We're swimming to France!

In July 2024, four of us will set off from Dover Harbour with the aim of swimming the channel. Our 'Rolling on the Waves' team consists of Sarah, Poppy, Hels and Talia; four gals who love a challenge, and swimming, apparently.

For those of you who are not familiar with English Channel Swimming, here's the low down of what we're doing:

The distance is 21 miles (33km) as the ferries go (straight across), but this rarely happens due to the tides. The unfortunate person who set the slowest ever time ended up swimming around 65 miles due to the tides.

We'll be swimming in a relay format, each team member swimming for 1 hour. It's strictly regulated by the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) and an observer will ratify it.

We'll be lucky if the water temperature goes above 15C – for reference, Olympic swimming pools are between 25-28C. The cold will be our main challenge as we are not allowed to wear wetsuits. The hour in the water will be cold and tough, but we plan to turn it into an eating competition to sustain us through the day. Each swimmer will have 3 hours to get our core temperature to recover, refuel, rest and get ready to do it again. Each time in the water needs to be a strong effort as the tides are not our friends.

There are many challenges that come with this channel attempt, mainly the cold, but we will also be battling sea sickness, jellyfish and of course swimming a long old way.

Once we start, which will be in darkness in the early hours, this is a non-stop challenge.

If you think this sounds worthy of a penny or two, we'd very much appreciate some support:

We are raising money for the Stephens Bakery Foundation, whose mission is focused on promoting education and health, fostering community development, and alleviating poverty, with the goal of making a lasting positive impact on the local communities where Stephens Bakery operates. The foundation supports thousands of school kids every week in its many breakfast clubs, as well as supporting local individuals and groups who need a helping hand.

More information can be found here: https://stephensbakeryfoundation.org/

N.B. The cost of the attempt has been entirely covered, so all money raised goes directly to the Foundation.