7 weeks to go - swims getting longer

This week has been the furthest distance I have swum so far. I swam 37k this week, which included a 3 hour swim on Saturday and a 3 hour 12 min swim on Sunday.

8 weeks to go and the sun has arrived

What a fantastic weekend. Even though the water was still only 11degrees - the sun certainly made it easier to warm up after the swim. The water in the harbour is actually blue for once (check out the pics).


We are only doing one swim each day now. On Saturday I did a 2 hour swim followed by a 2 hour 15 min swim on the Sunday. From next weekend the time in the water will start ramping up. I am now working 3 days a week so that I am able to concentrate more on the challenge. Just having the opportunity to rest really helps.

Thanks to Scooba Steve (pictured) for the photos of the weekend.

9 weeks to go - it's nippy in Dover

I can't believe that the number of weeks until my tide is now in single figures. The last two weeks have involved two weekends training in Dover. Last weekend the water was a balmy 9.5 degrees C and I don't think it was much warmer this weekend.

Last weekend (8th and 9th May 2010) the weather was overcast and I did 2 one hour swims on the Saturday and a one hour and a one hour 20 minute swim on the Sunday.

This weekend (15th and 16th May 2010) the weather was sunny with blue skies and I did 4 swims of approx 1hour 20 mins each. I also stayed down for the weekend which is so much nicer than having to get up early and make the drive from London each morning. Andrea, my girlfriend, came down to watch - she found it amusing watching me trying to drink tea after my swim with the shivers as I managed to pour most of the tea over myself. Also check out the picture of me coming out of the water - what a face! - I look like a hillbilly - all you need is duelling banjos playing in the background.

Next week we will only be doing one swim per day, which has the advantage that you don't have to try getting warm before you go in again but the disadvantage that the one swim will be a longer one.

11 weeks to go - Dover training has started

Had a good week in the pool (approx 16k) and then this weekend went down to Dover to start acclimatisation and sea swimming.

Sat 1 May 2010

There were about 113 swimmers who turned up for the first day of Dover training. Given it was a bank holiday weekend the weather was holding out - it was mostly overcast but the sun popped out every now and then to remind us it is almost summer. We did 2 swims on Saturday a short swim of about 23 mins and a longer one of about 38 mins. It was a nice day and although the water, at 9 degrees, was about 1 degree colder than the same time the year before it was a fun swim. I travelled down with Don and his wife, Helen. Helen has been videoing the proceedings and is promising to keep a video of the whole season which I am looking forward to seeing sometime in the future. Got back home around 4pm after a KFC and had a lazy evening before getting ready for day 2.

Sun 2 May 2010

The second day of training involved the same 2 swims - the only difference being the weather. It was absolutely chucking it down and it was really difficult to get warm after the swims as no sooner had you put on your dry clothes they were wet. The swims were fine, the water temperature was the same - it was just the apres swim that was not so much fun (although I did have a very nice fry up between swims). We didn't hang around much after the second swim and headed back home and I was back by 3pm. A nice warm bath and a lazy day to follow.

12 weeks to go - qualifying swim still outstanding

It was off, on and then off again. The trip to Gozo never happened. Unfortunately, by the time flights were going again it was too late for my planned trip with Swimtrek and so my 6 hour qualifying swim is still outstanding. I managed a 3 hour swim in the pool this week covering 10k which was my longest pool swim to date, but it still is a long way from the 6 hour I was supposed to do. Never mind, Dover training starts next weekend and I am sure that I will be soon doing many 6 hour swims there.

And, one footnote. They say that you only know how good insurance is when it comes time to use it. Well, at the moment the travel insurance I took out isn't worth the paper it is written on - as the company don't want to pay out for the money I have lost through the cancelled flights. I am going to submit a written claim to give them a final chance to do the right thing. If I have no success with that I will happily reveal their names here so no one else has to make a similar poor choice in insurance provider. Well it's now the 2nd May and I've had no success with the insurance company and I can happily NEVER recommend ENDSLEIGH travel insurance to anyone.

Swimming in Gozo - 13 weeks to go

Swimming has been going well and this week I have been really looking forward to a trip to Gozo (an island next to Malta) where me and my mate Don were booked on a holiday with a company called Swimtrek, who specialise in swimming holidays. The plan was that we would do our 6 hour qualifying swim this week (Before you are allowed to swim the Channel you have to have done a minimum 6 hour swim in water below 16 degrees C). Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland that all flights to and from the UK and most of Europe have been grounded.

We were due to fly out to Malta in the morning of Sat 18 Apr 2010 but our flight was cancelled. We then rebooked on a flight leaving Saurday evening, which was cancelled and we are now booked on a flight leaving 21.00 on Mon 20 Apr. If this flight goes ahead we will arrive at our hotel in Gozo around 4am Tue morning, get a couple of hours sleep and then attempt our 6 hour swim the same day. Looking at the situation at the moment I very much doubt that any flights will be leaving for most of this week - and if our next flight is cancelled there will be no point going on the trip as we will only get 1.5 days in Gozo and will not be able to attempt the qualifying swim.

Almost Easter and 16 Weeks to Go

Since my last post, when training was going very well, I had a little set back when I injured my shoulder, which kept me out of the water for a couple of weeks. I have been having regular physiotherapy on the shoulder and thanks to Anna Preston Thomas and Gill Banks of Weybridge and Walton Physiotherapy I am now back training again.


I attended the CS&PF annual dinner in Dover on Sat 13 Mar 2010, where I got to meet up with Rob and Don, my relay team mates from last year (pictured - looking very warm) and a load of other channel swimmers. It was an excellent evening and on the Sunday we ventured into Dover harbour for a quick dip. Compared to last year the water seemed much colder and I didn't make it as far as I would have liked.

Since Christmas I have swum a few times in the Serpentine, but with the cold Winter the water has taken ages to rise much above freezing. Last week it finally seems as if Spring has sprung as I managed 400m on Monday and 600m on Wednesday - as the water temperature has finally started to rise.

So, swimming is back on track and I am off on a Swim Trek holiday to Gozo in 3 weeks where I will attempt my 6 hour qualifying swim. I am going with Don, my training partner, who is also attempting the Channel this year. He has already done the Robben Island swim in South Africa this year, so he is slightly ahead of me in training. Time is going fast now and it won't be long until weekend training starts in Dover. Also, my contract with John Lewis ends soon and, although I will miss all the people I work with there, I am looking forward to taking a couple of months off from work to really focus on the swim.