I am swimming this challenge with 11 other people, all from the industry that I work in.  

Luckily Swimming is something that I love but this takes it to a whole new level. Training for this event has been underway for around 18 months and I have swum miles ( & miles ) in preparation for what we are taking on. The pool hours are critical combined with open water distance swims. Worth also noting that although I love swimming in lakes and Lochs I have always hated swimming in the sea and being cold !

The English Channel as the crow flies is 21 miles across at it's narrowest point, however, with at least three and probably four tidal shifts to contend with we are looking at a swim of circa. 40 miles (and possibly up to the record to date of 65 miles by Jackie Corbel in 28 hours 44 minutes) in an "S"-shaped swim. Initially we will be pulled up towards the Netherlands and then as the tide turns we will be flung back down again towards Spain. ( I am really hoping that I am swimming the bit where I am flung with the tide !!)  It will then be back towards Dutch shores with the next tidal shift before hopefully a final tidal swing which will see us land safely - all being well - somewhere on the French coastline. 

The wind and weather can also be challenging as weather conditions over the Channel can change very quickly and often don't match the forecasts. Tidal currents on the French coast are brutal and many swimmers within 500 metres of reaching land have failed in their stoical attempt. To add further sobriety if any were needed, 10 swimmers have unfortunately lost their lives trying to swim across this notoriously unpredictable stretch of water. ( Memo to self ... Take out event insurance !) 

We will each swim for one hour and repeat in rotational order until we reach France. Being on a small boat for 5 hours between swims chugging along at a swimmer's pace and remaining in one piece may be more of a challenge than the actual swim. The slower the aggregate swim time, the more painful and precarious the journey on the boat. Thanks goodness for Stugeron and Kwells! Thinking back to when we rowed this stretch of water for the same charity in 2019 the awful feeling of seasickness for the first couple of days was wholly unpleasant. This time there will be no time to adapt to conditions and you will have to swim even if you are throwing up your guts otherwise we will be disqualified. 

We will follow English Channel swimming rules and wear only one textile swim suit (not extending below the knee), one latex swim hat and one pair of swimming goggles................there will be no neoprene in sight! No Wetsuits or any kind of insulated kit are allowed. We must not touch the boat nor indeed one another during each one hour swim stint and once we start we must follow the same sequential order of swimmer rotation. Not to do so - in part or in whole for whatever reason including sea sickness  - will mean instant disqualification. Regardless of curve balls, the show MUST go on!

Including relay swims, more people have climbed Mount Everest than have swum the English Channel - considered the global Holy Grail of open water swims.

The average age of a channel relay swimmer is 34 years and for us as a team this is 42 years.......(and only that low because young Tasmyn Knight has pulled our average age way down.) Most of us are north of 45 years of age with both team captains in their late 50s and one swimmer even in his early 60s. I personally can't think of a better way to reach my 50th Birthday this year !

Approximately, 7694 swimmers have taken part in 1024 relay swims.
The fastest relay swim crossing is 6 hours 52 minutes by the US National Men's Swim Team in 1990. ( I have just re read that and tried to calculate how that is even possible !)  The average time for an English Channel relay swim crossing is 12 hours and 45 minutes and 11 seconds. With weather and currents no one knows what to expect except cold, nasty stinging jellyfish, Weever fish, floating detritus, sea sickness (both in and out of the water) and ten minutes in France without the need for a passport. Most relays of our general make-up and ability take between 16 hours and 20 hours to complete, however, until we physically get into the Channel and assign ourselves to Mother Nature, no one truly knows what lies ahead.....let alone what lies beneath!