Dear Friends,

The time is coming soon to pack our cozzi's and seasickness tablets and brave the cold waters of the open sea!

The Two-Hour Qualifier

On June 19'th (exactly one month before the Challenge begins) Peter, Rob, Julie and myself made our first attempt at the two hour qualifying swim. The water was an icy 13C with weather conditions ranging from windy, overcast, sunny spells and rain! I signed up with the Channel Swimmers Association members, who would be verifying the the two hour swim, and got into the water at 10am! I headed off to the harbour wall on the left and then swam parallel to the beach to the harbour wall on the far right - about 1.7km between two walls. The first 50 minutes was quite exciting, however after 1h10min the cold started setting in. The feeling in my feet/toes were the first to go...then in my hands - which may have been a good thing as various unidentifiable objects were swishing through my fingers!  It was getting harder to maintain focus and more so after 1h30min. Throughout the next half hour (looking at my watch every 10 minutes) I was praying for extra strength and a bit more sun on my back. Eventually, with 6 more minutes to go, I started swimming closer to the beach ready to make an exit as soon as I reached two hours. At last I emerged from the water, stained brown by the Dover harbour water, and slightly uncoordinated; but with a feeling of elation that I had been successful! The team was very supportive, cheering me on - and with a warm towel on the beach!

I believe it was with prayers and the thought of every person who was supporting me that I made it to the two hour mark.

It feels like a big weight has been lifted from my shoulders and all that's left is training and final preparation for the week of the 19'th.

Thanks again to all who have supported me by means of sponsorship, motivation and prayers.

I look forward to my next email in which I will relay the whole Channel Swim Challenge experience!

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I have been invited to join the Derek Prince Ministries (DPM) relay team to swim the during the third week of July 2010.

Craig, Peter and I were members of Life Saving South Africa. Therefore, having experience in surf swimming I was very excited to accept this new personal challenge with the added benefit of raising funds for a good cause.

The is a unique and demanding swim, regarded as the pinnacle of the marathon swimming world.

I will be attempting this 21 mile swim as part of a six person relay team, each having the opportunity to swim 2 or 3 one-hour intervals. 

As a team we will face numerous challenges including:

* Sea temperature of 16 C * Jellyfish * Hypothermia * Moving tides * Seasickness * Swimming in the dark * Debris and sewage * Busiest shipping lane in the world carrying over 400 commercial ships daily

The two-fold aim of this challenge is to raise funds on behalf of DPM for their Outreach projects to supply bible teaching around the world. Secondly we are funding the DPM "Ethiopian Orphans and Widows" project in . This project supports orphaned children who have lost their parents due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic as well as a number of widows who are extremely impoverished.

So please give what you can to support this effort and help us to Reach the Un-reached and Teach the Untaught as well as continuing to make a difference in the lives of orphans and widows brining hope to the victims of HIV/AIDS.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and for your support.

Joanne

A bit of Channel Swim History

On 24th August 1875 Captain Matthew Webb dived into the English Channel from Admiralty Pier in , becoming the first person to successfully swim across the in 21 hours and 45 minutes. It is believed that he sipped on warm brandy while swimming breaststroke the whole way! In 1926 American Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the Channel, in a then world record time of 14 hours and 39 minutes. She was followed shortly by Mercedes Gleitze in October 1927, who is the first British woman to swim the channel in 15 hours and 15 minutes - after eight attempts!

A Few Quick Facts and Rules

* Average Swim Time: 10-20 hours - The swim can be up to double this distance as the tide pushes you up and down the channel in an ‘S’ curve.

* Distance: 21 Miles (34 km) as the crow flies from in to Cap Gris-Nez in .

* Dress code: One hat, one costume, goggles, grease, earplugs.

* No physical contact with boat or any person

* Swim starts: by walking into sea from dry land

* Swim ends: by finishing on dry land

* Qualify: To qualify I must complete a 2 hour swim in 16C or colder.

 

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