SO NEAR, BUT SO FAR..
Well - it's all over
My attempt at swimming the English Channel took place on Monday 8 September - unfortunately I didn't quite make it, although I gave it a good crack
Another plucky Scots failure I'm afraid!
Here's a summary of what happened (I've also attached a video clip if you want to see what it looked like out there):
At 3.30am on monday morning i jumped into the cold, black water in front of dover's white cliffs and started my swim to france.
Conditions were pretty poor. The stormy wind and rain of the previous 2 wks had died down, but the sea was still choppy with a big swell and all the rain had dropped the water temperature down to 16C, about 3 degrees less than normal
I spoke with my boat pilot and decided I had no choice but to make my attempt that day because even worse weather was forecast for the rest of the week.
I felt strong and surprisingly warm as i swam but the choppy waves kept knocking my stroke out, preventing me from getting into any rhythm.
I swam the first 3 hrs in the dark with only the lights on my support boat and it was a nice relief when daylight started to appear, although it was another 3 or 4 hrs before I started to feel a bit of sun on my back
The waves and swell also caused problems when my boat stopped every hour or half hour to throw me an energy drink - each time I put the bottle to my mouth a wave would wack me in the face so I either didn't get much of the drink or I got It mixed with sea water which made me vomit.
I managed to keep going hour after hour, despite demons in my head telling me to get out and climb into a nice warm bed!
I reached the half way point after less than 6 hrs and my boat crew were excited because it looked like I would complete the swim within 12hrs. They told me I was ahead of 2 relay teams (6 swimmers in each team swimming for an hour each) who started at the same time as me. So I felt really good
I was still feeling good and strong as I went through hours 7-10. But I wasn't getting enough fuel due to the feeding problems and I think that's what did for me in the end
After 13 hrs 40 mins of swimming, and having got to within 1.5 miles of the french coast, which felt like touching distance, i got caught in the outflowing tide.
That meant that despite being so close that it would normally take me only about 30 mins to swim to shore, I would have to swim even faster against the tide for the next 4 hrs than i had been for the last 13 hrs, just to stay still!
I tried to increase my stroke rate but I had almost nothing left to give
That was when my boat pilot decided that I was close to hypothermia and would not be able to cope with another 4 hrs of zero progress. So i was pulled out the water on safety grounds.
I think it was the right decision. I don't remember much of hours 10-13 because disorientation was setting in, which is a good indicator that i was slipping into hypothermia
So, I didn't quite make it although I think I came about as close as it's possible to come without landing on French soil
I'm a wee bit disappointed, because I'd envisaged a certificate on my wall and a story to one day tell (potential) grandchildren!
I'll try again early next summer - I now know that I can do it.
The good news for me (and the WDCS) is you don't get a refund of your generous donation even though I didn't fulfil my end of the bargain!
Thanks very much for your support
I hope all is well with you
Steve
