Oundle Channel Swim Dream Team - successful Channel relay swim - 26th July 2013

Details & swim report to follow.

 

Oundle Channel Swim Dream Team

Ed Tate

 

Oli Wood



James Walker




Oli Hickson



Ed Tate

James Walker




Oundle Channel Swim Dream Team route (red crosses & thick black line)

Varne Lightship

CSA Observer Giovanni Richards

"It's Kit's Fault" - successful Channel relay swim - 23rd July 2013

"It's Kit's Fault" relay team is a family affair with a substitution: Jackson Carroll (seen below in blue shirt) stood in at short notice for Anji Page (due to health reasons) who had in turn replaced Charlie Brookes who withdrew due to an opportunity in America. The rest of the team are siblings Ali Hornby, Sue Brookes, Paul & Steve Husband with brother in law Ray Brookes. Ali made a valiant unsuccessful solo attempt in 2012 (16 hours 25 minutes) with the family acting as support team both for the pre swim training & support on the boat. Jackson Carroll is training for a solo in September & had trained with the others at Folkestone over the winter.

 

Ali explained that Kit was another sister, who died of cancer in 2011. The siblings decided that it would be a good idea to swim to raise money for McMillan Nurses and the British Heart Foundation.

Steve, Jackson, Ray, Paul, Sue & Ali

Jackson Carroll started the swim from Shakespeare Beach at 0750.

Jackson Carroll

"In she goes, no time wasted with Sue"

Sue Brookes

Ali Hornby

Ali started as we were about 3nm off Folkestone. Sue reported that the water felt warmer than she thought & that her goggles had leaked. Leaking goggles became a theme for the family during the swim. Sue also mentioned that she had seen many jellyfish during her swim.

Ray Brookes

Ray Brookes started swimming 18 months ago (according to Sue). He has improved visibly since being a support swimmer for Ali last year.

Steve Husband

Steve Husband prefers to swim breast stroke, but is much better at front crawl. The family had to give encouragement to make him swim the latter!

Paul Husband

Paul Husband did some breast stroke too, but once settled into his hour did some good front crawl taking the team into the South West lane.

The team then went into their second rotation, Jackson, Sue & Ali making the distance across into the Separation Zone ready for Ray to take the team into the North East lane.


Sue & Ray Brookes

Ray Brookes

Ray was followed for some time by a seagull which amused everyone on board. Steve's second swim coincided with slack water. Paul swam as the Ebb tide strengthened & took us down the NE against the flow of traffic which was busy. Wind increased as Jackson entered the water with lights attached.

 

I told Sue she'd need to make about 2 miles in her hour to get us inside the ZC2 buoy which is about 3 miles off the French coast. She did!

 

Ali got into the dark sea & the tide turned to Flood again towards the NE. I told Ray that he had to swim as hard as he could for his hour else the tide would take us back out to sea. A heavy challenge for a man who only started swimming 18 months ago. He was up to the job & we had to help him up the ladder at the end as he had given everything. It took us into the shallows enough for Steve to push on - still with a strong current - but he made his way inwards.

Paul Husband landed the team on the beach half a mile south east of Sangatte at 0131 on the 24th July after 17 hours 41 minutes of swimming. Ali revealed that Paul had asked to be sixth in the order as he didn't fancy landing & the team expected to be much slower.

 

Paul bought back some pebbles from the beach for the family & in good spirits we travelled back to Dover.

The team (with crewman Garry Clarke)

Braveheart - successful Channel Relay Team - 16th July 2013

Pilots report by Stu Gleeson.

 

We meet relay team brave heart at the loading pontoon at Dover marina at 2.30 a.m. We go through the swim plans for the day followed by a safety briefing. The team are all full of good spirits. We leave the harbour steaming down to Samphire Hoe for the start of the the swim.

 

We start the swim at 3.23 no 1 swimmer in Alan and swimming very strongly.

I call coastguard at 3.45 with details of the swim.

Alan Tatt

 

At 04.23 no2 swimmer (Bas Molenaar) gets in and is keeping up the pace nicely ,the sunrise comes up looks like it is going to be another lovely day we spot a dolphin at 05.00

Bas Molenaar

At 05.23 no 3 swimmer gets in Lydia adjusts her googles then she gets her head in and swims well. She starts to slow by the end of her hour but made a good effort .

Lydia Tanner

06.23 no 4 swimmer (Luke Beaumont) is in but changes side of the boat we enter the south west shipping lane at 06.30 just as we enter the lane the ship Sand Harrier crosses our bow less than quarter of a mile away.

Luke Beaumont

07.23 Carina is in and swimming steadily 08.00 we come across big patches of seaweed with odd jellyfish in amongst it .

Carina Crawford

08.23 no6 swimmer John Hardaker (team leader ) is swimming well - he is 64 years of age.

John Hardaker

Lara Tarasewicz

09.23 changeover Lara is in we get a call from Dover coastguard to make sure we are contact with the ship Em Den - a car carrier but she has already seen us and altered course giving us a nice wide berth.

 

10.23 the last swimmer in the eight person team gets in Jamie and does well for his hour.

 

11.23 a nice quick changeover and back to no 1 the fastest swimmer Alan who will help the team across the north east lane Alan has covered 3 miles in his hour a really good effort .as he finishes is hour we are passed quite close by the ships Mn Toucan and the Emma.

 

No 2 prepares to go again and 12.23 we are now 2 miles from the inshore zone but moving quite nicely with the ebb tide so hopefully we will be close to the zc2 buoy when we leave the north east lane , Lydia clears the buoy and takes us in to the inshore waters .the swimmers spot a pod of dolphins which raises all the spirits on the boat.

 

01.23 No 4 Luke pushes us on for another hour.

 

At 02.23 no 5 swimmer gets in carina is 1.5 mile from Cap Gris Nez news lets hope she can get in before the flood tide comes through a seal has just popped up alongside the boat.

 

02.23 no 6 swimmer ( team leader ) John is in with 3/4 of a mile to go and the flood tide is through we are struggling to hit the Cap he has made a really good effort.

 

03.23 we have to put no 7 Lara in for a quick 6 mins into the beach to finish the swim off and landing the swim on the rocks next to the slipway of Restaurant La Sirene in 14 hours and 6 mins . Lara swam back to the boat then all her team swam into the slipway for a group photo which finished the day off nicely ...

Bravehearts landing point

Swim track (with red crosses & thick black line) taken off on board GPS plotter



Team Braveheart

Always challenge fear - Successful Channel relay team 15th July 2013

Swim report to follow....

 

 

Kayleigh Adams

Debbie Sutton

Claire Wookey

Zoe Fielding

Anita Asken





 

Tracking a swim, live updates & links.

Some notes by Dan Earthquake

 

I read somewhere that in Matthew Webbs' time (1875) a reporter for an English newspaper rowed back to Dover from about halfway across to give copy for his editor & a carrier pigeon was released on completion to relay the news that the first successful Channel swim had been completed. Now we have social media & instant communcations with websites that show what the weather is doing somewhere else & GPS trackers that can show where the boat escorting a swimmer is.

 

Live updates showing the position of Sea Leopard in the Channel can be found on the following websites:

 

http://www.shipais.com/currentmap.php?map=dover

 

This site gives information about the ships, their speed, course & position & lots of other things that can easily idle your time away for an evening. There are times when Sea Leopard does not show up on the chart, especially near the French Coast. That does not mean that we have stopped! Have a look also here:

 

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?oldmmsi=235023771&zoom=10&olddate=lastknown

 

This site link shows where Sea Leopard was last. It has a lot of useful tools including a curser which can be positioned to determine the distance of another vessel or land from Sea Leopard. This can be useful when watching the final stages of a swim - the boat may be less than a mile from land, but by observing it's direction a track can be calculated with an estimate of landing time given that speed & course are maintained. Remember though that Sea Leopard does not drive up the beach with a swimmer, so if it remains offshore for a while appearing to be stationary it does not mean neccessarily mean that the swimmer has stopped. More likely is the swimmer is making their way ashore escorted by the smaller RIB & this can be some time. Swimmers often like to have photos, collect pebbles & suchlike before returning back to the boat. These few minutes can seem like hours when it is a friend or loved one who is "off the radar." Don't panic!

 

Stu Gleeson has also created a Facebook page which he updates with odd photos as the opportunity arises.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Leopard-Charter/579716718746338

"Liking" the page will put updates on your facebook timeline as they occur.

 

Please note that in the latter stages of a swim updates may not be available due to transmission of messages over the wireless network, similarly comments or questions are unlikely to be answered when underway as there is a lot to do whilst escorting a Channel swim.

 

This website will be updated regularly with swim reports & pictures from some of the trips. If your team took photographs on a trip that we might be interested in please contact Stu via the contact options on the right sidebar.

Nicky Graham Solo Channel Crossing attempt - 14th July 2013.

Pilots report by Stuart Gleeson.

0000 - Nicky Graham, Elliot Mather & Diana Dawson boarded the Sea Leopard boarded the boat for Nicky’s Solo Channel swim attempt. Nicky & Diana have swam with me before in separate relay swims. The CSA had appointed Dan Earthquake to be the official observer for the trip. I introduced everyone to my crewman Gary Clark & the usual observer & safety briefings followed.

0037 – Left public pontoon.

 Nicky Graham getting ready.

0116 - Nicky swims to beach at Samphire Hoe.

0117 - Nicky swimming on the Port side of the boat. She is comfortable on either side having been on training swims in the past.  

0120 - Dan notes her stroke to be 72 per minute.

The sea is calm with a slight breeze. A few of out today: Suva, Sea Satin, Gallivant, Masterpiece, Anastasia & Pathfinder. 

0137 – I notify Dover Coastguard that our Channel Swim has started.

0208 - First feed. Elliot, Nicky’s partner is well organised & calmly gives encouragement.

0306 - 3.9 miles covered, 2.5 miles from the South West lane.

0311 – Feed. Nicky drinks ¾ of the pint of Maxim & blackcurrant, pouring the remainder over her face before continuing onwards. Dan times the feed to be 40 seconds.

0348 - 1.2 miles from the SW lane. Small freighter Jrs Merkur passes in the lane ahead. On board we have an AIS (Automatic Identification of Ships) system. A beacon broadcasts information about us – who we are, where we are, how fast we are going, how big the boat is etc. We can also see ships on a virtual map which tells us the same information.

0400 – Visibility is getting worse, some mist forming.

0432 – A coaster crosses ahead at approximately half a mile. Sunrise hidden by mist.

0435 – A boat in the SW lane a few miles away looks a though it’s course will intercept ours. As well as the AIS we have an electronic system that calculates if our course is likely to put us in collision with another vessel. Experience means that this is a useful addition to our observations. I make adjustments to our course which means that swimmer continues onwards without interruption. Sometimes in the middle of a lane multiple ships on similar courses may require us to stop. Some of the largest ships are running on automated systems which plot a course & speed that have to be overridden manually by their Captains if deemed necessary. The speed & size of these vessels & the varying depths of the Channel mean that their ability to alter course is restricted. For the sake of a few minutes, we may stop. These minutes can provide the swimmer with some extra nutrition & encouragement.

0443 – Feed.

 

Ferry Pride of Kent bound for Dover passes behind Nicky Graham

0511 – Feed. Dan has noticed she is shivering. Her stroke has settled to 64 per minute.

0541 - Nicky complains of cramp in her legs & takes a feed of Maxim.

0546 - Pride of Britain passes 600m to Port side (approx 600m) for me to read its name. Heavy lifting vessel Jumbo Jubilee passes ahead at just over half a mile causing a few waves.

0608 -  Feed. Nicky tells Elliot she wants to stop. I’m surprised as we are making good progress & keeping pace with other boats on similar courses.

0622 – Feed.

0625 – Meta container ship passes 400m astern.

0628 - Stadum passes 500m astern.

0631 – Nicky says she wants to stop swimming. Diana & Elliot kindly encourage her to continue.

0639 – Nicky swimming on a calm sea as Chemical tanker Kristen Knutsen passing ahead.

0654 - Feed & painkillers. Some are dropped, so this feed takes too long. Elliot & Diana again have to persuade Nicky to continue.

0700 – Jellyfish sighted in small groups. There have been a lot this year.

0709 - 1.5miles from the Separation zone. More jellies now, Nicky trying to avoid the big ones.

0717 - 60 strokes per minute. Thick carpet of weed ahead.

0722 – Feed. Tanker Adebomi passes 400m ahead. Nicky still swimming strongly.

0753 – Good quick feed.

0812 - Nicky complains of cramp.

0826 - Nicky tells Diana & Elliot she wants to stop. I confirm that the course we are on is a good one & remind Nicky that every time we stop we drift which will make the swim harder later on.

0833 - Nicky stops again. Dan says Diana would like to swim with Nicky for an hour & asks if I am happy it is safe to do so. I agree, so long as Diana swims on the far side of Nicky to help keep her close to the boat.

0839 - Hardanger passes our stern about half a mile. Diana puts her wetsuit on. At

0842 - Nicky stops again & wants to get out. She has a feed.

0844 – Diana enters water.

Nicky Graham & Diana Dawson

 0849 - Nicky stops for a stretch & wants to stop. Diana convinces her to carry on & they swap sides. Ahead, Hanjin Harmony crosses our path. AIS information shows the ship to be 366m long.

0854 – Dan asks where we are - we are now in French waters.

0856 -  Feed & painkillers.

0911 - Nicky stops for a long time. We’ve drifted South west with the Ebb & it is strengthening.  Eventually she swims on.

0917 - Nicky has a feed of Maxim & suddenly stops & shouts at everyone for about three minutes. As she sets off again Elliot comes to look at the electronic chart & we discuss where we are & what Nicky will have to do to succeed.

0925 - We enter the Separation Zone. Nicky stops again. She has come round towards the rear of the boat. Diana tells Nicky to think hard before she quits. Nicky hesitates. Despite her protests Nicky is still swimming strongly. I convince her to carry on.

Sometimes in the latter stages of a swim when swimmers are veering off away from the boat & becoming less coherent it is necessary to abort the swim for their own safety & the swimmer will disagree & it makes for conflict. No one wants to be told they have to give up on an ambition & some take it badly. Other times a swimmer needs more than encouragement from their team & the information a pilot can give in regard to position & likelihood of success is motivation enough. Nicky is still swimming well, but doesn’t believe it herself today.

0944 – Dan signals for Diana to get back on the boat.

0957 – A quick feed. MSC Uganda  passes half a mile astern at 1004.

1011 – I inform Gris Nez Traffic that we are entering the North East lane.

1020 – Agonistis passes 1 mile ahead.

1026 – Feed.

1057 - Feed.

1126 – Feed. Nicky seems a little happier. Sun is starting to burn off the mist.

1156 - feed.

1211 - Nicky begins to vomit & calls for mouthwash. Elliot also gives some hotwater. Nicky drinks it & continues.

1221 - Nicky wants to know how far to go. The supporters plan extra feeding for the next hour hoping that it will fuel Nicky for a push when the tide turns. Nicky carries on. 

1248 - Nicky asks to climb the ladder. Diana & Elliot persuade her to continue, this time with the plan to push hard for an hour & reassess then. A car transporter crosses our bow half a mile ahead.  

1259 - Nicky stops for the final time & insists that she has travelled as far as she can go. The ladder is lowered. Nicky is helped aboard.

Final position is recorded to be Latitude 50’52”.18, Longtitude 001’125.30. We are approximately 6 miles from the nearest point of land.

Swim time 11 hours & 42 minutes.  

Nicky, it was hard to see you struggle with self doubt when you were doing so well. It is always a pleasure having your company & hope to see you again soon.

Danielle Wahl - Successful Solo Channel Swim: 9hr 49mins - Friday 5th July 2013

Pilots report by Stuart Gleeson:

0700 - CSA Official observer Giovanna Richards (G) arrives.

0730 - Swimmer Danielle Wahl arrives with brother, dad & coach. I introduce my crewman  

            Gary to everyone & give a safety briefing, G follows on with the official observers

            brief.

0800 - On our way to Samphire Hoe.

0820 - Danielle climbs off the boat & swims ashore.

0824 - swim starts.

0849 - G notes Danielles stroke rate to be 55 per minute.

0853 - Report to Coastguard giving details of swim number & usual information.

0915 - first feed.

0924 - 2 miles done.

0941 - large amount of jellyfish on Port Side.

1000 - feed, Danielle says she is cold. England becoming obscured by mist.

1015 - 2 miles from SW lane. This swimmer is looking like she may be on for a fast crossing. 1030 - Danielle comments on seeing a dolphin.

1044 - feed.

1127 - feed

1129 - I inform Dover Coastguard that we are entering SW Lane.

1155 - swimmer asks for painkiller.  

1210 - now level with Anastasia & Optimist who started earlier.

1224 - feed.

1303 - feed.

1330 - jellyfish, swimmer concerned.

1333 - feed & encouragement.

1335 - jellyfish, swimmer concerned.

1345 - swimmer stung by jellyfish, swaps to starboard side.

1346 - I inform Dover Coastguard as we leave SW lane.

1355 - swimmer complains of pain from sting.

1404 - feed.

1425 - more jellyfish. I inform Gris Nez Traffic as we enter the NE Lane.

1432 - feed.

1459 - feed.

1600 - feed.

1615 - G has noticed Danielles stroke rate has increased.

1625 - brief stop for jellyfish.

1630 - feed. I inform Gris Nez Traffic as we exit the NE Lane into French Inshore Waters.

1645 - backstroke for costume adjustment. Push on with tide.

1654 - feed. Good spirits.

1710 - curious seal spotted close to the boat.

1730 - feed.

1803 - Just passed the Cap. Gary readies the punt.

1810 - Danielle swims in to large rocks, family excited.

1814 - swim complete 9hr 49mins. This is the fastest swimmer I have escorted.

1816 - Danielle back on board. Congratulations all round. Everyone is happy. We return to Dover.

 

Well done Danielle. Despite having the unpleasantness of swimming through lots of jellyfish you remained focused & pushed on to succeed. Excellent support from family & coach always helps. Hope to see you again soon.

Dan Earthquake - Successful Solo Channel Crossing 2nd July 2013 - 21 hours 25 mins.

...And so it was that I found myself on Sea Leopard at 220am on 2nd July 2013 leaving Dover Harbour on my own solo attempt. Stuart Gleeson the pilot, Big Stuart Adams the Crewman. President of SLCSC & Head Coach of the Birmingham Lifeguards - my coach - Richard Davies was with me along with Ali & Pete Hornby who had volunteered to feed me, no mean feat at any time of night or day. Hanno Nickau had also joined the party with a camera & I hope to spice story up a bit later with some of his photos.

Shakespeare Beach loomed in the darkness & I went down the ladder slipping into the water. Instantly I smiled, it was not cold. I breaststoked steadlily to the beach enjoying the moment - the anticipation was over this was it. I had resolved that this would not be the be all & end of all of swimming. Sometimes I swim a long way, sometimes not far & today would be just another day in a lifestyle of enjoying the water. Of course I wanted to succeed but I wasn't going to kill myself if I didn't. Better swimmers than me have had to stop before reaching France. I scrambled up the pebbles raised my hand & the horn went - & it started.

The first hour was delightful. Sea Leopard is well lit & a beautiful boat to swim with at night. There was a bit of a chop but nothing I hadn't had before & I began the first of maybe a hundred songs that I would sing to myself during the swim. First feed, liquid only at seventy five minutes.

My boat butlers Ali & Pete had a crate of choices & some simple guidelines. No matter what time of day the swim started I would be having breakfast between 7 & 830am, lunch between 12 & 130pm with dinner to be served between 530 & 7pm. The larger volume of these feeds was split into three or four at 15 minute intervals so as not to drift too much whilst still mimicking the usual pattern of eating I have at home. These breaks were to be accomodated as they fell on the 75 minute schedule with Tamsin's homemade Channel Swimming Biscuits (1 each) to be at breakfast, Cheese & Tomato Sandwiches for lunch & noodles for dinner. Feeds between were to be: Channel Swimming Biscuits/6 grapes/half a tangerine/half a banana/jaffa cake. It was their choice what to give me. Fluids were to be warm water, warm ribena with strawberry milkshake & elderberry syrup to be kept for the final hours. Lots of people say real food is no good for Channel swims, but I've tried powder mixes & they don't suit me. I like food & my 6 hour plus swims from February onwards with food were delightful.

Treading water to feed is something I didn't practice properly, & I got some cramp in my left hamstring after the third feed. Mark Bayliss was telling me how he stretched his legs to avoid such concerns in Bournemouth back in April & I often do a similar stretch in bed at night - one foot over the other push up, pull down. I had some discomfort for another seven hours but nothing significant & eventually the cramp disappeared & I felt much happier.

I saw a jellyfish. It was about the size of a pint glass, had an orange tinge & swam beneath me around four hours in. They were a beautiful, if alarming sight - & I lost some time by keeping my hands as fists during the deeper part of my stroke so as not to be stung on the inside of the fingers. I dodged a purple one the size of a football with the tentacles & was pleased to miss him. They were with me for miles, gradually thinning out & only clear once out of the NE lane.

Before the turn of the tide - about 10 hours in - Richard Davies told me I had to take advantage of the slack & push on a bit as my stroke had fallen. My friend Peter Jurzynski who has had 20 Channel Solo attempts & been successful 14 times had said to me "At 10 hours consider yourself somewhere near to halfway." I knew at this point he was right, but didn't focus too much on how far done or what to do.

I saw a few boats occasionally, but generally nothing but Sea Leopard & my friends, maybe the odd seagull. At one point I saw the boat turn away sharply & ride a large wave which made me smile (sorry crew) but it didn't affect me at all.

Leaving the NE lane required "a half hour push," as described by Richard Davies. I was about 15 hours in by guesstimate & it would be dark before I had another time reference. I knew that it is never a half hour push to get into the inshore traffic zone & upped my pace with the hope of holding it for as long as possible. Time passed, there were no more jellyfish & I started to feel really good for the first time enjoying the trip. A boat approached - Gallivant bringing back their successful swimmer (or swimmers). They cheered & waved & clapped, the boat horn blowing hard. I felt renewed again as if only just starting out. I've never spoken to Mike Oram & we don't know each other. I'm grateful for the gesture, thanks Mike.

Heavy rain a while later pounded my friends & I felt sorry for them being stuck watching me all day & likely half the night. The water flattened off though, & stayed calm for the rest of the swim. Light began to fade. I fed again quickly & continued on, still trying to push. I could feel the energy draining out of me & as it started to get dark Stuart Gleeson came to the rail for the first time. It hasn't been enough, I thought. I'd used up all my songs & had an hour or more on a few positive mantras. I didn't have much left. I'm going to have to argue now that I can go on & they're going to start discussing how to recover me if things go wrong. He said "In the shallows now Dan. Follow the boat & the tide will take you in." It was another euphoric moment.

 

Eventually I saw the punt pulled in which made me feel happier. I had for hours kept thinking, "come on Stu, get the punt out & follow me in." I knew now I had been going over 20 hours but had no idea how much. I no longer cared. I'd found a little bit left.

A short while later Stu Adams & Richard Davies pulled in front of me with the punt & I followed it now seeing a beach ahead under the wall some quarter of a mile off.  I touched sand with my hand. A few more strokes & it was now too shallow to swim. It was still a long way off though, a very shallow slope. I waddled with my knees until I could crawl, fearful of standing after all this time.  It felt like an eternity.

 

Finally I cleared the water. I flopped into a seated position & raised my arms. The boat horn went. Big Stu & Richard waded over. I noticed that I wasn't shivering. A big achievement to finish without shivering. I smiled to myself. I stayed sitting, my knees now very sore suddenly. Richard told me well done. "That was a long half hour" I told him. He laughed. They helped me up & I waddled to the boat & fell in the front. They got me alongside Sea Leopard & I sort of fell over the side into the boat, supported by my friends.

I had a small bag in the pocket of my rucksack which I made for instantly. Water on the sponge to wash the face especially round my mouth & nose. Mouthwash which stung like hell followed by lipsalve. I got dry & dressed & slept all the way back to Dover Harbour. I'm uncertain about the exact time. Most of us think it was 21 hours & 25 minutes. The "unofficial official" time is 21 hours & 24 minutes.

Back on land, I met up with Peter. He said "You did it Dan. You swam the Channel!"



Dan Earthquake & America's greatest Channel Swimmer Peter Jurzynski.



Track image with thanks to Nick Adams.

Thank you to all my friends who helped one way or another over the years, especially my crew: Richard Davies, Ali & Pete Hornby, Hanno Nickau & Tamsin Lane. Travelling with the Stuart Gleeson & Stu Adams is always a pleasure, good strong men who know their stuff & want you to succeed.