I started swimming in the sea 4 years ago.
I’ve been terrified of the sea ever since watching Jaws as a kid in the 90s.
I thought four years on, after a swimming coach, an ironman and several long swim races, that I was no longer scared of the sea.
This turned out not to be true.
I’m still afraid and I find it hard sometimes to think of anything other than a Great White lurking beneath me as I swim along the Brighton coastline.
So........ I decided to swim the English channel as part of a relay team next year! As well as training, I’ll be raising money for Swim Tayka, a swim education charity.
The fears I had of the sea, as with most of my fears, were elevated and debunked by learning about the sea.
It’s partly why Swim Takya’s purpose speaks to me.
Away from some of my more irrational fears it seems more important to focus on some of the more realistic dangers posed by the sea as well as other bodies of open water.
This is what led me to take on this swim and support a charity like Swim Tayka - educating young people not only in the water but also outside of it.
Swim Tayka provide free swimming lessons and environmental education about clean water stewardship to some of the worlds most underprivileged children living along the earth’s open waters: rivers, lakes and oceans.
I was fortunate enough to have swimming lessons as a child however I am fully aware that this isn‘t the case for countless children across the planet.
The WHO estimates that around 235,000 people drown worldwide each year.
The swim from Samphire Hoe, Dover to Cap Griz- Nez in France is 21 miles and at it’s most forgiving could take us around 14 hrs to cross, however this can vary massively depending on tides and rough condtions.
I am under no illusions about how hard this undertaking is going to be and I have already begun my training in the pool working on technique to be able to sustain what may well be over 3 hours of swimming

 Over the winter and into next year I will have the daunting task of acclimatising myself to swim at water temperatures down to 12 degrees for a sustained length of time
Luckily I will have a great coach and a great team of swimmers around me to make up our team of 6 and a very accomplished pilot to guide us safely across the channel and navigate the darkness, tides and jellyfish on our journey to France!
This is easily going to be one of the hardest and scariest things I’ve attempted, but hopefully also one of the most satisfying and memorable.
The idea of swimming in the dark and cold is already keeping me up at night, but I am determined and inspired by all work that Swim Tayka have done and continue to do
As with all charities Swim Tayka rely on donations to continue their work in both water safety and environmental education, so in taking on this swim I hope to raise £1,500 if not more for the cause
Please donate if you can, and help support this wonderful charity, your generosity will make those cold dark swims that little bit more bearable
Thanks, Adam