking turns of an hour each in a relay formation.

Daughter, Carolina Prieto, 16, from Spain, organized the event to raise money for the educational charity, the New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and braved the choppy waters with mom, Susan Moody, 49, from the USA, and dad, Mauricio Prieto, 53, from Mexico.

Carolina told This is Cozumel, "the most challenging part of the swim was the beginning, when I cut my foot. That made me unable to use my left leg to kick for the whole swim."

Entering the water in Cozumel, Carolina had caught her foot on rock. Undeterred, she carried on and the multi-national family, who live in New Orleans, went on to complete the challenge in just 6 hours, 52 minutes and 56 seconds. They swam diagonally across the channel due to currents, a total distance of just under 18 miles (28.8 km).

The swimmers were escorted by veteran open water swim expert, Captain Robert Yam, in the boat "Big Time", and had the support of Cozumel's Harbor Master, the Mexican Navy and Mexican Open Water Swimming Association.

To date they have raised over $10,000 for the foundation and donations can still be made on their GoFundMe page here. Carolina's foot is expected to make a full recovery.