With very few exceptions, attempted escapes from Robben Island failed and most of the escapees drowned during the long swim to the coast.
Robben Island - South Africa
Robben Island is located 12 kilometres off the coast, south of Cape Town. Its 500 ha in size were used as a prison colony since the beginning of the white settlement in the area.
In 1961, South Africa's most notorious prison was established on Robben Island. Political prisoners of the anti-apartheid movement were kept here together with criminals.
The most famous of these prisoners was Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years of his life in a tiny cell of 5 square metres, to be later in 1994 elected as the first President of the new democratic South Africa.
Today, Robben Island is a national memorial and a museum. Every hour, there is a fast catamaran leaving Cape Town from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the Waterfront's Clock Tower.