What a week! Most of it was spent on tenterhooks waiting to see when myself and the rest of the Polar Bears would get to swim the Channel. We finally got the go ahead on Friday the 28th, about 30 minutes before we got on the boat. So at about 22:45 Michael, Dean, Ian, Richard, Emma and I all boarded Suva, met our Pilot Neil and headed off to our starting point, Samphire Hoe. A fitting start point considering what we were attempting to do as it was built from the ground excavated from the Channel Tunnel.
It was dark and a little lumpy out there; we were on the top of the boat and were being thrown around like rag dolls. A glow stick was attached to Michael's swim wear, a guardian light to the back of his goggles, and lube to his shoulders and neck. When we got to the start it was pitch black, not just the sky but the water. It must have being terrifying being the first person jumping but he did it and swam to shore. Once he had cleared the water and waved back to the boat our observer gave us the go ahead and he ran into the water to start us off. I watched for about 5 minutes and then decided to swap into my shorts as I'd ripped my jeans getting on to the boat- don't ask how. I went into the dreaded cabin and 5 minutes later I was out of it feeling really sea sick. I watched the horizon and occasionally Michael for the rest of his stint not daring to move. Dean was up next and just launched himself in to the black water when told. Fair play to him, that couldn't have been an easy thing to do. Michael got out, had the worst cramp I'd ever heard (I couldn't look round despite the yells of pain for fear of throwing up) and said that he had thrown up a few times while swimming. Luckily, Richard was prepared for all eventualities and handed both me and Michael a sea sickness tablet, and near the 2nd hour I started to be more help on the boat. Michael went straight to sleep, something he is apparently known for. Dean put in a strong second stint and couldn't believe it had been an hour when he was called in. Ian took over and we hit the first shipping lane halfway through his stint. The Polar Bears were on fire! Richard was up next, our changeovers were slick despite the dark and he put in another solid stint.
Then it was my turn. It was pretty scary jumping off the back of the boat halfway through a shipping lane into water that contained who knows what. It was black in the water; the boat had a light shining on the water that brightened up some of the water but as you moved outside of it everything else just seemed darker. Five or so minutes into my swim (time moves weirdly in the Channel) I found out what was in the water. I pushed through some weed on the top of the water and on the next stroke received a sting on my hand. It was my first jellyfish sting ever, 'that wasn't that bad' I thought. Stupid thing to think really, it was kind of like asking for trouble. A few more stokes in and I entered what I like to call "Jellyfish Hell". As my left hand entered the water I felt 4 different stings on my arm and shoulder, I swore loudly. As it was so dark you couldn't see them coming and by the time you did it was too late. This was the theme for my first stint. I got stung about 50 times, I know, I counted. There was one little blighter that got tangled around my arm that I had to remove, I tried not to break my stroke and managed to fling it off. I don't think I swam particularly well that first stint. I wouldn't have swam at all after my second batch of stings if it hadn't been for the rest of the team on the boat supporting me, shouting words of encouragement every time I swore or shouted ouch! I was surprised, and very relieved, when the told me I had 5 minutes left. Those were the best 5 minutes as I didn't get stung again. Emma jumped in for her stint and I clambered up on the boat.
I hoped for Emma's sake that I had gotten us through jellyfish hell, but within about 2 minutes I heard her cry out. We all shouted words of encouragement and she swam on occasionally swearing. The two of us took the brunt of jellyfish stings. Emma’s looked particularly nasty- I’m lucky that I don’t welt up to much and the antihistamine tablet I took seemed to stop them itching too badly. Emma put in another solid hour and about halfway through her first stint the sun started to rise.
I hoped for Emma's sake that I had gotten us through jellyfish hell, but within about 2 minutes I heard her cry out. We all shouted words of encouragement and she swam on occasionally swearing. The two of us took the brunt of jellyfish stings. Emma’s looked particularly nasty- I’m lucky that I don’t welt up to much and the antihistamine tablet I took seemed to stop them itching too badly. Emma put in another solid hour and about halfway through her first stint the sun started to rise.
It was a relief to see something that was so dark and inhospitable a few moments before turned into something that was a wonder to behold. The next few stints were hard, everyone was operating on very little sleep as we'd all been awake since Friday morning. It was impressive to see how far we had travelled overnight and France was looming ever closer. It looked really promising that we would be on for not only a successful crossing but a fast one. That is when the Channel started to fight back. We didn't realise at the time but we were getting pushed around by the tide. We saw some plastic containers shoot past the back of the boat and everyone assumed that some large sea creature had got caught up in a net and was pulling it through the sea. This happened on Richard's second stint and as I was next I wasn't looking forward to having to get back in. On the plus side, someone pointed out that whatever it was we would at least see it coming. In actual fact it was some lobster pots which are stationary and we were the ones who were getting swept sideways at a rate of knots. We only realised what was going on later when a different lobster pot nearly took out Emma on her second stint. It must have been quite scary as they missed her by about an arm's length. We were hopeful that I would be able to land us, but I just couldn't break that tide. I gave it everything I had and when I got out of the water it looked like we had only moved sideways. Emma finally managed to break the tide shortly after the lobster pot incident but it was right at the end of her stint. Everyone had a strong second stint but it was to be Michael that had the honour of landing us on the beach in Wissant in France. On his last leg everyone's spirits lifted, people started throwing food at him while he was swimming. We managed to hit him three times, I think the ginger nuts didn't have enough weight but the fig rolls seemed to worked well. The crew of the Suva seem to make this a bit of a ritual and even told us about a soloist who had a large slice of water melon thrown at them.
As we were landing at a beach and the boat was unable to follow Michael into shore we were allowed to swim in behind him. It was a fantastic crossing for all of us and it was great to be able to celebrate with everyone on the beach. We didn't have the ability to take a camera with us - it was a pity I'd left my water proof one at home - it would have been great to have that last shot of us on the beach.
It was quite a sight standing on that beach looking back at where we had started, Dover's white cliffs sparkling in the sun over the Channel...
Michael, Dean, Ian, Richard, Emma and Andrew: thank you for letting me on the Aspire Polar Bear team, it was a great honour to swim across the Channel with you all. Certainly it is an experience I won't forget.
It was quite a sight standing on that beach looking back at where we had started, Dover's white cliffs sparkling in the sun over the Channel...
Michael, Dean, Ian, Richard, Emma and Andrew: thank you for letting me on the Aspire Polar Bear team, it was a great honour to swim across the Channel with you all. Certainly it is an experience I won't forget.