This page is for Surfers Against Sewage.  For Supporting Wounded Veterans, please go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tomandcharliechannelswim2019)

In September 2019, Tom Knight and Charlie Allman-Brown will set off from Shakespeare Beach on the Southern English coast next to Dover Harbour with the aim of swimming to the Cap Griz-Nes on the Northern French coast next to Calais. For those of you who are not familiar with English Channel Swimming, here are some "fun" facts:

1. The distance is 21 miles (33km) as the ferries go (straight across), but this rarely happens – the unfortunate person who set the slowest ever time (28hrs) ended up swimming around 65 miles due to the tides.

2. Water Temperature will peak at about 17 degrees Celsius (62 Fahrenheit) – Olympic swimming pools are between 25-28C (77-82 Fahrenheit).

3. You are not allowed to wear a wetsuit – Speedos only (the goose fat/Vaseline coating you can use is entirely optional).

4. Fewer people have completed solo channel crossings (c.1,800) than have climbed Mt Everest (4,000+).

5. As soon as you start, this is a non-stop challenge. If you touch the boat/a support swimmer/etc then you are immediately disqualified and your swim is over.

To prepare we have been training 4 times a week minimum throughout the winter. Due to outdoor water temperature this was mostly in indoor pools, but since April we have been training early morning at the Serpentine Swimming Club Lido in Hyde Park and making weekly trips to Dover to prepare in the sea in a multitude of conditions.

Initially we were not sure about raising money for charity because the lottery of the global weather system could lead to very kind people donating money for us to not even get the chance to even start to swim the channel, but as we've progressed through our training and become more confident in our ability to complete the challenge in any sea condition we have decided that it would be remiss of us not to try.

As such we have decided to raise funds for two charities, both of which we believe are immensely important in the current environment:

1. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS): https://www.sas.org.uk/

Each year 12 million tonnes of plastic rubbish is dumped or deposited into the seas and oceans.  SAS are taking the lead in attempting to clean the seas and oceans, as well as educate Government, communities and industry in the damage plastic pollution is doing to the ocean, particularly the effect on wildlife (a marine mammal or bird dies as a result of plastic pollution every 30 seconds).  Given we are swimming in the sea, this seemed an incredibly relevant charity to be raising money for.

2. Supporting Wounded Veterans (SWV): https://www.supportingwoundedveterans.com/

SWV supports Veterans who have been physically wounded or suffer from PTSD as a result of their service. Both of us served in the British Army straight from University, completing operational tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan and have therefore witnessed first hand some of the difficulties injured Veterans can face, not least of those suffering from the hidden trauma of PTSD. As open water swimming is now considered to be excellent therapy for mental health (https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/cold-comfort-how-sea-swimming-boosts-my-mental-health/), we decided we wanted to use this experience to raise money for SWV as they attempt to assist those Veterans suffering from PTSD.

Any amount that you can donate will be split equally between these two amazing charities. However, as has been mentioned above, we do not
necessarily know that we will get to swim, so if you donate now then we cannot guarantee that we can refund you if our swim is cancelled. If you are suddenly reluctant then we are also keeping a record of people who wish to pledge money for this challenge. If you decide to pledge then please let Tom (tgknight@hotmail.co.uk) or Charlie (....) know so we can keep a record! We are also encouraging people to get creative with pledges (double money if we get under a certain time, 10 times money if we do the whole thing butterfly only, etc etc) to spur us on!

Thank you very much indeed for your support - check out our Instagram to see how we get on (@charlie_tom_channelswim)!

Tom & Charlie