Who's out today?

[Matron]

Originally Posted by Leprechaun

Whilst there might be a case for labelling me as totally obsessed with the Channel, our Matron is going to give me a close run I think.

You could be right there - it is very addictive!

Forgive me for not telling anyone, but this was very last minute. There was an email circulated around the Channel group on Thursday evening looking for a 6th swimmer for a charity relay going out on Friday evening at 11pm. I gave the lady a call to say I could do it if desperate and she called me back at about 11pm to ask if I could be in the team! Very last minute, I threw my swimming stuff in a bag and drove down after work on Friday, buying my food & drink from a petrol station in Dover!

We initially set off just after 11pm and headed to Shakespeare beach in dense fog for the start. Three boats were lined up together. Our first swimmer was ready and had her toes in the water ready to start, but our pilot told her to hold on. The swimmers in the two other boats swam to shore for the start. Our pilot then told us, "Sorry folks, swim's off, can't see". He had been in radio contact with other boats and visibility was zero. So all the boats went back to the harbour, I got in the back of my car and tried to sleep... was woken up by banging on my window. The fog had lifted a little and our pilot had decided we were going! So we set off again, this time heading further down to the coast to Abbot's Cliff for the coast (had to take account of the tide being 2 hours further on by now).

We set off at 2:33am and landed on a beautiful stretch of powdery sand on Wissant beach 14h11m later. The feeling of finishing was just as great as the first one I did 4 weeks ago! I suspect that feeling doesn't diminish. The fog stayed with us all day, we knew there were big ships out there as we could hear the foghorns, but couldn't see them! Almost out of a fairytale, the fog lifted as we got about 30 mins from the finish, to a beautiful sunny day on a lovely beach in France. Sea conditions were fantastic all day, nearly as flat as my local pool, just no walls, ceiling or visibility, and the odd jellyfish.

As KatieBun and Leprechaun say, it was a charity relay, and I was the second swimmer and had the penultimate swim of the day. My last swim finished very close to the beach and I was absolutely delighted to handover to the team leader, who had a lovely swim into the beach for the finish. I then pretty much jumped straight back in after the last changeover and we all followed her in. Everyone was very emotional at the finish. I remembered my French and explained to the small crowd what we had done, and we all received lots of handshakes! Somehow, I don't think that Wissant was quite ready for a neon pink spider kneesuit, that was definitely a talking point sur la plage...

It was another great day out. If anyone on here gets an opportunity to do a Channel relay, or is thinking about, I say you should go for it!

http://www.pcrf.org.uk/pages/pancreq...e-channel.html if anyone wants to read the background to the team's swim.

What an immense thing to do Matron - respect to you all and obviously to Leppy too for another great swim.

[manic porpoise]

What a great story. Really good to hear the team leader was able to be the one to finish the swim - and on a sandy beach too. Hearing the fog horns while not being able to see the ships sounds a little scary though.

[Leprechaun]

Originally Posted by manic porpoise

Hearing the fog horns while not being able to see the ships sounds a little scary though.

It would be if you werent in the English Channel with all its strict controls on who is allowed to be there.

All boats have AIS, and this enables professional pilots to go out with the capability of seeing the ships as if on a radar screen (a better version of the www.shipais.com link) and also to be seen by the coastguards.

I'm not sure what procedures they would invoke in the event of an AIS failure on the boat, they usually have several systems that provide back-up capability and we shouldnt forget either the high level of piloting skills the pilots have. If they dont think its safe to go out or go on then they wont. Money simply doesnt talk.

[manic porpoise]

Originally Posted by Leprechaun

It would be if you werent in the English Channel with all its strict controls on who is allowed to be there.

All boats have AIS, and this enables professional pilots to go out with the capability of seeing the ships as if on a radar screen (a better version of the www.shipais.com link) and also to be seen by the coastguards.

I'm not sure what procedures they would invoke in the event of an AIS failure on the boat, they usually have several systems that provide back-up capability and we shouldnt forget either the high level of piloting skills the pilots have. If they dont think its safe to go out or go on then they wont. Money simply doesnt talk.

That sounds a bit like TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) also known as ACAS (Aircraft Collision Avoidance System) which is required on planes (above a certain size I think). I guess I trust that every time I fly somewhere.

[Leprechaun]

Originally Posted by manic porpoise

That sounds a bit like TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) also known as ACAS (Aircraft Collision Avoidance System) which is required on planes (above a certain size I think). I guess I trust that every time I fly somewhere.

Yep - pretty much as you say, albait a bit less high-tech, and with the advantage that all is moving a lot slower than planes and in only 2D!

[Leprechaun]

Aussie Trent Grimsey was out in the Channel today, not for very long but long enough to set a new World Record for the crossing of 6 hours 55 minutes

http://cspf.co.uk/article/new-englis...wimming-record

[missjackiechan]

Amazing swim and such a straight route.

Mark Bayliss was also first to do the Arch to Arc with out a wetsuit -

"The Enduroman Arch to Arc triathlon involves a gruelling 87 mile run from Marble Arch in London, England to Dover, followed by a Channel swim from Dover to Calais, finishing with an epic 181 mile bike ride from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris."

and smashed the Arch to Arc record by over 7 hours.

A great day all round.

[Leprechaun]

Nobody out today, but if you want a peek at what a Channel relay looks like on the boat then BBC2 broadcast a feature on its "See hear" programme yesterday (Weds). See it (in UK) via iPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...32_Episode_15/

Don't have nightmares.....