Jacob Abraham "Jabez" "Jappy" Wolffe (19 November 1876 – 22 October 1943) was a Scottish long distance swimmer and author of swimming books.
He came closest to success in the September of 1919, with an attempt of 14 hours 55 minutes, from Shakespeare Cliff, Dover, England "to within a quarter of a mile of the French coast".
While both men failed on that occasion, a primary source noted that it was a "fine struggle almost successful", and that Wolffe came "within three quarters of a mile" of the coast when wind drove him away from the shore.
As stated in Wolffe's obituary in The New York Times in 1943,The nearest he came to attaining his goal was in September of 1919, when he swam from Shakespeare Cliff at Dover to within a quarter of a mile of the French coast in 14 hours 55 minutes.
[8][better source needed] Ederle successfully swam the Channel one year later, from Cape Gris-Nez in France to Kingsdown, Kent, in 14 hours and 34 minutes later, after training with coach Bill Burgess.