In the summer of 2025, Solent Sea Swimmer friends, Linda, Carol, Karen, Toria, Terry and Nina will be swimming across the English Channel as a relay team, raising money for COSMIC Charity.

As a relay team of six we will swim at least 21 miles from England to France. Each of us will take it in turns to swim for an hour in rotation until we reach France. Swimming the English Channel in a relay team can take anything up to 19 hours!

We are hoping for a warm summer as for the swim to be recognised, we cannot wear wetsuits! The water is likely to be between 14 and 18 degrees and if necessary we will swim through the night!

Meet the team:

Nina has found sea swimming a great stress relief and a way of connecting to nature. She always leaves the sea smiling. She has had to move a lot for work but finding local swimming groups has always provided contact with like minded souls. Solent sea swimmers had been a great support network and a wonderful group of friends. Nina is looking forward to taking on the challenge of 21 miles in the channel with the team!

Linda is a swimmer who just plods! Not the oldest member of the team but will be an OAP by the time we leave Dover! She has been swimming in open water for approximately 13 years. Linda has amongst other long distance swims swam across The Solent. She now coaches open water swimming. For Linda the challenge will be the swimming in the dead of night!

Carol is another plodder and has been swimming regularly in the sea for 12 years. She has swam at several long distance events including crossing The Solent, before becoming an open water coach. For Carol, the biggest challenge is to try everything possible not to be seasick!

Toria loves everything about the sea, learning to swim and sail from an early age. She has struggled with Lyme Disease for many years and has found swimming very helpful for her joints. A family tragedy 2 years ago, led Toria to the Solent Sea Swimmers and since then she has been swimming all year round!

Terry has spent his whole life in and around water. He even swam at county level as a child! No longer competitive, and in a stressful job, he now finds open water swimming a way to unwind and enjoys the freedom of swimming in the sea. For Terry swimming in the English Channel is a challenge he just couldn't let pass by!

Karen taught herself to swim in her 30's after a diagnosis of Spinal Cerebellar Ataxia, which led to her being unable to do other sports. Life events led to her moving to Gosport and living by the sea. After Covid, she came across Solent Swim School and their group Solent Sea Swimmers. From there she was supported, instructed, encouraged, gained confidence and made to feel inclusive. Once in the water, she feels an equal. The sea brings her a feeling of awe, space, respect for mother nature and a sea swim clears the brain! She feels indebted to everything the school and swimmers have done, and continue to do for her. We all love her too! 💚

A little about the Charity Cosmic:

This is a charity which not only funds care for critically ill babies and children in intensive care, but actually pioneered a way to bring children to the paediatric intensive care units of ST Mary's and Queen Charlotte, in London, from around the country. COSMIC have also funded valuable research into childhood diseases including Meningitis. Although the ICU's are in London, they treat critically ill babies and children from around the country using COSMIC'S pioneering transport unit.

All too often, we see children suffering and wonder what we would want for them, if they were ours. We would want the very very best of care using the best possible equipment. Thankfully COSMIC are able to help these paediatric units, by donating specialised equipment not available on the NHS to them.

There is no doubt that all charities have suffered during the dreadful pandemic, but if we can make a difference to COSMIC, then we all feel our swim has been for the greater good.

About the charity

COSMIC

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1180494

www.cosmiccharity.org.uk

COSMIC supports children’s and neonatal intensive care units at St Mary’s and Queen Charlotte’s Hospitals London, helping frontline intensive care staff deliver vital critical care, and supporting families with children on the units. We also support research initiatives to improve intensive care.