hi all! it has been a dream of mine for many years to swim the channel and i got even more insperation from david walliams when he done it for charity. I have heard that in order to complete it you needto do at least 2 years training and i costs over £10,000. Anyone think i could get sponsors and things like that from different companies?. I no you all most probably think its a stupid idea but its something i have always wanted to do.
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channel swim
- Thread starter Arong692
- Start date
Shropshire Seagull
Well-known member
Good luck !
[stupid idea mind]
[stupid idea mind]
Ninja Elephant
Doctor Elephant
- Feb 16, 2009
- 18,855
It's certainly something that you could try, but you'd need to get a charity behind you for the media frenzy you'd need to finance yourself. If you could get a group together perhaps, and then start whipping up support for a charity, for example, you could then get the media interest to fund your training. If you're determined enough, you can do it. But it's alot of work and you'd need to put alot of time into it. Can you commit to it? Is it worth it? The questions you need to ask before dedicating any time to it. 
Ninja Elephant
Doctor Elephant
- Feb 16, 2009
- 18,855
It would be a major life achivement though, it would be amazing to swim the channel. So few people have done it, it's well worth doing and I wish you luck for it. It's setting "impossible" challenges the makes us feel alive, and I hope you do have a go at yours. 
¡Cereal Killer!
Whale Oil Beef Hooked
I wouldn't mind doing it but i cant swim a 50m pool, let alone however long the channel is
Tricky Dicky
New member
After reading this thread I was wondering how many people have actually done it. I would have guessed something in the 1000's but it's only 982 ratified swims, and only 650 odd different swimmers. Quite surprised really.
Croydonbloke
Palace in Sussex
Not a stupid idea at all. I too have considered it but the cost put me off. I love swimming and feel I could achieve this amazing goal. GO FOR IT
Lush
Mods' Pet
Isn't there a Sea Swimming Club you could join first, just to *ahem* dip a toe in the water?
Amongst marathon swimmers the English Channel is considered the ultimate challenge.
- Duncan Taylor, Secretary of the Channel Swimming Association.
Every year, hundreds of people attempt to swim1 across the English Channel2, inspired by - what? Undoubtedly it's a challenge. The English Channel is 34km (24mi) wide at the shortest point, from Dover to Cap Gris Nez - the swimmer's equivalent of climbing a mountain. Whether it is brave or foolish to attempt the marathon swim unescorted, people still try, even though the success rate is lower than 10%.
The Swim
People wishing to make an attempt to swim the English Channel must first prove that they are capable of completing it by a series of swims in trials totalling more than the distance required. The training is intense, with eight-hour swimming sessions in cold water to ensure the body is acclimatised to the very cold sea (the temperature of which is about 15°C/59°F).
The skin of the swimmer must be plastered with a layer of grease3 for protection. Food and drink may be passed to the swimmer from the supporting boat, but the swimmer must not touch the boat or their attempt will not count. At the end of the crossing, the swimmer must leave the water to proclaim their success.
The Dangers
The dangers speak for themselves: besides hypothermia and the risk of cramp, which can strike the fittest athlete at any time, there are external horrors to contemplate such as jellyfish and raw sewage. Then there are the 600 commercial ship movements and 80 to 100 ferry crossings between Dover and Calais every day to avoid. The weather is another problem - no matter what the local forecast says the conditions are going to be, they can change very quickly, even if the prediction is correct to begin with.
The tide is hard to predict, as it changes direction every six hours or so and the currents are very strong. If you get the timing wrong, then even if you're in sight of the coast at that stage you might as well give up, because you'll only be going backwards. In 2001, the coach of the Liechtenstein triathlon team, Swiss-born Ueli Staub, 37, spent 16 hours in the water before disappearing close to France in seven-foot-high waves. Rescue teams were unable to trace him and his body was washed ashore at Ostende in Belgium a week later.
First Documented
The first (verified) person to make an unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover was Captain Matthew Webb on 25 August, 1875. His time was 21 hours and 45 minutes, a time which has since been improved upon considerably, but Webb retains his place in the history books as the first recorded successful English Channel swimmer.
The first woman to swim the English Channel, American Gertrude Ederle, went from France to England in August, 1926 at age 20. Due to atrocious weather conditions, Ederle ended up swimming 56km (35mi) to avoid swells. Her time of 14 hours 30 minutes held the women's record for 24 years. In 1950, Florence Chadwick swam 37km (23mi) in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking Ederle's record. Ederle died at the age of 98 in December, 2003.
The first person to swim the Channel underwater vied with his own wife for that record. The first-ever underwater attempt was by Jane Baldasare in September, 1960, who got three-quarters of the way over (under) before being forced to surface when a tank-change went wrong. She tried and failed a second time before her husband, American Fred Baldasare, successfully completed the feat in July, 1962.
The first recorded person to have died during a crossing was Ted May in 1954.
Record Breakers
The current world record holder for the fastest Channel swim is Christof Wandrasch, a German athlete, who completed his swim in seven hours, three minutes and 52 seconds in August 2005. The youngest to make the crossing is Brit Thomas Gregory, who was 11 years old when he succeeded in 1988. The oldest swimmer is George Brunstad who swam across in 2004, aged 70 years and 4 days in a time of 15 hours 15 mins.
Alison Streeter
The holder of the record for most crossings is Alison Streeter who has chalked up over 40 successes, starting when she was 18 years old. When she reached the French coast on her 39th crossing, she walked into a local restaurant and asked for a beer. Declining the French coin she had kept under her swimming cap, the staff gave her the drink gratuit4.
Streeter is one of the very few people who have done it non-stop both ways - kind of like a booze cruise without the booze or cruising. Incredibly, she has chalked up a triple crossing, taking only a 10-minute break during that particular endurance feat. Alison completed seven Channel swims within five months in 1992.
Speaking about her only failure, Streeter, 42, said:
It was my 31st attempt and the weather was really shitty, far too windy, really. I shouldn't have gone, and had to give up. But in a way it was good not to complete it. I was getting far too confident after 30 crossings and here was the Channel smacking me in the face and saying, 'Have some respect'.
- Duncan Taylor, Secretary of the Channel Swimming Association.
Every year, hundreds of people attempt to swim1 across the English Channel2, inspired by - what? Undoubtedly it's a challenge. The English Channel is 34km (24mi) wide at the shortest point, from Dover to Cap Gris Nez - the swimmer's equivalent of climbing a mountain. Whether it is brave or foolish to attempt the marathon swim unescorted, people still try, even though the success rate is lower than 10%.
The Swim
People wishing to make an attempt to swim the English Channel must first prove that they are capable of completing it by a series of swims in trials totalling more than the distance required. The training is intense, with eight-hour swimming sessions in cold water to ensure the body is acclimatised to the very cold sea (the temperature of which is about 15°C/59°F).
The skin of the swimmer must be plastered with a layer of grease3 for protection. Food and drink may be passed to the swimmer from the supporting boat, but the swimmer must not touch the boat or their attempt will not count. At the end of the crossing, the swimmer must leave the water to proclaim their success.
The Dangers
The dangers speak for themselves: besides hypothermia and the risk of cramp, which can strike the fittest athlete at any time, there are external horrors to contemplate such as jellyfish and raw sewage. Then there are the 600 commercial ship movements and 80 to 100 ferry crossings between Dover and Calais every day to avoid. The weather is another problem - no matter what the local forecast says the conditions are going to be, they can change very quickly, even if the prediction is correct to begin with.
The tide is hard to predict, as it changes direction every six hours or so and the currents are very strong. If you get the timing wrong, then even if you're in sight of the coast at that stage you might as well give up, because you'll only be going backwards. In 2001, the coach of the Liechtenstein triathlon team, Swiss-born Ueli Staub, 37, spent 16 hours in the water before disappearing close to France in seven-foot-high waves. Rescue teams were unable to trace him and his body was washed ashore at Ostende in Belgium a week later.
First Documented
The first (verified) person to make an unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover was Captain Matthew Webb on 25 August, 1875. His time was 21 hours and 45 minutes, a time which has since been improved upon considerably, but Webb retains his place in the history books as the first recorded successful English Channel swimmer.
The first woman to swim the English Channel, American Gertrude Ederle, went from France to England in August, 1926 at age 20. Due to atrocious weather conditions, Ederle ended up swimming 56km (35mi) to avoid swells. Her time of 14 hours 30 minutes held the women's record for 24 years. In 1950, Florence Chadwick swam 37km (23mi) in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking Ederle's record. Ederle died at the age of 98 in December, 2003.
The first person to swim the Channel underwater vied with his own wife for that record. The first-ever underwater attempt was by Jane Baldasare in September, 1960, who got three-quarters of the way over (under) before being forced to surface when a tank-change went wrong. She tried and failed a second time before her husband, American Fred Baldasare, successfully completed the feat in July, 1962.
The first recorded person to have died during a crossing was Ted May in 1954.
Record Breakers
The current world record holder for the fastest Channel swim is Christof Wandrasch, a German athlete, who completed his swim in seven hours, three minutes and 52 seconds in August 2005. The youngest to make the crossing is Brit Thomas Gregory, who was 11 years old when he succeeded in 1988. The oldest swimmer is George Brunstad who swam across in 2004, aged 70 years and 4 days in a time of 15 hours 15 mins.
Alison Streeter
The holder of the record for most crossings is Alison Streeter who has chalked up over 40 successes, starting when she was 18 years old. When she reached the French coast on her 39th crossing, she walked into a local restaurant and asked for a beer. Declining the French coin she had kept under her swimming cap, the staff gave her the drink gratuit4.
Streeter is one of the very few people who have done it non-stop both ways - kind of like a booze cruise without the booze or cruising. Incredibly, she has chalked up a triple crossing, taking only a 10-minute break during that particular endurance feat. Alison completed seven Channel swims within five months in 1992.
Speaking about her only failure, Streeter, 42, said:
It was my 31st attempt and the weather was really shitty, far too windy, really. I shouldn't have gone, and had to give up. But in a way it was good not to complete it. I was getting far too confident after 30 crossings and here was the Channel smacking me in the face and saying, 'Have some respect'.
It seems that 665 different people have swum the channel. It looks like a pretty complex thing to plan - lots of online resources about it. Good luck.
'Be careful' - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7921949.stm
Last edited:
porkdog
Member
i think your nuts but good luck if you do it