Channel Swim Relay

                                  

Sunday morning somewhere in London - it’s 2 am. Revellers and night-owls fall out of clubs and bars, buzzing from a night on the town. Queues form for night buses, taxis are called, friends and couples argue and make up. The night is ending.

For five Clapham Chasers (and a +1!) though, the day is just beginning. Bags are packed, food is prepped, nerves are calmed; after months of early starts and take-your-breath-away, startlingly cold swims, the day for Team Clapham Chasers + 1 to swim the channel has finally come.

Arriving in Dover a couple of hours later, the six swimmers and their support team go through a final briefing – disqualification is a real risk! – before heading onto the Louise Jane, our boat. Piloted by Andy and James King, the amenities are basic, but we know we’re in safe hands. They’ve been doing this for years and know the channel and its pitfalls inside out.

As the sun begins to rise, Louise Jane departs the marina and heads along the coast to Shakespeare beach, where our first swimmer and our team leader, Naomi, will swim back to solid ground for the official  start of our swim. The water is so smooth it looks unreal and the sun rising to the backdrop of Dover’s famous white cliffs is breath-taking. We couldn’t ask for better weather if we tried.

As the horn sounds, the clock starts ticking, and Naomi takes on the first leg of our crossing. As the crow flies, we’ll be covering 18 miles but tides pull you with them, so we’ll eventually cover 24 between us.  As Anna takes over from Naomi, we discuss the others attempting the channel at the same time as us; one group is swimming the relay entirely in butterfly, and one particularly hardy lady, an Aussie called Chloe, is swimming the channel three times in one go.

Soon it’s time for the boys to step up to the mark, and whilst Jason’s swim passes without incident, Kris encounters a few jellyfish – one catching him in the face! – a patch of weeds,  and some huge tankers, blaring their horns at our tiny boat. Tim takes up the mantle and as we reach the half way point, we are on target for a solid 12 hour crossing. We’ve been up for hours now and our body clocks are all over the place – lasagne, sweets, sandwiches, teas and coffees are consumed in no particular order. We’re diligently watched over by our support team, Tom ‘Sailor Jerry’ and Tony, who make sure we’re safe and sound. Also on board is Channel Swimming Association Observer, Phil Collins, checking we’re doing everything by the (very strict!) book.

TANKERS

As if our bodies were settling in to the rhythm of the swim, the general consensus is that we enjoy our second swims more than the first. The girls encounter no real incidents, but as my swim comes to an end, the water is looking choppier, and all three boys find themselves fighting again increasingly large swells. As we start to make out the outline of people on the French beaches, it’s touch and go who will finish – will Tim make it to the buoy before his hour is up, or will Naomi finish off what she started? Fittingly, Naomi, who coerced us all into the swim in the first place and did most of the organisational legwork, swims the final 500metres to France. 12hours 10minutes of hard swimming and we’re done!

Choppy Waters

France in sight!

SUCCESS!

Back on the boat, warm clothes and champagne await before Andy is finally able to get some speed going on his boat as we head back to Dover. Back on dry land, we head to the White Horse pub, where tradition dictates that channel swimmers write their names on the wall. The day is over, and it’s our turn to head home, exhausted and exhilarated!