Thanks for taking the time to visit my Channel Swim Attempt 2010 page.

In the first week of September 2010 I'll be attempting an English channel swim for charity.

You can view my training log to date by clicking here tombo_channel

Special thanks to Dr. Peter Saunders of Donnington Health Centre for performing my medical free of charge in aid of this cause!

About the charity I've chosen to raise money for:

Helen & Douglas House is a registered charity providing respite and end of life care for children and young adults with life-shortening conditions, as well as support and friendship for the whole family. The two hospice houses are bright, vibrant and positive places, where the emphasis is on living life to the full, even when that life may be short.

Some info on the Channel itself and the difficulties involved from the BBC and the channelswimming.net webistes:

The shortest distance is 19 nautical miles from England to France.

I nautical mile is approximately 2000yards or 1852 metres.

19 nm x 1852 mtrs is 35200 metres swimming by the shortest route.

So 35.2 killometres in a straight line, the tide will make a straight line impossible so I can expect to swim further than this. It could realistically take anything over 11 hours. That includes:

No getting out or holding the escort boat

Regurlar feeds from a bottle tied to a rope!

No wetsuits - just a pair of Speedo's, a swim cap, goggles and some "channel grease"

The tides are hard to predict as they are strong and change direction approximately every six hours. They also change in height and flow speed every day.

The wind and weather are also a problem - as the Dover Straits are prone to local weather conditions that can change very quickly and which do not match the forecasts.

There is also the problem of the number of ships using these waters - because to go from England to France you have to swim across the shipping lanes.

There are over 600 commercial ship movements and 80 to 100 ferry crossings between Dover and Calais every day - and it's the job of the accompanying pilot boat to keep the swimmer out of the path of these vessels.

As channelswimming.com says: "Put all these things together, include a large portion of mental tension, note that everything is 'approximate' or 'about' and you have the world's hardest swims.

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 - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Cheers

Tom