By CHOI TUCK WO

DOVER (England): A visibly upset Zahra Masoumah Abdul Halim burst into tears when she was forced to abandon her attempt to conquer the English Channel due to unfavourable tide and wind conditions.

The 17-year-old plucky lass was pulled out of the water just past the halfway mark between Dover and Calais in France after swimming for 12 hours and 46 minutes.

Instead of swimming in a straight line, she was tossed sideways by tidal forces and was heading towards "the Netherlands, instead of Calais".

The hazardous sea conditions made her struggle even harder, forcing her to use more strength to just stay on course.

Zahra was instructed by boat pilot Paul Foreman to get out of the water at 6.39pm on Wednesday (1.39am Thursday Malaysian time) after making little progress.

"When he told me it was all over, my tears flowed freely. I knew I could still continue although it would take at least another 12 to 15 hours," said the girl, whose dreams of "seeing Calais" was frustrated by Mother Nature.

However, undeterred, Zahra now plans to swim from Pulau Rupat in Indonesia to Port Dickson across the Straits of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

"It's about 50km and there's a lot of jellyfish. They'll probably put me in a cage," said the girl, who plans to undertake the swim with her 12-year-old brother Salman Ali Shariati later this year.

Foreman described Zahra as being incredibly brave and mentally strong, and someone whom all Malaysians should be proud of.

"She's only 17 and has swum for the first time in cold waters for nearly 13 hours," said Foreman, who is from the English Channel Swimming and Piloting Federa-tion.

Zahra's father Abdul Halim Manaf, who had followed the swim in the boat, said she was not just fighting against the tide but also the strong winds that kept pushing her back.

Mother Haniza Mohamed said Zahra cried and hugged her upon her return but she comforted her daughter by pointing out that it was "good enough" to have swum that far in unfavourable conditions.

Coach Arof Omar echoed similar sentiments, saying Zahra was still steady and had stayed longer in the water than the two male Cuban swimmers who had also failed in their attempts earlier.

Seven Continents Club Extreme Exploration chairman Muhamad Muqharabbin Mokhtarudin, who organised the swim, said Zahra could hold her head high for her steely determination.

Zahra took off from Shakespeare Beach at 6.07am (1.07pm Malaysian time) on Wednesday in her attempt to become the first Malaysian girl to swim across the channel.