Chris Williamson is fundraising for Mercy Ships

Bunch of Swissies swim across the Channel

Team Channel Swim

on 19/08/2009

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Team members:

Cap'n Andy, Chris, Jerome, Jeremy

Raising money for

Mercy Ships

Charity Registration No. 1053055 Scotland (SC039743)

Mercy Ships is an international charity that provides free medical and humanitarian services to the people of Africa using its hospital ship, the Africa Mercy. In the developing world, lack of access to basic health care can have horrific results. Mercy Ships freely provides relief to the forgotten poor - saving lives, improving quality of life and restoring hope.

The Africa Mercy is the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship - staffed with volunteer doctors, nurses, engineers and agriculturists - that visits ports in some of the world's poorest countries. Doctors, surgeons and nurses onboard provide free medical and surgical services, while off ship teams help local communities develop sustainable water, sanitation and education programmes.

For further information on Mercy Ships please visit www.mercyships.org.uk or call 01438 727800.

Page owner

Chris Williamson

RSS

Raised so far: £3,615.02

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My story

Thanks for taking the time to visit Bunch of Swissies' JustGiving page.

During the week of 17 - 21 August (on a day to be decided by the weather gods), team "Bunch of Swissies" will attempt to swim across the chilly waters of one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world: the English Channel. The distance is 32km as the crow flies but the strong channel tides will ensure we have to swim much further than that. As well as putting in several hours in the water, each team member will have to deal with waves, jellyfish, ferries and the sight of the other team members applying goose fat to themselves while wearing nothing more than a pair of speedos.

Why would we do this to ourselves?

By crossing the English Channel, we are hoping to raise as much money as possible for the charity Mercy Ships which crosses oceans to provide medical and humanitarian services to people in Africa. Please do take a minute to read about the charity on this site. We hope that you will join us in supporting this worthy cause.

Important administrative stuff

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

FRENCH VERSION

Traversée de la Manche à la nage

Durant la semaine du 17 au 21 août – tout dépend de la volonté du Dieu Eole, le team « Bunch of Swissies » - composé de Chris (UK), Andrew (UK), Jerome (CH) et Jérémie (CH) - va tenter la traversée à la nage de la voie maritime les plus surchargée au monde : La Manche.

La distance à vol d’oiseau est de 32 kilomètres, mais les courants et marées rallongeront sensiblement la distance, jusqu’à 40 kilomètres. En plus de passer plusieurs heures dans l’eau, le team « Bunch of Swissies » devra affronter les vagues, les méduses, les requins, les ferries et l’horrible sensation de s’enduire de graisse d’oie pour lutter contre le froid, la température de l’eau n’atteint jamais vraiment les 18° Celsius en plein mois d’août, les combinaisons thermiques étant interdites par la très officielle organisation « Channel Swimming Association ».

Nos motivations

En traversant la manche, nous espérons lever autant d’argent que possible pour l’ONG « Mercy Ships », qui à l’aide de ses bateaux hôpitaux fournis des soins médicaux et humanitaires au service des populations les plus démunies. Merci de prendre quelques instants pour en savoir plus sur « Mercy Ships » sur ce site. http://www.mercyships.org/

Nous espérons que vous nous rejoindrez dans le soutien de cette cause en faisant un don ici.

Thank you for your support, Merci de votre soutien,

Andy, Chris, Jerome and Jeremy

	Finally a real challenge in such an easy and fun life. All the best Donation by Uwe Sommer 03/09/09	£100.00
	Donation by Auntie Angela 02/09/09	£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid
	Donation by Chris Williamson 02/09/09	£150.00 + £42.31 Gift Aid
	well done monsieur le Speedo Donation by Jim Lord 02/09/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Swimming, eh? Less chance of chaffage I suppose... Donation by Rich Hobbs (TG09) 31/08/09	£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid
	Andrew, Jerome and team, I hope you all swam really well. Congrats from the other side of the world (Australia) ! Donation by Julie Ahern 27/08/09	£40.00
	Sorry I was late to the party. Congrats Anders! Mighty fine effort. Donation by Andrew Eldon 27/08/09	£50.00
	Congratulations to all 4 of you! Donation by Alkistis 26/08/09	£50.00
	A bit slow off the mark here seeing as you've already done the deed. Well done you lot, what an achievement! Brilliant cause too. Donation by Fletch 25/08/09	£20.00
	Great initiative! Good luck and take care! Donation by Jordi 25/08/09	£50.00
	Probably after the event. I'm assuming you made it or are now the figurehead of a tanker. I hope the former. Nic, Nina, Dan and Becky Donation by Nicholas Williamson 24/08/09	£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid
	Good luck with the swim. Don't forget to bring some warm clothes for the ride back. Donation by Jeff and Rachel 22/08/09	£40.00
	Can't wait to hear how it went! Donation by Dena Young 21/08/09	£75.00
	Well done everyone! Donation by Bob & Jan Bagnall 21/08/09	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	Well done! Donation by Andrew Church 21/08/09	£25.00
	Guys, I hope all the training and, as a result, the few working hours pay out. Go for it!!! Donation by Daniel Studer 21/08/09	£30.00
	Congratulations, very impressed! Donation by Ben Chambers 19/08/09	£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid
	You did really well all of you - a very touch challenge - congratulations Donation by Rosemary Mitchell 19/08/09	£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid
	Keep smiling Chris. Donation by Bob Evans 18/08/09	£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid
	Good luck Chris and Andy!!! Once again your strength and stamina astound me as I gaze across the 25m pool at my gym and feel the pain. See you soon. Donation by Michael Handforth 18/08/09	£20.00
	Bravo pour votre action et votre courage. Best Pat Donation by Patrice Matthey 18/08/09	£30.00
	Hals und Beinbruch (which means good luck in germany)! Donation by Stephanie Lecolle 17/08/09	£30.00
	Great challenge guys! Will send u positive vibes Donation by Somdream 17/08/09	£20.00
	Hi Andrew, If you do it in a Borat outfit I will pay more. Good luck! Donation by sam hinchliffe 17/08/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Good luck Chris! Donation by The Isaacson's 17/08/09	£25.00
	I guess you weren't swimming captain for nothing Donation by Nobby 17/08/09	£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid
	Go for it guys! Donation by Frank et Alain 17/08/09	£400.00
	Dear Chris and the Team, Best of Luck! The In-Laws! Donation by The Kumars 16/08/09	£35.00 + £9.87 Gift Aid
	If you've survived the wrath of the duck lice, you'll survive this. Good luck bro. xx Donation by Claire and Ollie 15/08/09	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid
	Good Luck, Watch out for the sharks. Pernilla & Niclas Barck Donation by Niclas Barck 14/08/09	£20.00

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* Total raised online:	£3,615.02
Offline donations:	£0.00
Gift Aid plus supplement:	£480.90

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