Cast of Characters:
Ray Brickell: Boat Captain of the Viking Princess (52-ton fishing boat) and the man whose job it is to safely navigated me to France on the Viking Princess
Reg Brickell: Ray’s brother and support
Mike Philips: CSA Observer and the one who will disqualify me if I cheat
Jaime Saracino: Sister/coach and responsible for all feedings (this job is a hell of a lot tougher than it sounds)
Deni Saracino: Sister/medical staff and responsible for photos/assisting Jaime when she needs it
Anne Saracino: Mother and responsible for videoing as much of the swim as humanly possible while holding on for dear life
YouTube recap posted by Mike Philips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32u59DMNPVQ
Here goes….
WAITING….
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Channel swimming let me explain the torture of the wait. The way a Channel swim works…first you book a boat captain. The boat captain can take up to 4-5 people per Neap Tide (each person swims on their own day all alone). There are two Neap Tides each month. (Neap Tide is easier than the Spring Tide...which happen directly after Neap Tide...to make a channel crossing, so 95% of Channel swimmers will swim in a Neap Tide. Some people do attempt a Spring Tide but conditions can be more volatile and you want to give yourself the best possible opportunity to be successful…especially for the money spending). So I signed up with Reg Brickell and was placed in the 3rd slot for the second Neap of August. Each Neap is approximately 7-8 days (give or take a day). Being 3rd in the tide is less than desirable because if the weather acts up you can potentially miss your window of opportunity (which means you spend a fortune to sit in Dover and watch the wind blow your window away without a swim attempt)). On my tide the first two swimmers swam the first two days and then all hell broke loose. The boat captains will not take you out on the water for an attempt if the winds are 10 knots or higher. After the 2nd swimmer swam, we experienced a week of 15-28 knot winds and we had to wait…and wait…and wait for the conditions to become swimable. If you know me well, you sure as hell know I am certainly not the most patient person in the world. Add the worry of water temps dropping, potentially missing the tide/having to swim Spring, losing my crew, the crazy Aussies and the cost of this adventure and you’ll be glad your reading this post and not sitting next to me during this time period!!
Wednesday 8/26/08…
I got the call!!! Reg’s famous line that I will never forget, “Put on your costume love, it’s time to swim.” The next day looked good. Weather channels were reporting air temp of about 70 degrees, sun with 30% cloud coverage, winds about 6-9 knots blowing against my back and water temp about 63 degrees. It was time to start prepping. Unfortunately, I have developed this very odd issue…becoming seasick only when swimming! I’m fine in a boat but as soon as I hit water…forget about it!!! I have to take a mix of anti-nausea and motion sickness medications that start 6 hours before the swim and continure throughout the entire swim. My bags had been packed for a week now because we knew we could go at any minute. We reviewed everything and then it was time to sleep. Surprisingly, I was able to get some good sleep before heading out. I was nervous, but just living in the moment.
Thursday 8/28/08….
06:33 (Zulu time): It’s time to get the Victoria House up and rocking!!! No breakfast before the swim today. Knowing how sick I normally get, I usually go with a small protein bar and bag everything else. Everything was finalized the night before so it’s a matter of grabbing the taxi and heading to Folkestone to load up.
07:05: Steve Knibbs (our driver for the week) picks us up at the Victoria House. On the way there we drive at the top of the White Cliffs over looking Samphire Hoe, which is where I will take the plunge to start the swim. Looking down at the water it looked very peaceful which makes me a bit uneasy. I wasn’t about to be fooled by what I saw; I knew it was a false sense of hope that we would have great conditions.
07:35: We arrive at Folkestone and there was not a person in site. I called Reg to confirm and he explains that the tide is so low that we’ll have to wait until 8:15am before he can get the boat out of the Harbour and over to the drop point. Yeah, the drop point…literally!!! We will have to climb down a 30-foot ladder that lies flat against a retaining wall while they lower all of the bags onto the boat. Nice, a little extra exercise…exactly what I need!!! My mother’s a bit nervous (scared of heights) but I know she’ll pull through in the end.
08:15: The water has risen a couple of feet and we see the Viking Princess being prepped to take the water. The water outside the Harbour is still pretty nice but it’s what you couldn't see that I feared. We saw Reg break from the mooring and head over to the wall and hook up to another boat. We all successfully climb down the ladder and cross over to our new home for the next 18 hours. Mike and Ray send the bags down by rope and we immediately start getting everything settled on the boat. I’m a bit nervous but excited and really taking it all in minute by minute.
08:25: Everybody is aboard the Viking Princess and it’s time to hit the open water. The air temp is in the high 50’s but we’re hoping that it rises as soon as the sun comes out. I strip down to my “costume” and start the lubing procedures. We started with a thick coat of suntan lotion followed by Channel Grease. Channel Grease is sheepskin, lanolin and Vaseline mixed together at high temperatures. Liz Fry left a tub behind after her double-crossing attempt (yeah there are people crazier than I am) so I could use it. We only coated the areas that would be prone to bad chaffing. After I was completely lubed up I sat on the deck with my hands up on the ropes above. It’s vitally important not to touch the suntan lotion or grease before you swim. If it gets on your hands it will get all over your goggles and in your eyes. Not something you want to deal with at the beginning of a really long day. We were on our way to Samphire Hoe to start the swim. Seeing as this was the first swimable day in about a week 12 other attempts were being made with other boats. There were a few relays but for the most part solo swims. There are some very strict rules when swimming the Channel: 1. You have to clear water on both sides (England and France) for the swim to be official; 2. Under no circumstances are you allowed to touch the boat, that’s an automatic disqualification; 3. You are only allowed to wear a bathing suit, cap and goggles. Your suit has to be a regular suit that does not allow any advantages (so no fastskins or any other type of newly created suits that eliminate drag or keep you warm…just a good old speedo). As I’m watching the chap in front of me start his swim from one of the 12 boats I realize that it’s freezing!!! The air temp is about 60 degrees and it looks like we are not going to see the sun any time soon.
08:40: It’s time!!! Mike comes over and says, “It’s time for you to go now. Be on it with it love.” That’s the one thing I love about the Brits, they don’t cushion a damn thing! They just keep it real. Ray was standing at the edge of the boat waving me over. I dropped my iPod into my bag and walked over to the edge. With Ray’s help I climbed up on the side of the boat, steadied myself for a second and then JUMPED!!! My first thought when I hit the water was…WOW this is cold!!! I had been training in Dover Harbour all week but this water was definitely colder than in the Harbour (due to the high winds all week bringing up the colder water from below). I proceeded to swim to the beach and when I arrived I slowly climbed out of the water onto the golf ball sized rocks (that’s what they call a beach over there).
08:50: I cleared the water, took a deep breath, turned around to face my boat and gave them a big wave. The boat horn went off signaling the start of the swim. I quickly re-entered the water and started swimming at a very fast pace. A few swimmers gave me the advice to sprint the first 5-miles and then settle into the swim. They said the first 5-miles are the hardest and after that the water flattens out. I went against my game plan of starting out slow/steady and decided to try this out. I figured since the water was still pretty flat I would have a better opportunity to get some mileage behind me.
Feed #1: An hour into the swim I stopped for the first feed. Let me give you all a quick visual…I’m treading water while Jaime sets up a few water bottles hooked to a 50-ft dog leash that is attached to the boat. Jaime throws the bottles to me right before I stop swimming. I grab the water bottles, take what I need and when finished swim towards France. This all happens within 20-50 seconds. In the water bottles I feed on Gatorade and Maxim (British carb/protein powder). Channel swimmers say the electrolytes in the Gatorade will upset your stomach during the swim due to the high amount of salt in the Channel (it’s like opening your mouth and sticking it into a bucket of salt). The back-up plan was water, honey and Maxim. For every feeding Jaime and Deni would have to climb down to the bottom of the boat and warm the fuel up in a microwave before giving it to me. This (and the 20 lbs of Channel fat I put on for the swim) helps me keep my core warm and helps fight off the threat of hypothermia. (In cold water blood leaves the limbs and pools in the core to help keep the core warm. I spent 3 years acclimating to colder temps to help fight off hypothermia as well.). I wasn’t pleased with having to put on the weight but honestly, every single pound counted and was desperately needed during the swim. Back to the feeding… I was told never to look back at the White Cliffs because it will frustrate you that you aren’t making any headway. I snuck a look back anyway. There is nothing like seeing the White Cliffs of Dover from the water 2-miles out! I quickly took my feeding and I was back on my way swimming towards France. After the first feed we would stop every 33 minutes to feed again. A little over an hour into the swim I was starting to feel nauseas and dizzy due to the conditions starting to pick up and the winds blowing the boat fumes directly into my face. I decided to stop breathing through my nose. After a while my sinuses were swollen shut, which wasn’t a surprise. Due to the concentration of salt your mouth, tongue, throat and sinuses swell. It’s all part of the experience. My stroke count was up around 75-78 strokes per minute, which is very high for me in a marathon swim. I am always at 68 strokes per minute for about 7 hours and will remain right around there for the duration. That definitely started to worry me a bit because I knew my left shoulder would not hold up to that stroke rate in the present conditions.
10:20: Surprise, surprise my left shoulder is now in pain…not hurting but in pain. My sprint towards the first shipping lane for calmer waters was coming to an end. I couldn’t hold that pace anymore. Deep down I knew this would affect my time but I stopped really caring about how fast I did the swim and was more concerned with just finishing it. Conditions had picked up and I felt like I was being pushed backwards the entire time. I won’t lie, I really was not loving the swim but my need to climb the shores of France completely outweighed my need to get out! Evidently during the feed Mike yelled out that the water temp was a steady 60 degrees, thankfully I didn’t hear him. That kind of information can play with your mind throughout the swim. Honestly though, the temp didn’t matter, I knew that I was FREEZING my rump off!!! As I was swimming, I was thinking about a few things…1. Why the hell would Liz want to swim a 2-way and Marcy want to swim a 3-way? They certainly are tipped; 2. The White Cliffs were still there but slowly (and I mean slowly) are starting to look smaller and smaller; 3. My stomach wasn’t working at full capacity anymore with digesting the fuel correctly; 4. Where the HELL is the calmer water everyone kept telling me about? And lastly…I AM FREEZING!!!!
12:20: It’s 3.5 hours into the swim and the waves seem to be coming from directly in front of me and crashing over my head. I couldn’t wait for the predicted wind change (according to wind-guru which I conveniently dubbed wind-screw-you after the swim). Luckily, at 3-hours Jaime gave me an Aleve that really gave me a boost.
British Shipping Lanes: At my next feeding I was told I finally entered the first shipping lane. How this works is you swim from shore to the British shipping lane, British shipping lane through the separation zone, separation zone to the French shipping lane (much bigger than the British shipping lane), French shipping lane to French shore. Before the feeding I knew I was close because I saw a cruise ship in the distance. During the feed I made a request I knew was not going to be a popular one with my crew. I asked them to deep six the Gatorade feeds and start with the water, maxim and honey. I asked this because the fuel was piling up in my stomach like mushy bricks and not emptying at a fast enough rate. Between the feeling of the waves jostling the fuel in my stomach and the fumes in my face I knew I was soon going to be lose my cookies. The last thing I needed was to start refusing feeds…that’s BAD news for a marathon swimmer. So it was essential we try something new. Due to the water conditions, I could see my sisters climbing up through the hatch so I knew they had just gone downstairs to warm up a few feedings worth of Gatorade. When I requested the change neither of them even batted an eyelash. They both agreed it would be fine and ready for the next feeding (I was really impressed because the way that boat was moving, I knew it wouldn’t be an easy task for them). My mother was there recording and every feed like clockwork. Up to this point there were very few words exchanged on the feeds. I was miserable and just wanted to take what I needed and keep going. It was too soon to take more medication to calm my stomach so I just had to suck it up. As I was swimming I was thinking about my buddy George Hunihan (he swam a little over a week before me) and how he said that once you hit the shipping lanes conditions will calm down. I still wasn’t seeing it!!! I was cold, in pain, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Marathon swimmers are aware that around the 6-8 hour time frame you go into a depression and it’s really easy to talk yourself into the boat. Unfortunately, it hit 2 hours into the swim and continued for an additional 6 hours. Unusual, yes, but I knew it was my decision to be out there so there was no use in complaining I just had to suck it up and deal.
14:50: It’s 6-hours into the swim and we tried for a second Aleve. We were using the gel tabs and that didn’t go over real well with my swollen, wet fingers. The Aleve was donated to the Channel gods. Lukily I was able to get the seasickness medication down which would start working soon. The conditions weren’t helping much. I knew my crew couldn’t control the weather and they were nothing but wonderful so I couldn’t take any of my crankiness out on them. So I kept my mouth shut and swam towards France. After the 6-hour mark, I was thinking how in 12 minutes I would have swam from NY to CT (in the 2007 Swim Across the Sound it took me 6 hours and 12 minutes to swim from Port Jefferson NY to Bridgeport CT). That gave me a small boost. Every time I started to really feel down I thought that I could withstand the pain and nausea because this was only one day in my life and this would not kill me but it would really hurt.
Separation Zone: A little after 6-hours into the swim I had finally cleared the first shipping lane and had entered into the separation zone. Finally, something to prove I was moving forward and not backwards. Usually there are a ton of ships out on the water but for some reason there were only 2-3 ships out the entire day. The direction of the ships helps the swimmer get an idea of where they are and how far they have come. I would ask Mike every other feeding, “Am I making forward progress or am I being pushed backwards while I’m swimming?” He would always reply, “I’ll let you know if you are not making any progress.” Luckily the seasickness medication was kicking in and I was starting to feel better. The water, honey and maxim were working perfectly. The winds were picking up and they were still blowing directly in my face and at times coming from my right side to my left. When swimming in cold water you tend to loose all concept of reality so you aren’t sure what’s real and what isn’t. I have become used to just not trusting conditions as I see them and just waiting until the end to hear what it was really like. With every wave I would see the barnacles on the bottom of the boat then the boat would roll completely to the other side and I would see the entire deck with my sisters who were at the edge of the boat, nearly in the water. I knew conditions were worsening but I didn’t know to what extent. The 52-ton fishing boat was like a toy boat in a tub! There was a 15-foot drop from the side of the boat to the water. During the feedings my sisters and I would almost hit heads because the boat would roll all the way on its side. I was really freaked out that the boat would chop off my legs on the way down. It’s amazing because the only thing that kept me calm was looking at my sister’s reactions. They never looked panicked stricken which was so weird to me because I was scared to death. I chalked it up as me over reacting to the conditions…maybe they weren’t really as bad as I thought they were? Evidently, around the same time the girls were down below to warm up fuel and were tossed through the air from one wall to the other due to the waves. Jaime started to panic and asked Deni if they were going to be ok that she was scared to death. Deni told her to pull herself together that she was also panicking but there was no way they could let me know that. When they got back up on the deck they asked Mike if they were going to pull me out. Mike told them that if they had known the conditions were going to be this bad they never would have allowed me to swim. Mike said that since we were already out they were going to try to use the boat as a barrier from the waves with hopes that I would just keep swimming. Later I found out that they were thinking of pulling me and my training buddy Liz Fry was on the phone with Reg and told him to keep me in because I would still finish in those conditions (she absolutely made the right call). The conditions were really not safe and I considered calling it a day but realized there was no way in hell they would be able to get me on the boat. So my only option was to keep swimming. I figured I was beaten to a pulp all ready so I might as well keep going. My sisters went to the back half of the boat and put up Dave’s flag from the Tampa swim as a motivator. (Dave Parcells was one of my marathon swimming mentors. On April 21, 2007 we went down to Tampa to compete in the Tampa Bay marathon. After swimming about 5-miles together we split up a bit. At 10-miles Dave got out because he wasn’t feeling well…conditions were really bad. He had nothing to prove, he swam the Bay 7 times already as well as having single and double channel swims under his belt. 15 minutes after he got on the boat he had a massive heart attack and died. He died doing what he loved.) When they hung the flag it put everything back in perspective…failure was not an option.
15:20: 6.5 hours into the swim and I FINALLY hit half way. At that point I knew I was in for at least a 13-hour swim. I wondered if I had it in me to actually finish this. I honestly doubted it at the time. My crew did an EXCELLENT job of shielding me from the magnitude of the weather. I knew it was bad and continually getting worse but at the time I had no idea truly how dangerous it was. Little did I know that there was a real concern on the boat about the conditions and the safety for all involved….they were cool as cucumbers.
French Shipping Lanes: During the feedings Mike would yell over that if I kept swimming I would eventually make it to land. My head went down and all I could think was…”This is one day of your life, you can do this. You have been beaten and bruised but you still have more in you. Don’t stop, keep going. Just keep swimming.” So I did. At the 8-hour mark I hit the defining moment of the swim. I realize I have been swimming longer than any other swim I have ever done, in the absolute worst conditions I have ever seen. At this point I started to challenge myself to see how long I could keep going before I got out. I was really starting to feel the cold water closing in on me and was nervous that I wasn’t going to finish because of hypothermia. I kept telling myself to pull it together and not allow the cold to affect the body. I knew if I could block out the cold that I would have a chance at finishing this. I was starting to be able to make out an outline of France and I would be damned if they were going to pull me out in sight of my goal. I put my head down and kept swimming. At some point I had entered into the second shipping lane but it was never really announced. Mentally, the roughest part was trying to get out of the French shipping lanes. There were just no ships out on the water to get a judge of forward progress. It was very frustrating. So I kept swimming.
French Waters: FINALLY, I exited the French shipping lane and was in French waters. I wasn’t even excited when they told me. All I could think about was…when the HELL is the wind going to switch so it’s against my back like wind-guru said it would???? (It never did). Knowing I was approximately 5-miles from shore was helpful but I wasn’t fooled. Take the present conditions out of the picture entirely. Every Channel swimmer knows the hardest part of the swim is the last 5-miles. The currents near shore pick up and are almost always pulling you back into the middle of the ocean. You can get caught up in a bad current and you could be there for hours or end up just having to get out. The present conditions were consistently bad but I had grown to accept that they were not going to change. I would be lying to say I was positive I would make it or that I didn’t want to get out. Truth be told, I still had no clue if I would finish this or not. I was beaten up badly and was starting to feel it take a toll. At times I wanted to get out and put on my parka but the burning desire to climb the shores of France were still stronger. So I kept swimming. At this point I started to struggle mentally. I had to forcefully repeat, “This is one day in your life, you can do this.” I found myself bargaining “Finish this and you’ll never have to swim again…if you don’t want to. One stroke in front of the other until you hit land. SWIM BITCH SWIM!!!!” Hours 8 through 10 were mentally challenging. My body kept going but my mind was starting to get cold and go soft.
18:50: It was 10 hours into the swim. There was nothing easy about this swim. I was so beaten up physically but mentally I was hanging in there. I knew I couldn’t quit. If I did then not only would I have been physically beat up but I would also spend the rest of my life mentally beating myself up for quitting. I knew it would be far easier to stay in the water than get on the boat. So I kept swimming. It was 10.5 hours into the swim and it was time to start making some changes. We saw the sun for a total of 30 seconds during the swim so the air temp stayed at 63 the entire day. It was now starting to get dark. Between the amount of light, my dark tinted goggles and my vision going due to exhaustion I was having trouble seeing the boat. It was so dark I couldn’t see the feeds being thrown to me anymore, my sight was done. (For those of you that don’t know, I am almost blind in my left eye). While swimming I asked if we could switch to my red goggles with the head beacon during the next feed. It was time to light me up! At the feed we switched out the goggles with the ones with the light beacon tied to the back. I broke the 3 light sticks we had pinned on the back of my suit before the swim. I turned my back to the boat and asked if they could see me. Deni yelled, “You’re lit up like a Christmas tree, we’ll never lose you!” I just started to laugh and I knew what I had to do next…put my head down and swim. The boat put on its night lights so I had a better view of them. This is where the swim changed for the best. It was pitch black out and I was finally in the moment. My absolute favorite time to swim is in the dark because it is just so peaceful. The dark was blocking out all the issues we had dealt with throughout the swim. Not to mention it blocked out any sight of land (or lack of it). It was just my boat and I…exactly how I liked it. This was a blessing in disguise. I stopped looking to see if I was getting closer and just, really for the first time, swam feed to feed. I was starting to actually enjoy the swim. I was still having a ton of trouble seeing the water bottles being thrown to me during the feeds. So Jaime pinned two more light sticks to the leash and they were much easier to find. I still was petrified to feed though due to the conditions. It was bad enough in the light to get close to the boat, now I had to do it in the dark with very limited sight. But all in all, I was in my element. Then came the best part…as I swam there were these little bioluminescent bubbles coming out of my mouth, nose and off my fingers. I had always heard about this but never had experienced it first hand. It was SO much fun!! I figure out that if I stayed away from the direct light of the boat I could see them better. I wanted to bottle them up and share them with everyone but I knew this part of the experience would be all mine. The bubbles reminded me of fireworks. It was like my hands were celebrating the fact that I was going to make it. That’s when my mindset finally changed. It stopped being “if” I make it and started to become “when” I make it. Mentally I was picking up a bit.
19:50: At the next feeding I felt the energy draining out of me. I was 11 hours into the swim and knew I was coming close to having nothing left. All I could think was, “I’ll never make it if I have 4-6 hours left”. I asked my crew, “Realistically, how many more hours are we looking at?” Jaime did something that Mike ended up scolding her for…she told me the truth. She knows me better than anyone in these situations (she has been my crew for every one of my marathon swims) and knew her answer could determine the outcome of the swim. She said very tentatively, “Honestly, you are looking at about an hour and a half left.” I exploded! I think I shocked everyone on the boat when I yelled, “Hell yeah!!! I’m going to finish!!!” Mike immediately ran over to Jaime and said something. She yelled over that it could take possibly 2 hours. I told them it was fine because I was going to finish. The entire mood on the boat changed. I could see everyone up and watching my every move. From that point on they said they could see the determination and confidence coming from me. I could also see it in my crew! Right after that I saw Jaime go in and talk to Reg and Ray for the first time during the swim. I didn’t really care what was going on because I just wanted to finish. Jaime had gone in to tell Reg that he would have to come out and tell me when it was my last feed because they all knew I wouldn’t believe them if they told me (they were absolutely right)! So for the next hour I swam feed-to-feed watching the fireworks come off my hands. THEN IT HAPPENED!!! What I had watched and prayed for the entire swim had finally happened! The light went on at the back of the boat!!! Ray emerged and started to prep the dingy to be lowered to the water so I could follow it to shore. I finally knew I was going to achieve my goal. I knew I was going to make it. I screamed….WOOOHOOO, while I was swimming and alerted my crew that the dingy was being prepared. I thought it was funny though because I could not make out land anywhere around us…it was way too dark. I watched Ray prep the dingy named “UNBELIEVABLE” printed on the bottom. (I know because it almost hit me in the head 4 or 5 times during the feedings). I prayed and willed for the boat to be lowered. It was like I was being teased…here’s the boat but we’re not letting you get in it!!! I had such a surge from the activity because that was the moment I knew that Reg had the confidence that I was going to finish! It's far different having confidence in yourself and your boat captain having confidence in you. This was my first Channel attempt, Reg had been doing this for 30 years!!!
The Finish: They flashed the flashlight to signify it was time to come in for a feeding so I swam closer to the side of the boat. I didn’t see Reg so I figured this wasn’t my last feeding. The feed was thrown out and then I heard, “Your less than half a mile from shore love”. I looked up, spotted Reg and started to laugh and yelled back, “Reg if you were in the water I would kiss you right now!” Everyone on the boat lost it. Hell, I had nothing left physically, nothing left mentally but at least I had my sense of humor. So I did what I knew best, I put my head down and started swimming. I started thinking over and over: 1. Crawl out (don’t pass out); 2. Clear the water; 3. Grab rocks and put in suit; 4. Stop your watch. Then I realized, Reg never said it was my last feeding. I decided at that point to pick up the pace and make it my last feeding. Then I saw the dingy lowered to the water and felt a huge relief. Reg pulled it close and Ray climbed in. Everything was happening so fast. Ray pushed away from the boat and started the engine. He pulled up right beside me with the dingy. Neither of us thought anything of it but the conditions were still really bad and he was having trouble controlling the dingy. He proceeded to literally (I’m talking shoulders to feet) run over me 4-5 times. I would have to stop swimming but I didn’t care, I was going to make it. Normally you would be disqualified if you touched the boat. Knowing this I kept my hands to myself and the boat touched me. In the dark with those conditions it is considered incidental touching when this happened as long as I didn’t grab the boat. So I was not in danger of being disqualified, thankfully! I stopped and asked Ray if I would be climbing up on the boulders or on the beach. He said, “I can’t be sure love, just keep swimming until you feel land.” I asked how far and he told me 50 meters. I said, “Holy shit, I’m actually going to finish this!” I really could not believe it at all. The plan was for me to swim to shore while he waited in the shallows. Once I cleared the water he was going to radio Mike that I had officially cleared the water. Ray told me to “swim towards the light”. I just started to laugh…there was nothing that could be said to that one. Reg and Ray both had floodlights pointed straight ahead but I really couldn’t see what I was heading towards. It was REALLY eerie with this big yellow blob in front of me. Your told to keep swimming until you can’t go any further yet you can’t see 2 feet in front of you. A lot of trust is demanded in this situation. But it sounded simple enough, so I put my head down and started swimming. Nothing like adding insult to injury…my last 50 meters I was stung by four jellyfish. Luckily I had been training in the LI Sound all summer for the worst jellyfish outbreak in years (I was used to being stung over 200 times in a 4 hour training swim!) Nothing great is easy! All of a sudden I was pummeled by a wave. It was a very odd feeling because it came behind me instead of hitting me square in the face. It’s almost like my brain was switched back on and I realized I was supposed to put my feet down. It was pure sand!! I immediately went into action and started doing dolphin dives until my hands hit the rocks. Thankfully I landed just off the nose of Cap Gris Nez where the boulders are and landed on the beginning of the beaches of Cap Blanc Nez. I grabbed my first handful of rocks and stuffed them down my suit. I wanted to give a rock to each of the members of the crew. My natural reaction was to stand up but I quickly realized I might pass out (after being in prone position for so long this tends to happen to some people). I knew my only goal was to clear the water without passing out. So I started to crawl and I heard the rocks falling out of the top of my suit but I didn’t care, I just wanted to be finished. Once I cleared the water I said screw it and stood up. It took me a minute to catch my balance but when I did I looked up and about 4-5 feet in front of me were the White Cliffs of France! I turned around and started waiving to the boat. I kept hearing myself whisper, I’m done….I’m done…I’m done. But I realized they couldn’t seem to find me with the floodlights. They would criss-cross over me while I stood there but neither stopped on me. I knew that when I heard the boats horn I could get back in and swim to the dingy. Problem was, I stood there for what felt like an eternity and there was still no horn. I looked down and grabbed the biggest rock I could find and stuffed it down my suit. Then I stopped my watch at 13:34:03. Knowing that I am only allowed 10 minutes on international soil without my passport (it was in the boat in case I was picked up) I decided to head back to the dingy. I could tell Ray completely lost me on shore as I saw him being pushed in circles by the waves. I called out to let him know I was behind him. He said, “Hurry up love.” All I could think was, “Hurry up????” It was a VERY painful swim back to the dingy after my shoulders had taken a break. When I got back to the dingy I stopped, was treading water with both hands in the air and asked if he saw me clear water. He said yes. I asked if Mike knew I was officially done and he said yes. It was time to GET OUT!!! At that point I did what I wasn’t allowed to all day…I grabbed the dingy! Ray grabbed my arm and launched me in. Thankfully he had the strength to do that because there was no way in hell I was going to be able to climb in. It was time to go home!
22:23: After 13 hours and 33 minutes of battling the forces of nature I finished my swim from Samphire Hoe UK to Cap Blanc Nez France!!! According to Mike, I stopped for a totally of 20 minutes throughout the entire swim to take in feedings. According to a comprehensive list of all the Channel swimming bodies, I am unofficially and approximately the 1,489th person in the world to have successfully swam the a solo Channel swim. Cool!
Viking Princess: Ray brought me back to the Viking Princess and I climbed back up onto the boat. I was laughing and told Mom, Deni and Jaime….We will never do this again!!! Everyone started laughing and they all said at the same time…we retire! After the swim the next 30 minutes are crucial to the swimmer because once they stop exerting energy their body temp starts to drop and can become very dangerous. So as soon as I got out I was immediately brought to the front of the boat and I changed into my sweats and parka. I was so thrilled it was over and I was in dry clothes. After I was dressed, Jaime said, “Ok, now can I tell you what you just did?” I said yeah, “Was it bad or was I imagining it?” They all started to laugh and Jaime said, “You were in Force 4 conditions with steady 15 knot winds, 20 knot gusts and 10-12 foot waves that were even crashing onto the boat!” I started to laugh and said, “How the hell did I just finish that?” In the end, 12 boats went out, 9 swimmers were pulled from the water. A male solo swimmer finished an hour before me and a relay finished an hour behind me. It was not your typical day on the water, that’s for sure!!
Victoria House: We arrived back at the Victoria House at 03:00 after a 4-hour trip back on the boat. We had to climb the 30-foot ladder again to get back to land. I certainly did not mind because that meant no more water!!! Thankfully Steve Knibbs was ready and waiting when we arrived. I was so ready to go home…and boy was I going to get my wish. At 07:00 Steve was picking us all up to go to the airport (I had 4 hours to clean up, unpack and pack everything I used that day). It was a rough 24-hours and the flight home wasn't very comfprtable but I was just excited to be done and home.
Conclusion: Make no mistake about it…the Channel is COLD and very unpredictable. You must leave your controlling nature at the door and trust the people around you to keep you safe. No way could I have finished that without my EXCELLENT crew (Mom, Jaime and Deni)!!! They had 10-12 foot waves coming up over the opposite side of a 52-ton fishing boat and hitting them in the back through the second half of the swim all the while not giving me any indication of discomfort or panic (which they were)...serious dedication!!! My boat captains Reg Brickell and Ray Brickell were PHENOMENAL and our observer Mike Phillips was OUTSTANDING. They all kept me safe and swimming...that's all I could ask for. Marathon swimming is an extreme sport and should be treated with the utmost respect. Quite a bit of research and preparation should go into effect to be successful. Thanks go out to all my mentors/training buddies who helped me quite a bit along the way…Dave Parcells, Liz Fry, Marcy McDonald, Jim Bayles, George Hunihan, Dennis Dressell…you guys ROCK!!! I couldn’t have done it without all of your insightful knowledge and incredible experience. The most important key is to find a crew that you are 100% comfortable with and trust. This is not an individual sport…you will not make it across without the help of others. I never would have made it across without Mom, Deni and Jaime…THANK YOU for all your dedication and level-headedness!!! And back to my earlier point…Liz and Marcy, you ladies are CRAZY!!! Not to worry I can always change my mind and try a double in my 40’s :)
