Wyatt Song Successful Channel Swim - 9th August 2012

Report by Stuart Gleeson.

Our first meeting for the attempt was at 4am - unfortunately thick fog meant that it was too dangerous to make an attempt so I delayed the start to the afternoon tide - let the Sun burn the fog off. At 1530 the team returned to Dover Marina & so proper introductions were made & crewman Stuart Adams & I prepared for  departure. CSA Observer Sam Jones bought along her Olympic Torch for us to see - all the torch bearers were given the opportunity to buy the torch that they carried. Incidentally, Julie Ryan, who swam in a relay with me last year & a solo attempt in 2010 also carried the Olympic Torch during it's journey around the British Isles.

Sam recorded the start time of the swim as being 1615, sea flat calm with sun & no wind. Seals sighted early on, some live nearby at Samphire Hoe & are sometimes swimming around Dover Marina.Wyatt was cheerful, quick feeds & onto business - the best way. At 1932 I notified Dover Coastguard that we were entering the Sou'West lane.

Sunset replaced by a clear night, good visibility. 1015 entered separation zone. Wyatt joked on his feeds with his family eventually changing to swim on the port side as we entered the NorthEast Lane. 1115 longer stop, Wyatt was sick, but like many swimmers was happy to vomit to clear stomach acid & salt, refuel & carry on. 115 - some mention that shoulders are sore. An hour later Wyatt was in good spirits when told approx 3.8 miles to land. 245 French Coastguard ask for assistance to identify an unknown vessel, this is later confirmed as a fishing boat.

0430 Wyatt has a lot of pain but perseveres. An hour later he appeared to be slowing considerably as the sun rose over a calm sea. Family take many photos. Gallivant & Sea Satin passed by with their successful swimmers returning - cheering & waving. A good team spirit among swimmers who sometimes have never met - & will never meet.

0800 half a mile to the beach ahead. Wyatts right shoulder is hurting him. Troy mentions the beach is occupied by nudists to encourage him onwards.

0827 Wyatt lands at Wissant beach 16hrs 17mins after setting off from England. Wyatt indicates he wants to swim back to England so sets off again within the required 10 minutes. At 0917 shoulder pain makes Wyatt decide to get back on board. No problem Wyatt - an excellent swim by anyone's standards. Well done.

Photos to follow.

Adam Engelskirchen - Successful Channel Solo - 8th August 2012

Report by Stuart Gleeson

We left Dover Marina at 0320 bound for Samphire Hoe for Adam's Channel swim. Accompanied by crewman Stuart Adams.

Start time recorded as 0410 by CSA Observer Sam Jones, some swell & breeze which flattened out within the hour. At 0652 I called up Dover Coastguard to report we were entering the Sou'West lane. Adam had some early sickness - sometimes the liquid feeds of electrolytes can upset the stomach. Sam Jones gave good advice to the support crew to help overcome this.

MSC Gaia 1201ft long passed close, later another vessel of the same length - Hanjin Asia - was on a direct course for us. Obviously, I took evasive & appropriate action. It was not the last big ship to come close that day, but usual for a Channel crossing to encounter them. Some drizzle & overcast conditions generally.

Despite experiencing some pain in his shoulder, Adam kept a good work rate & remained positive. His support team provided encouragement in the right places which definitely helped. Tide swept us past the Cap, but Adam pushed onwards successfully landing at Wissant at 1800hrs: 13hrs, 50mins after leaving England.

Photos to follow.

 

Hi Stuart,

I had hoped to stop by before we left England to convey my thanks for the good piloting, but didn't manage to get there.

I was very happy to be successful - even if it took longer than I'd expected. It was a long-time goal and I trained hard over the months leading up to it, so it was really important to me to get it done.

Thanks again to you, Stuart and Sam. I couldn't have been happier with the support and the result.

All best,

Adam

Jan Roodzant Successful Channel Solo - report to follow

Report by Stuart Gleeson.

Met the swimmer & supporters, gave safety briefing & introduced them to crewman Stuart Adams & CSA Observer Sam Jones. Left Dover Harbour at 0600 sea state calm, sun shining. Jan started his swim from Shakespeare Beach recorded as 0625 by CSA Observer Sam Jones. 

Some seaweed & rubbish in the Channel today. I informed Dover Coastguard as we entered the Sou'West lane at 0920. Hans joined Jan for a while, but not for the full hour. Swimmers often like to have a friend swim alongside, which is allowed under the rules for up to an hour at a time (every other hour) if deemed safe by the pilot. Whilst I will always allow it if it is safe, it is rare that a support swimmer does anything other than slow the pace.

The usual convoy of huge ships passes us, notably tanker Excelerate (905ft long) & container ship Maersk Buffalo (965ft long.) Occasionally I have to contact ships in the lane to alert them of our presence & restricted manoeuvrability, sometimes this is done by Dover Coastguard, who also give out regular service broadcasts which give general safety information to vessels in the vicinity. Sea Leopard is visible on AIS (Automatic Identification of Ships) radar - so long as someone is on the bridge looking at the screen! Jan had a few bouts of sickness, but carried on without too much interruption.

At 1237 I informed Gris Nez Traffic that we entered the North East lane. Jan complains of some shoulder pain & later some backache. 1451 entered French Inshore Waters.

Jan has a very close encounter with the Les Quenocs North cardinal buoy:

After 11hrs & 25mins, Jan landed on Cap Blanc, accompanied by Hans. 

Excellent work Jan! Well done. 

Ali Hornby - Channel Solo (unsuccessful) - 24th July 2012

Report by Stuart Gleeson.

Met Ali & her family at 0145 along with CSA observer Sam Jones. Ali has swam with Sea Leopard a number of times before (as has her support crew) on training trips so is familiar with the boat which makes for an easy relaxed preparation for the swim. Stuart Adams is crewman for me.

We leave Dover Harbour & approach Samphire Hoe - this is the second time Ali will start from the beach, having done so already this season with a relay attempt.

Sue watches as Ali Hornby lowers herself into the Channel ready to swim to the starting point.

0320 - Ali begins her swim. Perfect weather - calm sea, warm air temperature. Ali feeds at 0420, 45 seconds. Onboard, Ali's sister Sue Brookes; brothers Paul & Steve Husband & brother in law Ray Brookes organise themselves. They all swim & have trained for the past year to help Ali today. Husband Pete Hornby is charge of feeding. The whole team is very humorous.
 

Large patches of seaweed are floating by as we approach the Sou'West lane which we enter at 0700. At 0720 Sue swims with Ali for some company for an hour. They both encounter seaweed & Ali changes sides to be in the Sun (portside).

 

Some big ships in the Channel today - notably containers ship Maesk Tanjong (333m long) & CMA CGM Centaurus (364m long). The AIS Radar (automatic indentification of ships) tells me how big, how fast, which direction - & I use this information to calculate a safe passage through the shipping lanes. Everstrong (which alters course for us) is a baby by comparison at a mere 301m, but the bow wave that it produced due to it's speed & proximity causes Sea Leopard to roll heavily. Ali seemed to enjoy it though. Tanker Grand Challenger (only 229m) is hailed by Dover Coastguard to alter course to give us a wide berth - we show on radar as having limited maneuvrability - but a reminder from Langdon Battery is always welcome.

 

Alison was sick a few times, later she speculates it is from a bad bag of chips the day before rather than salt ingestion. In any case she carries on. At 0920 Ray enters sea to swim with Ali. 0950: I inform Dover Coastguard that we have entered the separation zone. 1030 - Informed Gris Nez traffic that we are entering the North East lane. Dolphins in the distance.

1320. Ebb tide appears still to be running, though by the book it shouldn't. But this tiny corner of the World has a mass of water squeezing through a relatively small gap twice a day - wind & weather elsewhere can affect what flows past us. It is these invariables that make the English Channel swim so tough & hard to appreciate for those who research beforehand: sometimes the conditions don't match the tidal stream atlas & the forecasts are wildly wrong.

 

In these next few hours we ask Ali to speed up & have to feed her more often & quickly. We hope to take full advantage of slack water. She never complains. Brothers Steve & Paul swim with her for their alloted hours & help keep her spirits up. Big ships pass, some close enough to have to take evasive action. We leave the NE shipping lane at 1927. I'm concerned that we will be swept back into the lane by the tide which is picking up progressively. At 1945 Ali decides to end the attempt.

Ali swam 16hours & 25mins getting within three miles of France. A superb effort, a pleasure to have had your company in the months before today. Hope to see you again soon.

Ray Brookes, Sue Brookes, Steve Husband, Ali Hornby, Paul Husband, Cynthia Husband & Pete Hornby.

Athena Passage - unsuccessful relay swim 14th July 2012

Report by Stuart Gleeson

Met the Athena Passage team at 1800, raining hard but forecast to improve later. Stuart Adams accompanying me as crewman.

Athena Passage Channel Relay Team

Explaining positions on the chart.

We left Dover Harbour & made our way to Shakespeare Beach, Bruce starting the team off at 1850 with a strong swim. Heidi took over an hour later as the swell began to decrease.

We make sure John is fitted with lightsticks as he will finish in darkness. He enters the water at 2050 but swims off in the wrong direction. Never mind John, that's what the boat horn is for. We soon get underway towards France again.

At 2150 Donna makes her start & John gets back onboard. Ahead on the French Coast we can see a firework display commemorating Bastille day. 2202 - I call Dover Coastguard to inform them that we are entering the Sou'West Lane. 2222 - Cargo vessel Sulphur Genesis passes our bow. I have to get Donna to tread water whilst it passes, it's course too close to be safe to continue for a few minutes. Sea Leopard is fitted with an AIS radar - Automatic Identification of Ships. This device shows us up to other vessels but also gives me their position, course, speed, size, cargo & destination. One of the computerised systems onboard that is linked to this also has a collision predictor - this gives me time to alter course, radio the other vessel if necessary & take evasive action. This might be a change of course or in this instance to treadwater until it passes. On some trips this can happen multiple times, on others not at all. Dover Coastguard & Gris Nez traffic monitor all traffic movements & radio transmissions in the Strait of Dover & can intervene at any time with instructions, advice or assistance to vessels. It is mandatory to report entry & exit into the lanes & inshore traffic zones to the authorities - Dover on the English size, Gris Nez on the French.

Amy takes over from Donna at 2250. Some seasickness from the team. Stacey takes over at 2350. Swimming in the dark is not easy & sometimes affects swimmers - Stacey makes a brave effort but decides at 0013 not to continue.

The team were very supportive of each other which is always good to see. They're coming back again too, so we'll look forward to seeing them again.

-----------

Stuart,

I wanted to drop you a note and thank you again for the support you gave our team during our attempt on 14 July. It was definitely a steep learning curve for me, but I am looking forward to joining you again next year for another go... The charity for whom I ran this event has asked that I continue to run a swim annually for our widows and wounded, so I wanted to get a head start on 2014 as well...

Cheers,

Brad Rhinelander

Founder, Athena Passage

A Travis Manion Foundation Challenge Program

Hayling Legends - Successful Channel Relay - 20th July, 2012 - Report by Stuart Gleeson

Stuart Adams & I met the three person team consisting of Rory Fitzgerald, Matthew Johnston & Jim Boucher (the Hayling Legends) at 1am. CSA Observer Sam Jones & 3 BBC film crew for programme "See Hear" also onboard. Starting point Samphire Hoe. Rory starts swim at 0150, Matthew takes over at 0250. Jim carries on the swim at 0350. This is the rotation that will continue until we get to France or the team gives up.

Sou'west lane is quiet tonight as the team forges on. Sunrise at 0508. Rory happy after his second swim. Dover Coast Guard alerts Livorno Express of our position & asks to give us a wide berth which it does. At 0640 I inform Dover Coast Guard that we are entering the Separation Zone: 20 minutes later I inform Gris Nez Traffic that I am entering the North East Lane.

The passage though the North East Lane is largely uneventful, swimmers making good progress. The slack tide as the team is swimming into the Inshore Traffic Zone gives them an opportunity to make a good push towards the shore. Lobster pot markers & a yacht with an inexperienced (or drunk) crew give me a few things to think about but nothing too difficult. Jim makes the landing onto the beach at Audresselles with at time of 11hrs, 33mins. Well done team - good work.

Sent: Saturday, 21 July 2012, 14:03
Subject: Channel Swim - Hayling Legends

Stuart,

I, on behalf of everyone in the team, want to send our sincere thanks for your help and guidance in making our swim a success. Your professionalism and services were second to none.

I attach a few photos.

Best wishes,

Matthew