If someone had told either of us 7 years ago that we would be attempting to swim the Gibraltar Straits we would have laughed them off.   But when we got the phonecall earlier this year from ACNEG saying that after four years on a waiting list we could have one of the slots assigned to them in October 2019, we laughed them off as well.   After a few bottles of red wine we decided to confirm our participation and started to prepare ourselves mentally and physically….

Being the athletes that we are, we have knuckled down and reduced our wine intake and increased our magnesium.  It has taken some serious
hard work to feel remotely prepared for this crossing but we think we are
there.

 So what is in store for us???

-We will swim from Spain to
Morocco.

- Our slot starts 14 October till 22 October  2019, so on one of those days all conditions must be favourable for us to be given the green light to swim.

-If we catch the current the distance we will swim is 14km if we miss the current we will be swimming 22km.

-Obstacles include 300 container ships a day and sealife like Orcas!

-Breaks are limited to 1 minute due to the current.

-We are not allowed to touch the boat at all.

-We cannot drift further then 10 metres apart.

-We have from sunrise to sunset to complete the crossing.

So for those of you that don’t know we met in a small village in Germany,Flein.  After a few years we realised that we both were avid open water swimmers and decided to train together for a 4km swim in
the Sternberger Lake in Bavaria.  This led on to more swim challenges and the establishment of the Unofficial Fleiner Swimming Club where
we are both the Captain/Vice Captain/ Treasurer and Secretary.   We have taken on more and more open water challenges increasing the distance each time.  We finished on an all time high last weekend by completing the Oceanman 14km in Lago D’Orta Italy.

We benefit immensely from all of our training for and participating in these long distance races.  Swimming helps us both to balance the
everyday, improve our mental wellness and physical energy.   Having
these swimming goals are very important for us both and we are extremely honoured to be taking part in one of the “7 Summits of Open Water Swimming”.

As you may have guessed there is a reason behind our page name SteffenandTimsCleanWaterSwim.  We would love to mobilise you all to show your support as we take on this challenge by helping us raise enough money to support two communities in The Gambia with hand-pumps giving these two communities access to clean water for life, www.waterforafrica.org.uk.  Any donation you make will be greatly
received.

We are already thrilled to have you supporting us in one way or the other thank you for being a part of this with us!! 

Let the crossing countdown begin…..

Steffen and Tim 

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