September 2023 - My swimming club, Brockwell Swimmers, announced that there was an opportunity to do a relay swim across the channel. I flippantly signed up.

Shortly after, I hurt my back so badly that I couldn't get back in the water until the end of December.

I've been training hard every week since - progressively swimming farther than I ever have before.

Starting in the luxurious warmth of Brixton Recreation Centre. Occasionally visiting Brockwell Lido to experience what 6° water feels like (spoiler - it's like getting repeatedly punched in the face 🥊 ).

I then transitioned to only training in the much cooler Lido 🥶, before moving to Dover Harbour. Where every weekend, insane soloist swimmers do laps for hours and hours, preparing for one of the most challenging swims of their lives.

Last month I completed the most daunting milestone to qualify for the crossing - swimming in the cold sea for 2 hours without stopping.

It's Sunday night at I write this, and I'm about to pack my kit for training in the morning. It'll be the final time I thrash around in chilly water at 6am in preparation for the crossing.

I'll then rest until Wednesday evening at 1830 - when the weather forecast is announced. As team captain, it'll be my job to talk to Kevin Sherman - our boat pilot. We'll decide whether it's safe to launch as planned on Thursday.

The sea, weather and currents can be treacherous, so we have no guarantee we will launch Thursday.

But once I know a launch time and date, I'll update this page with the details.

The rules for swimming the channel have been the same since the 1800s. No wetsuits. Just trunks, goggles, a cap, and lights for the night-time. As a relay team we'll each swim for exactly an hour before handing over. The rules are unforgiving. We're not allowed to touch the boat, or each other when we're in the water. There's even a specific way we have to get in and out of the boat. We can't change the order we swim in. If someone gets injured, tough - we need to keep up with the boat, or we fail.

You can follow our progress as we cross the channel here:

https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/pilots/connemara

Swimming through the busiest shipping lane in the world is no easy matter. I've grown my beard as long and thick as possible as a jellyfish shield. There is likely to be quite a lot of debris to swim through too. There are migrants desperately risking their lives to find a better future, outside of France 🧄.

When things go wrong, we all want someone to be there. In UK waters, that's the RNLI. If you have a few quid spare, please donate.

- RNLI founder, William Hillary - 1824