Thanks for taking the time to visit my English Channel Relay page. 

As many of you know I am a bit mad and always up for a challenge, and do a lot of swimming for fitness and competing in open water races over the summer. This though is a much bigger challenge for me and a wetsuitless one at that! 

I will be swimming with a team of 6 across the channel where we will be taking it in turns swimming till we get to France. We will encounter cold water, swimming during the night with just a light from the boat to help guide us, currents, waves, the joys of big boats getting in the way and of course jellyfish stings along the way. 

It could take us anywhere between 10 and 21 hours depending on the aforementioned. To give you an idea of the training we will be doing - In May we will be down in Dover Harbour swimming without wetsuits in 10 degrees! 

I am doing this for a charity called Aspire. They are a spinal cord injury charity who help many lead normal lives - simple things that we take for granted become hard for those who are paralysed. Examples of some of the work they do includes providing light weight wheelchairs, making homes accessible (eg building sinks with legs that are adjustable) and also providing technology for those who have lost the use of limbs to be able to still use computers.

It is a fantastic charity and one that is able to make every day a little easier for those who have got spinal cord injuries - many of which have been affected by car accidents, sporting accidents or simply just having a bad fall. 

I am doing the hard part by swimming the channel all you need to do is donate. Thanks so much for your support, it means a lot to those who benefit from it.

The team name we have been given by Aspire is the flamingoes. Yes those pink birds!! So as an incentive, if I make the target by 30 June then I promise to do the swim in pink! Surely thats worth a few extra quid.

Cheers 

pt