Swimming and Me

Swimming has always been an important part of my life.

Learning to swim as a lad in the open air pool at Kyson Primary School and at Deben Swimming pool then moving through the club squads eventually becoming a lifeguard at Felixstowe Leisure Centre.

As an adult being able to swim allowed me to be comfortable in the water so I could snorkel, take scuba diving courses and enjoy being in the water with my kids.

I even worked for British Swimming for a couple of years running a programme that aimed to get more people swimming.

As a bucket list challenge my wife, son and I swam from Alcatraz to St Francis Yacht club in San Fransisco in 2021. In 2024 I completed the Bournemouth Pier to Pier race.

So when I decided to take on the pinnacle of swimming challenges it was an easy choice for me to choose to swim with, and for, SwimTayka.

The challenge

On Sept 6th 2025, myself and 5 other members of the "Blue Lagoon Legends" will begin our epic swim from Dover to France.

The 6 person relay team will each swim for 1 hour in the busiest shipping route in the world. Battling strong currents, jellyfish and everything else the Channel can throw at us.

Our aim is to complete this in under 14 hours reaching France in time for an early evening aperitif!

Training has already started with regular pool time at Basingstoke Aquadrome and land training at The Gym Basingstoke. The SwimTayka teams have been meeting regularly at Aldershot Garrison pool and can usually be found in a lake, river or in the sea most weekends.

SwimTayka

This is the reason I chose to Swim with SwimTayka https://swimtayka.org/

Drowning is a silent epidemic that claims an estimated 360,000 lives every year, many of them children.

Drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. These are wasted lives and preventable deaths. SwimTayka's mission is to give disadvantaged communities around the world access to swimming teachers who can not only provide the life skills of swimming but create a legacy for today's children, who will grow up to teach the next generation.

For more information about this amazing charity please visit https://swimtayka.org/

Honesty and Transparency

If you choose to donate to this worthy cause please accept my thanks and the thanks from all at SwimTayka. So you know exactly where your money is going and what the outcome of the challenge could be please note the facts below;

1. The 'cost' of the cross channel swim is £800. This helps pay for the boat, pilot and training events. Any money raised above £800 will go directly to the SwimTayka charity. My aim is to raise £1800 so SwimTayka receive at least £1000

2. The event could get cancelled due to bad and unsafe weather conditions. Your donation will still be used by the charity

3. I may get injured in the run up to the event and may not be able to participate. Your donation will still be very welcome and will be used by the charity.

4. You can also visit the SwimTayka website https://swimtayka.org/

Thanks

James