At 11pm on Saturday the 15th of August, Doug, Shelby, Malcolm, Simon, Chris and I boarded the 'Optimist' at Dover Marina and to the waves and cheers of family and friends set sail for Shakespeare Beach.  

Doug was the first swimmer in - jumping off the back of the boat just after midnight and swimming to the beach in the beam of a spotlight shining from the top of the boat - very scary stuff!  Glad it wasn't me........  He had a little green light flashing on the back of his head which got smaller the closer he got to the beach.  Then at 15 minutes past midnight on Sunday the 16th of August, Doug reached the beach, lifted his arms in the spotlight and dived back into the sea - and so it began!

He swam back towards the boat, drew alongside and off we went.  So heroic - it was cold enough out of the water - and very, very dark.  One hour later and it was Shelby's turn - she'd already suffered horribly from sea-sickness, but nonetheless - in she got and off she went swimming like a demon!  It still wasn't real for me as I had almost 2 hours still to go.......Then it was Malcolm's turn, and it was all getting a little too close!

3.05 arrived, and I had to start to acclimatise by taking off my outer clothing - that's when the shivering started.  I'd been feeling nauseous since getting on the boat - this just added to it.  Just before 3.15 I climbed down the ladder off the back of the boat and lowered myself with a shudder into the water - breathtaking doesn't begin to describe it.

Having watched 3 other swimmers and taking advice from one of the crew members, I did my best to stay as close to the boat as possible - apparently it's more protected - and therefore more efficient- but it was sooooo dark and sooooo cold - counting my strokes was the only thing I could think of.  Sometimes it felt that the boat was going to fall on top of me - and then within 3 strokes (bilateral breathing - obviously!) - I was off the back of the boat - it was terrifying.  The last 5 minutes was the longest ever, but finally the first ordeal was over and I could climb out - with the help of one of the crew members.

When I got back on deck the Observer asked me how I felt and what I thought of my swim - that part is unprintable!

As each of us completed our swims we helped each other dry, wrap up and get warm, and so the others helped me, and curled up in a ball on the deck I finally stopped shivering and fell asleep for an hour or so and 'woke up in time to see the sunrise - a very brief glimpse of the sun as it came up then hid behind a thick bank of cloud for most of the day.

We repeated our swims every 6 hours, but now in daylight - a vast improvement but still very cold and turbulent.  By the time I got back in for my third swim it was 3.15pm and I was told by the pilot that if I didn't pull us through the current going towards Calais, we would all be doing a fourth swim!  No pressure!!  Thank heaven the pilot's warning worked........and when I pulled myself out of the water was told not to get too dry as I was going back in soon - and there was the beach!  

Simon was in for his last swim and within 25 mins we were all back in, swimming to the beach behind him - (although I refused to go at first - too cold and nauseous!)  We arrived at 5pm (6pm local time) to the cheers of the local holiday makers and collected our pebbles.

What an amazing moment!  It made all the discomfort fade into insignificance so by the time we swam back on board, we were so euphoric that the sea-sickness miraculously disappeared and our return trip to Dover lasting two and a half hours was over in a matter of minutes!

We were met on the quayside by family and friends - and Doug's wife, Karen who awarded us all with specially struck medals.  Our first port of call was the White Horse Pub to write our Channel relay details on the wall or ceiling - wherever we could find a space large enough - along with all the other Channel swimmers - solo and relay - hundreds!  

We had to leave the party celebrations for breakfast the next morning......we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer!!  

If you remember - I was in bits about just the training - so to be able to complete the swim for me was such an achievement and I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity - all made possible by ASPIRE.

ASPIRE is a charity providing practical help to people who have been paralysed by Spinal Cord Injury, supporting them from injury to independence.

I am eternally grateful for all the inspirational messages that you sent me along with your very generous donations (some of you even donating twice!) - they kept me going in my 'darkest hour' - 3.15-4-15 to be precise - and all through the 'waves' and not just the nauseous ones!  Thank you!

If you haven't already sponsored me - there's still time - and please remember - it's not for me - it's for people who would love to be able to have crazy adventures!  I started with the hope that together we'd raise £3,000 - it's exceeded that........wouldn't it be marvellous to get it to £4,000?!!!!!!   

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