Hello,

Thank you very much for coming here and reading this.

We’re the Taplow Sea Bears - Bondy, Carine, Claire, Janet, Katy, Mike and Coach Stephen. In September last year we had never met. In July we’re going to attempt to swim the English Channel together. In the process raising money and awareness for the Samaritans - a charity providing emotional support for people who don't know where else to turn. Callers can be anyone. People whose lives those on the outside may see as idyllic or perfect - we often don't know what's going on inside. The overriding aim being to support people in crisis and reduce the number of lives lost to suicide. https://www.samaritans.org/

We're all amateur swimmers. Some of us have done previous swim challenges, some of us have not. But at one point or other we’ve all had a coached session with Stephen.

In October Stephen received a call from the pilot of the aptly named 'Optimist' - a boat involved with official Channel crossings. A pre-booked team had dropped out and a last minute slot become available for July 2024. Slots are usually booked 2 years in advance. In his wisdom Stephen took the slot without a team to fill it. Within a few weeks he'd approached individuals he knew would be daft enough to say 'YES' with only 7 months to train and The Taplow Sea Bears were formed 🐻 - Janet (The Diplomat), Bondy (Fins), Carine (The Blue Witch), Mike (Jive Bunny), Claire (Flap Jack) and Katy (Bolt) - all coached and led by Stephen (Gandalf).

https://www.instagram.com/taplowseabears?igsh=MXRoNTllNnplYWxqZw==

Sometime between the 5th and 11th July (depending when Pilot Paul Foreman and Coach Stephen decide conditions are acceptable), the 6 of us will start one epic challenge. To swim to France in under 20 hours. Guided by our Pilot and Coach we will be swimming relay legs of an hour each in very cold, unforgiving water. No wetsuits allowed, just a swim costume/budgie smugglers, a swim hat and googles. Due to extreme, ever changing weather and tidal currents reaching up to 13 knots the crossing could be anything from 21- 40 miles long. The Channel is also the busiest shipping lane in the world with 1000 boats passing in a 24 hour period. We'll be dodging ferries and tankers, fighting tides pushing us backwards, contending with seasickness and jelly fish. We'll start in the dark hopefully reaching France in daylight.

We've spent winter training and acclimatising to cold water in Taplow lake. Submerging ourselves in wheelie bins and ice baths - if we can deal with 3 degrees C, the Channel at 16 degrees C might be ok! At times the crossing may feel frightening and impossible, but we know when we're fighting our own doubts our team mates will be there to get us through.

Given that swimming and cold water has helped each of us in the team with our own mental health it seems fitting that we use this as an opportunity to raise money for an organisation that helps others with theirs. If you have any spare pennies, we would be massively grateful if you would consider using them to sponsor us and raise much needed funds for Samaritans, especially at a time when demand for their services is growing considerably. We know it will definitely keep us going when we're trying not to give up against the currents with feet so cold they feel like they want to fall off. Knowing that by sticking at it could help even one person or one life not be lost to suicide is the greatest motivator.

We are all funding the swim ourselves, so every penny you donate will go straight to the charity.

There will be a live tracker on the day we go, so if you want to you can follow the (hopefully only) 20 hours of lunacy – we’ll post it on here once it becomes available. We'll also create a WhatsApp group to include the tracker, updates, photos etc on the day. If you'd like to be included in the group please could you send your phone number to info@agriservicesyard.co.uk (Katy's work email, it's private so you won't be spammed),

Janet:

I started open water swimming 2 years ago when looking for a new challenge and found Taplow lake and its amazing swim community. But never imagined I would be attempting to swim the channel in a relay team. I was so pleased to be invited, I just said yes and now no going back. This is massive challenge for me but because of the team such fun, even the training!!

Having worked in education I see the impact on families and individuals when people can not access help to support healthy mental health. The Samaritans are an incredible group of people who are there at times of crisis but need donations to carry out their work, If you can donate to support them and cheer us on thank you.

Carine:

I said I wasn’t going to fundraise for a swim event this year unless I did something mega – and swimming in a relay across the channel is about as mega as it gets for me! I have always wanted to swim the channel but not really known where to start & my fear of sea sickness holding me back. (I understand there are some great anti-sickness drugs which I will be availing myself of as the boat bobs across the channel at the pace of a swimmer!)

Samaritans is a charity very close to my heart & my family. My grandad helped Chad Varah set up the organisation and was on the board of directors until the late 1980’s. I think the work The Samaritans do is absolutely incredible, helping to support some of the people most in need within our communities. In my job as a holistic therapist I see many people who need mental health support, although that may not be what they came to see me for. The Samaritans is an invaluable emergency service for so many who feel they have nowhere else to turn. Any support you are able to give I will be extremely grateful for.

Katy:

For personal reasons Samaritans is a charity which is very close to my heart. Some of you know about my experience of suicide, but that's not what I want to focus on.

After 7ish years of swimming at my local lake, last September I thought I'd book a coached session to get some pointers. I found Stephen online, booked a 2 hour slot one Thursday afternoon. I'm not entirely sure how it happened but 6 weeks later I found myself signed up with 5 brilliant people I'd never met before to swim the English Channel. It still makes me laugh. Swimming the Channel or fundraising had not been on my radar, however I’m a big believer that things happen for a reason. Given circumstances that have happened in my personal life over the past few years the opportunity is most definitely a sign. Samaritans is an incredible charity. They receive calls from people of all ages and backgrounds and at times are a genuine life line. I am massively grateful for any support you’re able to give, in turn you’ll be supporting people who really need it.

Mike:

I was introduced to the world of open water swimming in April 2021 at Taplow Lake, starting out in a wetsuit and swimming breaststroke. Spending time in a beautiful space with a community of like minded and supportive people the physical and mental health benefits were immediately clear to me. Who knew that three years later I would be training to swim the Channel with 5 amazing people as part of a relay team. Given the enormity of the challenge, at least for me, it makes sense to try and raise money for a good cause. Supporting Samaritans is an obvious choice, we all experience tough times in our lives, hopefully it will never come to it, but having the volunteers at Samaritans a phone call away could be all you need to pull you away from despair. Thank you for any support that you can provide.

Claire:

Thankfully we have Claire. Stephen brought her in as a ringer - she completed a relay swim last year. We're not entirely sure why she agreed to it again, but thank God she did. Claire did so much fundraising for her crossing last year, she's concerned she may start to loose friends if she asks them again, so please support Claire through us. Thank you :)

Bondy:

The last few years I have tried a few things to get fit and lose some weight - boxing training, during Covid I took to running and realised that my ageing body wouldn’t allow me to pace the roads every day. So I started swimming again which was a long time since swimming at school (not including rolling off a sunbed on holidays). I found a local lake and struggled to get round the 400mtr loop but enjoyed the challenge and persevered with it, purchasing new and better kit along the way and eventually became a “dry robe W****r”. Along with meeting like-minded people I discovered Taplow Lake which is in my opinion the best lake in the area with a welcoming community. Whilst we swim together there is no judgement on ability or speed and actually I swim face down with only my thoughts. I’ve never regretted a swim yet and always feel like it resets my mind and arguably is the best exercise I’ve found that gets the endorphins flowing helping clear any negative thoughts and sets me up for the day ahead.

I have also been part of a boxing group called “Everyman Boxing”. It was set up with Men’s mental (AKA Mind Health) with a group of guys who train, box, walk, talk, listen, laugh, and support each other whilst doing exercise which again is key not only for our body’s health but our minds too. Most of our group have suffered some form of mental/mind health problems and all appreciate “Everyone’s” support, so I can see the value in the work that the Samaritans do. So I'd also would appreciate your support to “cheer us all on” and show as much support as we can for our chosen charity….. Thank you all.

Stephen:

I'm no stranger to the English Channel having done 5 relays including a two-way Jersey to France and back again. The Channel pulls at my soul. I'd been thinking of putting a Channel relay team together from the open water community at Taplow Lakeside for some time. People I'd coached at some point. Summer 2025 had been my plan - enough time to form a team and more importantly get them all up to speed for what is a daunting physical and mental challenge. For the uninitiated there is a 2-3 year waiting list, and 2025 was already full.

The call from Paul Foreman on MV Optimist came out of the blue. Paul is my pilot of choice, but the slot that had become available was a full 12 months earlier than I had been planning! Despite the tall order the opportunity had to be grasped. I committed to the pilot's contract and set about bringing together 6 strangers from Taplow. These poor unsuspecting folk had to have at least a modicum of swim coaching lineage with me, but also a can-do attitude and insatiable hunger for success. In addition, I demanded an unwavering commitment to the task in hand. The latter remains non-negotiable.

This is a team event made up of solo component parts. There is nowhere to hide! One by one they naively agreed to come on board and now I'm stuck with them! We are a disparate, but cohesive bunch of adorable like-minded muppets 😁 We could swim at any time of day or night and any weather scenario is possible even if not as forecast.

What could possibly go wrong?!!!

Samaritans

We all struggle to cope sometimes - Samaritans provides a safe space for anyone to talk - volunteers listen without judgement, without offering advice, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. T

There's a huge stigma attached to talking about mental health and coping with how we're feeling. Often people don't know how to talk about it, fear being judged or told what to do, don't want to be a burden to anyone, or feel isolated, lonely or misunderstood. Sometimes the only way out appears to be taking their own life. As well as the sadness of the life lost, this has a devastating impact on so many left behind.

Like most charities, Samaritans relies on donations as they don't receive any government funding. Listeners are all volunteers, but operational costs need to be covered. Gifts to Samaritans not only help answer as many calls as possible, but also help develop new ways of making the service available to those who need it. Every 10 seconds volunteers answer a call for help. £10 will cover the cost of 2 calls to the helpline from people who are struggling to cope, £96 could train and support an existing Samaritans volunteer for a whole year, and £500 could keep all phone lines nationwide open for an hour. As with everything, even a small amount can make a huge difference and potentially save someone's life.

If you or any of your friends, family or colleagues ever need support, Samaritans is there round the clock, for free, on 116 123 or via jo@samaritans.org.