What a challenge!

Well, what an experience! Technically we knew we'd made it across to France when our mobile phones switched over to the French network. But, we didn't reach the other side of the Channel.

With two members of the team suffering from sea-sickness (big time), and unable to change the swim order (under CSA rules), we turned back after 7 hours of challenging swimming.

Yes, we were disappointed, but nothing can take away the sense of achievement that comes from swimming in the Channel. It's an experience we'll never forget. Swimmers vomiting over the side of the boat, the sensation of jellyfish tentacles running along my arm, the sight of a Russian warship passing by, chairs slipping and sliding along the deck as the boat rolled, and the sense of achievement climbing out of the water after a swim leg are memories that will be with us forever.

What amazed me was how slow we were. Tides, current, wind and waves reduced our normal swim rate by 70%, and we averaged only 0.75mph. If we could have carried on it would have taken us at least 24 hours to reach France, and then we'd have struggled to land because we'd be against the tide.

I'm stiff and sore today. I have jellyfish sting rashes on my arm and on my chest. (Orlaith was stung on the nose!) But, I feel fantastic, and it's been such an incredible journey.

Well done to the team. We've been amazing ambassadors for Rosemead,

And thank you to all of you who have donated, both to the school and to UNHCR,

Finally, I can get on with my life, and I can plan my next challenge ...

Well done team:
Orlaith Richardson
Alex Wood
Andy Dorrett
Lynne Barry
Debbie Louks-MIddleton
Clive Broadbent

Fiona King
Steve Dorrett

Raising funds for UNHCR

Firstly, thanks to everyone for sponsoring our Rosemead Channel Swim Team. We’ve been overwhelmed by everyone's support, and we’ve raised more than £12,000 towards our new school’s sports scholarship scheme.

If you’ve been following our team’s progress, you’ll know that our first swim attempt was cancelled because the sea conditions were too dangerous. But, we have another swim window, and our team are hoping to swim the Channel this coming Saturday!

However, given the recent refugee crisis, we couldn’t possibly ‘touch down’ in Calais without acknowledging the humanitarian emergency that’s unfolding right now across Europe and the Mediterranean.

Whatever your views may be, we feel that children and families everywhere should be safe. More than 300,000 people have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea so far this year. Over 2,600 didn't survive the dangerous crossing. For this reason, in the final run-up to our swim, we’re seeking donations to support the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  

Founded 60 years ago to help those forcibly displaced after WWII, UNHCR has assisted tens of millions around the world. The agency protects refugees and resolves refugee problems. In their support of the current crisis, they continue to urge everyone to put human life, rights and dignity first.

Wish us luck with the swim, and help us raise funds for UNHCR by donating via our new justgiving page: UNHCR

Aching shoulders

Alex, Orlaith and Clive at Dover Harbour

I'm stiff and store this morning. I have aching shoulders, taught pecs and bulging biceps. Alex, Orlaith and I did a 90 minute swim in Dover Harbour yesterday, and it's a while since I've swam for that long in the sea.

We have less than a week until our rescheduled swim window. My nervous excitement is beginning to build again. I'm trying to be a bit blasé about it all, so I don't get too deflated if our swim is cancelled again. (Some swims were cancelled yesterday, even though it was lovely and calm in the harbour - it was actually warmer in the water than it was standing on the shore!)

Our swim window starts on Saturday 12th September. High tide is at 11.38 (am or pm), so we're likely to being doing another late night drive to Dover.

I've eaten most of the sweets and crisps I'd packed as supplies for the previous swim window (on the grounds that they'd have gone off - honestly), and I couldn't resist opening one of the bottles of Champagne, so I'll be restocking this week.

I'm looking forward to some gentle swims in the Lido whilst I taper towards the big event!

Cold weather training

This week I've been cold-weather training in Devon. Actually, I've been camping in Devon with family and new puppy, but the weather's been simply atrocious. We've had rain practically every day. So much so, that the tent's given up, and there are puddles round my sleeping bag, and my daughter Kate has been taking fellow campers round her 'trench experience' for 10p a time.

Mind you, I did get into the sea at Mill Bay yesterday (which was a bit worrying when I found myself being swept up the estuary towards Salcombe), and I did get in the sea today at Bigbury (which was also worrying because the massive waves made it difficult to see the shore).

So, some cold training and some sea training. Probably another damp and soggy sleep this evening, and maybe, just maybe another swim tomorrow if the weather brightens up.

I'm looking forward to getting back to the warmth and calm of Brockwell Lido.

Bond, James Bond

When you make a credit card purchase over the phone these days, the seller will usually ask you for your 3-digit security code. You know, the faded one on the back of the card.

A few years ago, my 3-digit security code was 007. The novelty of this soon wore off when sellers refused to believe me when I answered 007 to their "what's your security code?" question. So it wasn't long before I changed my credit card for a new one (with a thankfully more normal security code).

These days I tend to avoid the 007 number, and when I drop my kit into the lockers at the Lido I go for the 002 locker. It's at a convenient height, the rubber band that holds the key onto your wrist isn't falling apart, and it's easy to find because it's next to the 007 locker.

The other day though, my regular 002 locker was already in use. In fact, the Lido is so busy at the moment with holiday swimmers that all the lockers were already in use. Trying to swim lengths during the day is no longer practical. There are 'bathers' everywhere. The last time I turned up first thing on a Saturday morning, there was a queue already waiting, armed with picnic baskets, loungers, and all manner of non-length-swimming gear.

So 6.30am during the week is the time I'm likely to swim lengths and get my favourite 002 locker. Joy.

The plan

My original plan was to get the swim out of the way at the start of the Summer holidays,  and then enjoy the Summer holidays. That hasn't happened of course, and I'm now struggling to fit in training swims with camping trips, house swaps, and all manner of childcare activities.

I have managed to get into the sea off the Llyn Peninsula a couple of times. The water was lovely and warm, which meant jellyfish. I didn't spot many, but the ones I did see were big and ugly, and just the thought of them made swimming uncomfortable.

I'll be back in Dulwich next week, so I'll be back in the Lido first thing. Mind you, we have a puppy arriving on the 12th August, so my training might be exchanged for puppy training. Life would be so much easier if I'd swum the Channel back in July!

All change

I always knew it would be a problem finding another swim window that suited all of us. And, sadly, Fiona's had to drop out. Our new swim window's right at the start of term, and it's not a good time for Fiona to be away from school, so she's made the difficult decision to drop out. She's been so encouraging and inspirational to date, and we'll really miss her.

That means one of our reserves (and he probably never imagined it would happen), Andy Dorrett, is now in our team. Suddenly it's all real for Andy, and he'll probably be in the pool first thing tomorrow, trying to squeeze in some extra training.

Let's hope we get good weather for our next swim window, September 12th to the 17th. Goodness knows whether or not we'd be able to schedule another one!

T - 6: we're on again

Hurrah! We're on again. Our pilot Reg has given us another swim window. This time we're aiming for a swim some time between Sunday September 12 and Thursday September 17.

On the plus side, the water in the Channel will be much warmer (relatively speaking). On the minus side, we'll be well past the 'longest day', so we'll have a lot less daylight.

Do keep encouraging and helping us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

T + 2: stand down

Well, here we are, one week after our aborted Channel swim.

I think our pilot, Reg, made the right decision. Having reviewed the weather report for that day, I now know that Alex and Debbie would’ve been swimming in gale force 6 winds (blowing in completely the wrong direction) and 10 foot waves.

So, now I’m going through the tricky process of rescheduling, trying to find another slot that suits all of us, the pilot, and a Channel Swimming Association observer.

Last time it took me 2 years to find a slot that suited 5 busy working ladies and a chair of governors. Now I only have 2 months.

So keep encouraging and helping us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

T + 1: stand down

Sadly, having catnapped in the afternoon, remade my fish paste sandwiches, and detoured round Operation Lockdown, I arrived with the others at Dover Marina at 1.30am to learn that our swim had been cancelled. Cancelled due to dangerous weather. Our boat pilot, Reg, just didn’t want to risk our lives. And the Channel weather looks as though it’s not going to get any better for the next 10 days.

So, just like the Rosemead ladies who rowed across the Channel two years ago, our weather window has gone, and our swim has to be rescheduled for later in the year.

It’s hugely disappointing. Thank you to all of you who have sponsored us. We will do the swim, but at this moment I’m not sure whether it will be August or September. And I just don’t know if we’ll be able to coordinate as a six again.

And, of course, it means we’ll have to keep swim fit … so yet more Dover harbour and Lido swimming.

We’re all tremendously down at the moment, so please cheer us up by encouraging and helping us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

T + 1: go, go, go!

It’s go, go, go! We’re on for a 2.00am start Sunday morning, so we’ll be driving through the night to meet our pilot and his boat at 1.30am.

The weather’s still not brilliant, but there are no guarantees it will be any better for Monday morning.

Our first swims will be tough. We’re expecting 15mph headwinds (gusting at 20mph), with 3ft waves every 6 seconds. On a positive note, the water temperature is 16.3 degrees, and the wind should have died down by the time we get to our second swims. (We’re expecting to do three swims, possibly four!)

Life on the boat will be unpleasant for the first 6 hours. It will probably be better in the water than on the boat. We’ll be taking Lynne up on her offer of ginger tea (the natural remedy for sea sickness apparently), and I’ve bought another pack of sea-sickness tablets.

So please, please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

You can track our progress across the Channel with this link (scroll down to the Google map):Viking Princess

T + 1: sharks

This is our second day of waiting. Our boat pilot has given us a 50:50 chance of swimming this evening (which actually means 2.00am tomorrow morning). I think the thunder and lightning last night didn’t help.

Amidst hoots of laughter, my wife showed me a BBC Internet news report this morning. It spoke of shark sightings in the Channel. They’ve been spotted off West Sussex. That’s a fair few miles from Dover, but it’s another unforeseen scary thing to add to our challenge. (And I did assure Alex that there was zero possibility of encountering sharks!)

So please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

T + 1: waiting for the weather window

Back in 2012, 150 climbers were queued at 25,000 feet on the Lhotse Face, ready to make their final push to summit Everest. That day, 16 of them died.

It’s a sobering thought. We’re in a similar, not-quite-as-life-threatening scenario. We’re not camped out in a so-called ‘death zone’, but we are waiting for our weather window. And, if we were to push ahead and swim now, we’d be facing 20mph winds and thick fog. We want to be safe.

So, our swim is now scheduled for 2.00am on Saturday. I’ll be checking in again with our boat pilot at 9.00am Friday for another update.

My carefully made salmon, chicken and meat paste sandwiches have been in and out of the fridge countless times, and my reduced to clear Waitrose sausage rolls are looking very sad at the moment, so please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

T - 0: the waiting game

Well we’re at the start of our swim window, and we’re waiting for our boat pilot to tell us that the weather forecast is reasonable for our swim. At the moment, it’s not!

Last week’s weather in the Channel wasn’t good. 3 separate swim attempts failed. And one person (who’s in the Channel right now) had to wait right until the end of his swim window before he could swim.

We won’t be swimming tomorrow morning at 1.00am, and we won’t be swimming tomorrow afternoon at 1.00pm. We might now be swimming at midnight tomorrow. I have to check in with our boat pilot at 9.00am tomorrow for an update. Fingers crossed …

We’re all nervous wrecks at the moment, so please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: sponsor us please

T - 0 (ish) and counting

Potentially less than 11 hours until our team braves the English Channel.

We’re all in a nervous and excited state at the moment. We could potentially be swimming the Channel at 1.00am tomorrow. I’ve found it difficult to concentrate all day, and last night I hardly slept a wink.

The weather in the Channel at the moment is scary. The Channel is its own micro-climate, and although it’s beautiful weather in Dover, the middle of the Channel is a different matter. Right now there are 22mph winds coming from the south-west (which is completely the wrong direction!).

It’s a waiting game. I’ll get a call from our boat pilot at 7.30pm today, and it’ll be a “yes” or a “no” for a swim early tomorrow morning. If it’s a “no”, it’ll be another agonising day of anticipation.

So, please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: sponsor us

T - 1 and counting

Just 1 week until our team braves the English Channel.

Massive waves, strong currents, rapids, and water as cold as 15 degrees. Yes, Center Parcs is a great place for Channel swim training. 

I've been holidaying with friends and family at Center Parcs this week, and it's given me a bit of time to check out English Channel statistics. Not a good idea.

The English Channel is the third busiest shipping lane in the world. But, the Strait of Dover (which is where we're swimming), is the busiest shipping lane in the world. Roughly 600 ships travel through the Strait every 24 hours. Given that I'm estimating a swim time of 18 hours, that means we'll be weaving our way between 400 massive ships that take several miles just to stop. It makes for some wonderful photographs, but it's scary - very, very scary.

It's the final 7 day countdown to our swim, so please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

T - 2 and counting

Only a scary 2  weeks until our team braves the English Channel.

My dad was obsessed with tides. Whenever we went to the seaside he would diligently consult the tides tables to make sure we were always swimming in the sea when the tide was coming in. Otherwise, according to my dad, we’d be swept away by the sea and lost forever.

So, in 2 weeks’ time, we’ll be breaking my dad’s rule by starting our swim when the tide is going out. Of course, we are hoping that we’ll be swept away by the sea because that will make our swimming easier. We’re also hoping that we’ll get past the halfway point as the tide goes in so that we’ll be swept onto the French coast.

You see, there’s logic to this crazy challenge. Sadly, high tide on our first swim day is 12 o’clock (midnight or midday). So we’ll either be starting in complete darkness or finishing in complete darkness. Wonderful.

I crept into the lido at 6.30 this morning to try out my new Speedos. Given that we’re in the middle of a heatwave, the pool was not empty. There were no shrieks, snorts or guffaws, but I think I’ll be first to swim if we’re starting in the dark.

There are only 2 weeks to go, so please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

T - 3 and counting

Only 3 weeks until our team braves the English Channel.

You might think that, because of all the dangers associated with Channel swimming, we will be accompanied by all manner of hi-tech state-of-the-art support vessels. You might think that there will be a plethora of lifeguards and medics watching closely, ready to leap into action at the merest hint of someone in trouble. And you might think that we’ll be able to rest on a comfortable bed after our relay legs. But no. You’d be wrong. We will be accompanied for the best part of two days by Reg and his fishing boat.

Now don’t get me wrong. Reg’s family has been escorting swimmers across the Channel for 40 years, and he has a reputation for escorting record breakers (like the fastest male swimmer, the fastest butterfly swimmer and the fastest backstroke swimmer – goodness knows why he’s escorting us). But, it’s a fishing boat (or a fishing ‘trawler’ as he describes it on his web site). We will have the luxury of a cabin below deck (where we can groan in private as the fishing boat does what fishing boats do in choppy water), a kettle, a microwave, and a ‘separate’ flushing toilet (which we won’t use because we’ll be emptying the contents of our stomachs over the sides of the fishing boat a zillion times during the swim). But it’s a fishing boat! And fishing boats smell of … fish.

Reg’s boat is called the Viking Princess. You’ll be able to track its progress on the Internet (Viking Princess). So you’ll be able to see where we are, how cold the sea is, how fast the wind is, how high the waves are, and how fast we’re swimming (ie how slow the boat is going).

The next time you see television adverts of glorious sea and river cruises, think of us in our little fishing boat, and please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: please sponsor us

T - 4 and counting

This is what's being washed up onto our shores!

Only 4 weeks until our team braves the English Channel.

On Monday I was in the chemist checking out sea-sickness tablets. I threw up 3 times during my qualifying swim on Saturday, and I reckon I’ll need some medication if the sea on Channel swim day is as rough and rolling as it was on Saturday. It was probably the 20mph cross-winds that did it. Well done to Debbie, Fiona, Lynne, and Orlaith who completed their qualifying swims too.

According to the Telegraph today, this is the ‘Year of the jelly’. Swarms of large, barrel jellyfish have been seen along our Southern shoreline and experts are warning us that thousands more are on the way. Brilliant. Deathly cold water, puke-inducing rolling waves, and now zillions of massive jellyfish. Will the dangers never end?

Well, at least we won’t have to wee on each other if we get stung. The latest NHS guidelines suggest that shaving foam is the thing to use, so I’ll be back to the chemist next week for their very best. Sea sickness tables and shaving foam for a man who obviously doesn’t shave. Goodness knows what they think of me in Brockwell pharmacy.

A 20kg jellyfish was spotted off the Cornwall coast recently. Jellyfish stings are inevitable, so please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: sponsor us

Horrible

Absolutely horrible. For me, this weekend's swim in Dover harbour was absolutely horrible - the worst swim I have ever done. Conditions were appalling. We saw the crash of waves breaking against the harbour walls as we drove into Dover, so we knew it was going to be choppy.

Orlaith and I were trying to get our 2-hour swim certificates. We cannot swim the Channel without them. But, after an hour and half in the water, I was well and truly sea-sick, and on the verge of giving up. Throwing up three times helped, but I really wasn't enjoying it. It was only the thought of having to come back and try again that kept me going. I spent the last half an hour groaning through my breath as I desperately tried to stop going up and down and up and down.

Orlaith was fine. Okay, she was cold, but I think she's probably a secret white-knuckle roller-coaster rider because she was completely unaffected by the massively undulating sea. We did do it though, and I literally staggered out of the sea onto the pebbly beach. I'm writing this seven hours later, and my stomach is still fragile and I my head still aches. Going to Carter's Steam Fair in Belair Park this afternoon with my thrill-seeking daughter hasn't helped.

Swim Certificates Obtained - yeah!

Good luck to Debbie, Fiona and Lynne who are trying to get their certificates tomorrow. At least it's forecast to be calmer (although not warmer!).

T-5 and counting

Just 5 weeks until our team braves the English Channel.

Training in Dover Harbour is tightly controlled. It’s dangerous, so it needs to be. There are officials who brand us with indelible markers, officials who tick us off as we go in and out of the sea (so they know when one of us has drowned), and officials who tell us what’s dangerous, what’s really dangerous, and what’s really, really dangerous.

In amongst all these officials is a guy with a tub of goose fat. Yes, goose fat. A guy who offers to lather us up before we hit the chilly and uninviting harbour water. I’ve never quite worked out if he is really one of the officials, or just  someone who’s walked off the street and fancies lathering up the ladies (and the gents).

Channel Swimming Association rules state that goose fat is the only thing we can use to combat the cold. I’m not sure if it’s the guy or the disgusting contents of his tub that’s put us off lathering up so far, but to date we’ve gone into the water sans fat.

My point though, is that according to Channel Swimming Association rules, our lady swimmers are only allowed to wear sleeveless swimsuits that don’t extend below the crotch (ie don’t have legs), and our gentlemen swimmers (ie me) are only allowed to wear skimpy speedos. Now I’m all for equality, but I think there’s a lot more coverage (and warmth) in a swimsuit than in a pair of speedos. And, speedos is not a good look for me.

We’re aiming to do our 2-hour qualifying swim in Dover Harbour this Saturday. Whatever happens, we’re all going to be cold, very cold, and I’m going to look ridiculous.

So don’t snigger the next time you see me, and please encourage and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

Sponsoring us via justgiving: sponsor us

T-6 and counting

6 weeks until our team braves the English Channel.

I’ve just taken delivery of 20 military-standard light sticks – 10 yellow and 10 orange. It’s a sobering reminder that some of our swimming will be at night. On the plus side, it does mean we’re unlikely to see the scary things in the water, and no-one will see my embarrassingly inefficient swim stroke. However, swimming in the Channel is going to be pretty lonely, and swimming at night is probably akin to being in an isolation tank with all the sensory deprivation effects that brings.

None of us. Absolutely none of us is looking forward to swimming in the dark.

So the next time you’re out and about at night, think of us. Think of the huge and scary challenge we’ve taken on and help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

either
Coming along to our fundraising quiz night on Friday 5 June: buy a ticket
or
Simply sponsoring us via justgiving: sponsor us

Buoyancy Aid

At 6.30am, I was the first into the Lido this morning. Probably because it was very windy, and it was raining.

Loads of wimpy wetsuit people joined me later. It was a luxurious 15.7 degrees. Surely no need for a wetsuit!

There's nothing quite like slipping gently into an undisturbed swimming pool. Picture that empty indoor pool before opening time or after closing time, and that silky-smooth, cut-with-a-knife, glimmering water, and don't you just want to slip in?

Actually, there is something better - hobbling down a steep pebbly beach into the cold sea. Seriously! Okay, the getting in bit is challenging, but once you're there, the swimming is amazing. What I like most, is the saltiness. The water is so buoyant. Treading water (which I don't do, honestly), is so easy. Effortless. When I'm swimming, my body practically floats on top of the water, not in it. It's like lying on a surf board and paddling with my arms. I can just picture Surf's Up's Big Z telling me "long and slow ...".

And last Saturday, when I was swimming with Orlaith in Dover Harbour, I was swimming long and slow with my super-saltiness buoyancy aid, and really enjoying it. We swam for an hour in 11.7 degrees. Check out the photo. Look at how delighted Orlaith and I are. Okay, Orlaith couldn't stop shaking when she drank her post-swim tea and offered me a biscuit (broken with the shakes), but it was great milestone. We'll be swimming hourly shifts across the Channel, and on Saturday we completed our first practice (almost like the real thing) shift. No wonder we're smiling!

T-7 and counting

7 weeks until our team braves the English Channel.

In 1954, without a pilot boat, Edward May set off from France to swim the Channel. Four weeks later his body washed up in Holland. We have our pilot boat booked!
In 1984, 36 year-old Kumar Anandan died whilst swimming the Channel. At the inquest, the coroner recommended that anyone swimming the Channel should have a fitness certificate. We all have our fitness certificates!

Like any extreme sport, Channel swimming has risks attached to it. Today I arranged extreme sport insurance for our team. We’re not allowed to swim without it.

Last Saturday’s training in the choppy tide-on-the-turn waters off Broadstairs wasn’t pleasant, and it reminded me yet again how serious this challenge is.

Any opportunity

I was in Broadstairs at the weekend, visiting friends. So no chance to join the swimmers in Dover harbour. But, I did get a chance to jump into the sea in Viking Bay, off Broadstairs.

Tides are a strange thing. Low tide was about 10.30am, and high tide was about 4.00pm. My schedule meant wading into the sea just as the tide was turning. I checked with the lifeguard whether or not this was a wise thing to do, and I did have my safety swim float with me. Once he knew that my madness was simply a sign of someone training for a Channel swim, he suggested I waited for a little while before going in, and warned me that it would be choppy.

Boy, it was choppy! It was good practice I suppose, but I spent 30 minutes in 11.7 degrees water going up and down and up and down, and swallowing a lot of salty water. Yes, at the time, I wasn't just the only person swimming in the sea, I was the only person in the sea.

I could hardly stand when I came out. the sandy beach just kept on moving! It was good practice, and good preparation for what I might encounter in a couple of months time though.

Mind you, I'm looking forward to getting back to the calm and stillness of the Lido.

T-8 and counting

8 weeks until our team braves the English Channel.

Swimming the Channel is a big, scary challenge. In fact, more people have climbed Everest than have swum the Channel. In a recent YouGov survey, only 53% thought scaling Everest would be harder than swimming the Channel, and 62% would rather do Everest than the Channel!

So, who are the mad people in the team?
Lynne Barry (staff)
Clive Broadbent (parent)
Fiona King (staff)
Debbie Louks-Middleton (staff)
Orlaith Richardson (parent)
Alex Woods (parent)

There’s only a 10% success rate for completing a Channel swim. The Channel Swimming Association regulations are strict, and I get worried every time I think about them. No wetsuits. Swimsuits and swimming shorts must not go below the crotch. No changes to the relay swim order once the attempt has started. Relay swimmers must take less than 5 minutes to swap. And there are lots more regulations. Break any of them and the Channel swim attempt is null and void.

I’m worried, and I think the rest of the team are too. So, if you see us around, please encourage us. Please remind us that we’re doing the Everest of swimming, and please help us in our efforts to raise funds to kick-start a sports scholarship programme at Rosemead by …

either
Coming along to our fundraising quiz night on Friday 5 June 
or
Simply sponsoring us via justgiving 

T-9 and counting

T-9 weeks and counting. I was checking my diary this morning and noticed that our swim window for the Channel starts 9 weeks today. 9 weeks! I can't believe I started training for this thing almost 2 years ago.

Well, here we are, pilot boat booked, swim registration forms and Channel Swimming Association application forms submitted, and medicals completed. We just need to get our 2-hour swim certificates (by swimming for 2 hours in cold open water), and sort out our insurance (it is an extreme sport after all).

I'm not getting scared (yet), but I'm still a way off my target swim speed of 1.67 miles/hour. Mind you, last Saturday's Dover Harbour experience helped me shave a couple of minutes off my half-mile swim time (mainly because you can't put your feet on the bottom or hold on to the sides in the harbour, so it's swim or die, and that's quite an incentive to go faster).

The temperature in the lido this morning was 17.2 degrees (which is unbelievably warm for us Winter swimmers) and swimming in the lido is no longer the macho thing it was. It's warmer than the Channel will be! So I'll have to dream up other ways of making it uncomfortable. Maybe I should start swimming without my swimcap? Mind you, it feels pretty cool wearing a Channel swimmer cap.

The Blues

Lynne with blue lips

Lots of blue today. I don't mean Conservative party bunting, I mean blue lips, blue fingers, and blue toes.

Today was our Channel Swim Team's first session in Dover Harbour. I know it takes a while for a volume of water like the Channel to warm up, but it was cold, very cold. 10.6 degrees to be precise. So, colder than Brockwell Lido, and a good 5 degrees colder than we're hoping for when we swim the Channel in July. And this was a strictly no wetsuits session. (There was a guy on the beach offering to grease people with goose-fat. He was one of the organisers, honestly! Maybe this is something we'll try closer to the swim date.) 

Today was the first of potentially lots of harbour swims. We'll be doing as many harbour swims as possible. It's the best way to prepare. And boy, it was a bit of a wake-up call and an eye opener.

All technique went out of the window as I desperately tried to get my mouth out of the water to take a breath, and my hands and arms in the water to take a stroke. It was a bit choppy today, and the current and tide were frighteningly quick - on the return swim it felt like I was barely making progress.

Well done to everyone though - Alex, Andy, Debbie, Fiona, Lynne, Orlaith and me. We swam for 30 minutes and then tried to warm ourselves up for an hour on the windswept beach before getting in again.

It was so cold. Lynne's lips, fingers and toes were blue, Fiona couldn't stop shivering, and Debbie found it difficult just to speak.

Practice, practice, practice though. I'm sure it will get more bearable. Mind you, my next swim in the lido is going to feel fairly tame in comparison.

Screen Test?

Maybe I'm just very old. Or maybe I had a strange taste for television programmes when I was little. But no-one I've spoken to, absolutely no-one remembers the 1970s BBC television quiz show called 'Screen Test'.

Surely you remember? Hosted by Michael Rodd, it was a children's quiz show about films. Contestants were shown film clips, and each clip was followed by a series of questions specifically about the content of the clip.

I thought it was a fun show. I liked it because many questions needed observation skills rather than an encyclopedic knowledge of facts and figures.

What's this got to do with swimming the Channel? Well, we're holding a Channel Swim fundraising event on Friday 6 June. And that event will be a quiz in the style of Screen Test, and it will use the latest technology in lockout-buzzers. (Lockout-buzzers are the ones used in gameshows where the first contestant to hit the buzzer gets to answer the question and the other buzzers and contestants are locked out). It should be a fun event. Interesting film clips, the excitement of the buzzer, an embarrassing on-screen scoreboard, and of course, food and drink.

If you want more information about the event, or you'd like to book a ticket, click here:
Gameshow Quiz Night

Challenge complete

Clive after 70+ lengths

Orlaith after 70+ lengths

Well done to Alex and Orlaith for completing their Swimathon challenges. Alex swam 2.5km (achieving a personal best time) and Orlaith swam 5km in an amazing 1 hour and 44 minutes. And I ... was a lot, lot slower. I'm not a fast swimmer, but I can swim for ages. So, with the logistics of fitting in both a solo challenge and a team relay challenge, I swam 2.3km by myself, then 1.25km for my leg in the relay, and then another 2.7km by myself to complete my 5km challenge. So, all in all, a total of 6.25km in the Lido, in 14.9 degrees water, and without a wetsuit.

The temperature in the Lido was about the temperature we're expecting the Channel to be in July, so I was pleased at how long I lasted in the water (although I couldn't feel my toes afterwards).

Our next big team challenge is on Saturday 9 May, when we hit the sea (albeit Dover harbour) for our first Channel-like experience. Not all of us are looking forward to it ...

In the zone

Sandsend 40+ years ago

Maybe it's in the genes. Maybe it's in the blood. But, I've always loved swimming in cold water (especially the sea). So here I am, ramping up to swim across the Channel.

40 plus years ago, I was swimming in a sea-water filled pool on the beach at Sandsend. I had one of those (now banned) swimming masks with an in-built snorkel protruding from the top and a ping-pong ball in the end to stop water coming in.

I would literally swim all day. All Mum and Dad could see was a snorkel moving around the pool. Occasionally it would disappear and reappear, and eventually it would surface for food or for the journey home. I can't remember ever getting cold or having wrinkly skin. I just enjoyed the sense of isolation and the sense of being in another world - being in the zone.

Well, I'll be in that zone again tomorrow. No snorkel this time, but I will be swimming for a long time when I do the Marie Curie Cancer Care swimathon. 6.25km starting at 6.30am in Brockwell Lido - 1.25km swimming for Tim Sutton's Brockwell Swimmers team, followed by 5km swimming for myself. If you'd like to sponsor me in Tim's team, there's still time! sponsor my team

Summertime Blues

April 1st - not Fool's Day, just the start of the Summer season at Brockwell Lido. I can look forward to longer opening hours, blue skies, and warmer water.

Today was my first time back in the water since skiing last week. Nope, I didn't manage to find a pool in Crans Montana. Actually, I did find one, but decided not to pay the 45CHF to swim in it! Skiing was wonderful, but my daughter Kate broke her leg on the last day. The insurance company repatriated Kate and I via EasyJet on the Saturday (we had a row of 4 seats to ourselves), and we've all been sleeping downstairs in the lounge since then. (Kate's immobile at the moment.)

So, it's a bit of a blue summertime for us. We had a dreadful night's sleep, and I crept out of bed at 6 o'clock this morning to have a sneaky dip in the Lido. Kate and Elaine were finally fast asleep on the sofa and the floor respectively when I left the house.

I had hoped to be the first in the pool, but no, a lady in a purple swimsuit and neoprene top beat me to it. Still, I managed 50 minutes of swimming in 12 degrees water, and returned home to find Kate and Elaine still fast asleep. I've left them sleeping whilst I write this blog entry. If I can get enough sleep this evening, I'll sneak out early tomorrow morning too.

Paperwork

Phew! I'm just back from the post office. Finally, all our paperwork is complete, and I've sent it special delivery to the Secretary of the Channel Swimming Association (CSA). The Royal Mail is guaranteeing to deliver it on Monday 30 March (special delivery because we have to send originals and not copies!). The CSA's deadline is 1 April for relay team applications.

So, tight, but not too tight. I had a slight panic last week when I spotted that Orlaith's GP had failed to fill in the most important bit of Orlaith's medical form - the box that says whether or not she's fit to swim! Orlaith dropped off the completed form last night, so we were good to go with paperwork this morning - 6x medical forms, 6x application forms for CSA associate membership, our team relay application form, and 6x 4x6 photos of each of us.

Now we can get on with training. 40 minutes in 8.8 degrees water this morning. I'm definitely getting used to the cold. Apparently the temperature of the Channel yesterday was 7.7 degrees,

I'm on the school's ski trip next week. I will look out for pools (or lakes!), and I have packed my swimming gear. I think I'll just have to use skiing as a form of cross-training though.

Double Challenge

I've signed up to take part in the Swimathon on Friday 15 April. Orlaith's signed up too, and people all round the country will be swimming pool lengths to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

I think Orlaith and I are braver and tougher than most, because we'll be doing our lengths in Brockwell Lido (all 100 of them - that's 5 kilometres). Goodness knows what the temperature will be. I only did 20 lengths this morning, and I'm still shivering.

So, Orlaith and I have a tough challenge. My challenge will be even tougher though, because Tim Sutton from Brockwell Swimmers has persuaded me to do an additional Swimathon as part of the Brockwell Swimmers team. So, 100 lengths for my original challenge, and then goodness knows how many lengths for the team challenge!

It all starts at 7.00am, so I'll be very, very cold and tired when I've finished. I'll take my sports camera and get video and pics. No dalek hat or red skin-suit this time!

Red Pose Day

Red Nose Day! Or, in my case, Red Pose Day.

Two swims this morning. 18 lengths at 6.30am in 9 degrees water, and another 2 lengths at 8.00am with some nutty people wearing red noses and deely boppers. How was I to draw some attention when everyone was wearing red noses in the lido? Wear a red skin suit of course.

I had hoped it would be a bit like swimming in a wet suit. But no, it soaked up the water, weighed me down, and made breathing almost impossible. It did create some interesting photo opportunities along the way though, and it raised the visibility of us mad Channel swimmers.

Orlaith was there too. Braving the cold water, and swimming a very elegant breaststroke with piggy red nose.

It was lots of fun, and reminded me that cold water swimmers are a fun bunch of people.

T-shirt, medal, and keg of beer

What I really like about the wife-carrying race is the lack of a goody bag. Usually, when you finish a big organised race you get a goody bag. It might sound obvious, but goody bags contain goodies. Goody, you're thinking, you like goodies. But the goodies are normally energy bars, drinks, and sample-sized freebies for gels, lotions and other sports-related stuff. Once I've snaffled the energy bar, I usually throw everything else away.

The wife-carrying race is different though. No goody bag. Just a quality wicking t-shirt with the names of the participants printed on it, a hugely desirable medal (well. desirable if you're mad like me), and, wait for it, a mini keg of beer! And we're talking about locally brewed stuff. Quality t-shirt, desirable medal, and beer beats any goody bag.

So how did we get on? Well, we weren't last (that honour goes to a chap carrying a 'wife' weighing 140kg - and they had most of the media attention), and we weren't first (that honour went to an American couple who completed the 380m hilly course in just 2 minutes). We were in the latter part of the pack. Of course, carrying someone piggyback is much, much harder than Estonian-style (well that's what I keep telling myself). Check out the second picture to see us alongside the Estonian holders.

And, we had a lovely time. Elaine spent most of the racing laughing (until we reached the people with the water buckets and the water pistols).

And my quads were twice the size by the time I'd finished.

Will we do it again next year? I'm sure we will, and we'll encourage a few more Rosemeadians to join us.

Wife Carrying

Carrying my wife

No swimming this weekend. Instead I'm travelling down to Dorking to take part in the UK Wife Carrying Championship. Yes, us Brits have all manner of wacky races and competitions from cheese rolling to bog snorkeling, and this one caught my attention when someone mentioned it to me last year.

This will be the second time I've done it. My wife Elaine enjoyed it so much she wanted to do it again. I did point out that all she had to do was sit on my back and enjoy the ride.

We're doing piggy-back. Those who take the race seriously (and believe me, there are people who really do take the race seriously), use the Estonian hold and expect to win and represent the UK in the World Championships in Finland. In the Estonian hold the wife hangs upside down on the runner's back, and clings on by gripping her legs round the runner's neck. (Elaine will only let me do piggy-back!)

The Estonian hold

It's a more inclusive competition these days. You no longer have to be married to the wife, wife can carry husband, and husband and wife can be same sex. So the race is quite a spectacle and usually hits national TV and newspapers.

It might only be a 380m course, but it's uphill for half of that distance, there's a straw bale obstacle to climb over, and a water obstacle at the end. That's probably why it's classed as an ultra-marathon on the Runners World web site.

Wish me luck. I'm looking forward to getting back to freezing swims on Monday.

Sponsor us!

Well, just in case you missed the February 13 edition of the Wimbledon & South London Press, I'm "swimming the English Channel in July as part of a team of parents and staff from Rosemead Preparatory School in Dulwich to raise funds for the school and annual sports scholarships".

I couldn't have put it better myself, and yes, the "famous Dalek hat" certainly drew attention and generated some much needed publicity.

So, sponsor us! We have a justgiving site, so go on, log in and make a donation. July might seem like a long way off, but a constant stream of small donations between now and the swim date will add up to a big sum.

And, ever on the lookout for PR opportunities, I will be swimming in the Lido wearing a red nose on Friday March 13. Yes, it's Red Nose Day!

Phew!

I'm feeling good today. My doctor's signed my medical form, confirming that I'm fit to swim the Channel. Yeah!

I had blood tests and an ECG yesterday, and the results show that I'm a fit guy. My blood pressure's a tad on the high side, but my doctor says that it's not a Channel swim stopper (although I do need to take some medication, and I have a blood pressure monitor winging its way through the post to me).

So, back to some serious training (and Steve and Andy, our reserves, can breathe a sigh of relief). Mind you, the rest of the team still need to have their medicals too!.

Medicals

We're going through mounds of Channel Swim Association paperwork at the moment. It all needs to be submitted by the end of March, which isn't that far away.

We all need medicals and certificates of fitness from our GPs. I keep reminding myself that more people have climbed Mount Everest than have swum the Channel.

Today, I had my medical. Sadly, it didn't go quite as I'd hoped, and my GP has kept my medical form and certificate and refused to sign them for the moment. High blood pressure. He's prescribed me some tablets, and lined me up for an ECG and some blood tests. He'll see me again in a couple of weeks. But, if my blood pressure doesn't come down to what he regards as a safe level, it will be no swim for me.

So, a little disappointing. On a positive note, it's good to find these things out and deal with them before they cause a problem. And everything else about me is okay.

I hope Steve and Andy (our reserves) have been training hard ...

Honoured

Well, I'm honoured. I guess the dalek hat was an even bigger hit than I thought. Brockwell Lido is holding its first ever swimming gala this Sunday, and I've been asked to kick the whole thing off with a celebratory length in my "wonderful dalek hat" (as the organiser put it).

So, more opportunities for photos, and more opportunities for PR for Rosemead.

Some of our Channel Swim team will be meeting up for a swim in the Lido on Saturday morning (and a coffee in the cafe by the radiators afterwards), and then I'll be doing a double swim on the Sunday (a training session early in the morning, followed by the gala at 11.00am).

Entry to the gala is free for visitors. It'll be fun to watch, so do come along and see the dalek for real (and stay for some very British tea and cake afterwards).

Taking the plunge

Well I've taken the plunge. I've paid for annual membership of Brockwell Lido. I did the maths and worked out that, with the amount of swimming I'm doing in the Lido at the moment, I'll have paid my for membership in 4 months!

So, I'm the proud owner of a Brockwell Lido membership card. And I've used the card three times since paying for membership. It's less pressuring knowing that I can swim any number of times during the day and not have to pay each time (assuming I get to the stage where I want to swim more than once a day), and I don't have to worry about sticking to the off-peak times (my membership lets me swim at any time).

Yesterday was the first time I've swum in the snow. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a blanket of snow on the ground, but it was kind of surreal walking across to the water with snowflakes on my arms. I can't wait to swim with really thick snow. I'll take my camera when it happens. And that could be soon. The Met Office warning for Greater London is Yellow (early warning of snow). I can't wait.

Good enough for Getty

Well, according to the judges, my originality, craftsmanship, and 'wow' weren't enough to get me placed in the top three for the hat competition. But, I was definitely the people's choice with photos of me appearing on the Guardian, Daily Mail and Sunday Times web sites, and I've been immortalised in a Getty image (available for commercial use forever!).

What a great event though. Yes the water was only 3.5 degrees, but the sunshine made it almost pleasant, and we had plenty of opportunities to promote Rosemead. (I kept popping in the Rosemead name whenever I was interviewed.) There was even a girl from Oakfield cheering us on (she was amazed that Rosemead had entered a team - maybe we should do this again?).

No prizes or medals for us. Just satisfaction and glory for braving the cold, and pride for wearing Rosemead swim hats for the relay event. (No, I didn't wear the dalek for the relay!)

So well done to Orlaith, Debbie and Lynne for competing and completing. It's the coldest water I've ever swum in, and I'm sure it was the coldest water they've ever swum in!

Exterminate!

Well, I've finished building the dalek. It's difficult to gauge the size from the photo, but believe me, it's big! I tried it on my head this afternoon, and I definitely won't be winning any prizes for the fastest breaststroke. I'm just hoping I don't strain my neck trying to keep it upright.

I'm sure it will impress the spectators. It'll create some interesting photo opportunities and maybe generate a bit of PR for Rosemead and our Channel swim.

If you've been scraping ice off your car for the last couple of mornings, you'll know it's pretty cold outside at the moment. And today the water in the Lido was 3.9 degrees. Tooting Bec Lido will be even colder because it's a larger expanse of water and it's surrounded by trees. So wish us luck for the Saturday 'races'. I'll post some photos. And I'll see if I can get a photo of the dalek floating across the water.

Dalek

Dalek? I hear you say. Why has he posted a picture of a Dalek? I'll get to that in a moment.

There's only one week to go before we hit the UK Cold Water Swimming Championships. Our team is ready(ish). Both Lynne and Orlaith swam in the sea over the Christmas holidays, Debbie swam a magnificent 10 lengths in Brockwell Lido last Saturday, and I reached a personal best of 10 consecutive days swimming in the Lido (6 degrees this morning, and a walk across the ice to reach the water).

Why the Dalek? We have a team of 4 ready for the relay event (which kicks off at 12.15 if you're interested), but both Orlaith and I have entered the 'heads up' breaststroke event as well (which means swimming breaststroke with our heads out of the water - the old-fashioned way). I'm sure Orlaith will do really well, but I can't see myself making it through the first round, let alone the final.

So, I thought I'd have a go at getting the prize for the most flamboyent and outrageous swim hat. Yes, after discussion and debate with my daughter Kate, I'm going to wear a Dalek on my head. I've given myself 2 weeks to make it - 1 week to build it, and 1 week to paint it. I have 1 week left ... Thanks to a whole bunch of recycled materials found around the house (including a box of balsa wood bits, some ping-pong balls, a paint can, some old magazines, and some weed membrane) I think I'm doing rather well (although I do need to figure out how to fasten it on my head). I'll post another picture once it's painted.

If you're coming along to the event on the 24th, look out for a Dalek cruising along the water. The 'heads-up' breaststroke heats start at 10.50 ...