Dear Friends

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

On the 11th July 2007 I completed my Solo Chanel Crossing Swim from England to France in 12 hours 38 minutes. Everyone has given so generously that I feel I owe you all a brief account of the day.

The day was an interesting one. The first 6 hours was pretty uneventful as I reached over half way in reasonably calm water. The sun was shining for the first 5 minutes the disappeared until the last hour and the water was 15 degrees C in Dover rising to 17 degrees C in France. The distance was around 22 miles. After the 6 hour mark as we approached France through the southern shipping lane, the wind picked up and the weather deteriorated resulting in c 1m waves with significant swell.  This made the swimming and feeding conditions a bit trickier (think of salty bananas) but my support crew on the boat (Laura, Ian, Kevin, Robert, Emma and Jane) all had a torcherous time.  There were several times that I was glad to be in the water rather than on the boat as I saw them suffering from major bouts of sea sickness (thankfully not in my direction).

At about the 9 hour mark the skipper wanted to pull me out the water since the tide was about to turn and he thought i was swimming too slowly.  Thankfully my crew refused to get me out the water and we just kept going. The tide did turn after about 11.5 hours and i missed the Cap (pointed piece of land that is the shortest distance from Dover) and started to be pushed towards Calais and further away from the French shore. This was not part of the plan and again the skipper tried to get me out of the water which was again resisted by my crew.  It took an blazing argument, with I believe some choice language that would make a fisherman blush, between the skipper and Laura (girlfriend and boss of the crew), Ian and Kevin (good friends and support swimmers) before Ian jumped in, shouted "HALF A MILE" in my face. It was actually about another 1.5 miles but i like his  optimism, however it worked and made me pick up the pace enough to break through the tide and swim to the beach where I was greeted by a french couple walking their dog. I could not have done it without the crew and for that I am eternally grateful.

I can confirm that I have now retired from swimming.

I would also like to thank everyone again for giving so generously to what is a very worthwhile cause - details below;

 Honeypot offers these children a respite break at the beautiful Honeypot House in the New Forest, followed by a programme of long term support, including Play bus visits, birthday cards and Christmas presents. For more information, please visit www.honeypot.co.uk or to read about the direct impact Honeypot has made on an child’s life please visit http://www.honeypot.co.uk/news.htm

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The Honeypot Charity will receive your money faster and, if you are a taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Sandy