In search of a pilot boat on the wettest, windiest day of the year so far!

Above: Me with Luca, barely able to stand due to the wind and driving rain. Cromer, North Norfolk, Saturday November 14, 2009.

In preparation for my big 2010 swim, Beccy, Luca and I headed off to Cromer in North Norfolk on what the weather experts called the windiest, wettest day of 2009 so far. Arriving in Cromer at about 2pm, we stepped out of the car and the wind was simply immense. It was all you could do to stand up. What was bizarre though was the sea looked as calm as it could possibly be. Not a 'white horse' in sight. I don't think I will ever get to grips with the wind and the sea. I'll leave that to the experts.

We stopped in a restaurant overlooking Cromer Pier and I got chatting to the waitress about pilot boats. She spoke to her son who put me in touch with the local wet fish fishmongers. Trekking out in the rain again, we successfully got the phone number of a man who could possibly help us, but we were recommended to head towards 'Wells-Next-The-Sea'.

The drive along the North Norfolk coast was very picturesque, despite the driving rain. Arriving at a little hamlet, I noticed boats in the bay, and headed down a track. There was a local fisherman in typical fisherman's yellow protective clothing. I wound the window down and explained what I was looking for. "AArrghhhh" came the reply in typical Norfolk language. "You better goow too Wells-Next-The-Sea four thaaat. If oi took 'ya, I'd probably git lowst". I thanked him and continued on our way.

Arriving in Wells just as the sun set and the rain eased for about 10 minutes, I spoke to a fisherman who gave me a name and contact number of someone who could help me. We then found a most beautiful old sailing ship called "The Albatros". It was permanently moored in the harbour and was now a Bar, Restaurant, Music Venue and B&B. If you're in Wells, I thoroughly recommend it. We were served real ale, and Brancaster Bay Muscles in a white wine sauce. It was great!

Finally, we met the captain, Ton Brouwer, a Dutchman who explained all about the boat. He sat down with us, and we told him what we were looking for. He gave us a phone number, and said he would help us.

Above: Beccy, Luca and I enjoy the hospitality of Captain Ton Brouwer on board 'The Albatros'.

We headed home and I was satisfied that I had three numbers of pilots who could help us organise next year's swim. Despite the weather, it had been well worth while spending the day on the North Norfolk coast.

British Long Distance Swimming Association - Lynn Regis Championship 2009

Above: British Long Distance Swimming Association (BLDSA) 2009 President, Jacky Classen, with me prior to handing back the 'Senior Men' (right) and 'Veteran Mens' (left) Trophies which I won at the 2008 Lynn Regis event - eventually! (click here for more).

On Saturday September 26, 2009 we set off for Kings Lynn in North Norfolk, to hand back the two trophies I had won at the 2008 BLDSA Lynn Regis Championship. Not having swum much this year, I would not be trying to defend my titles, but will hopefully be able to do so next year. When we got there we sat next to the BLDSA Hon Publicity Officer, and English Channel Swimmer, Dee Llewellwyn who I had such a great race with last year. She told me she had been ill for much of the year so was also not swimming. We wish you a speedy recovery Dee.

Race secretary Stephen Smith called everyone to order, men first followed by the ladies to enter the water. In the men's race was 2009 English Channel Swimmer, Ollie Wilkinson, and in the ladies race was Dee's sister and 2009 2-Way English Channel Swimmer, Lianne Llewellwyn.

Above: Swimmers enter the water. Second left, No. 26, is 2009 2 Way English Channel Swimmer, Lianne Llewellyn and her sister Dee, holding the camera at the front.

Above: The start of the 4.5KM race in The River Ouse, Kings Lynn, Norfolk.

Above: Beccy and I watch this years race with Luca and Dee Llewellyn.

Above: 2009 Senior Men's Winner and 2009 English Channel Swimmer, Ollie Wilkinson who won the race in 59.3 minutes.

After the race, we headed up to the beach in Hunstanton. The sun came out and it turned into a beautiful and very hot day. During the day, we started the ball rolling to organise a pretty unique swimming challenge for summer 2010. I will update the blog very soon with further information as soon as it is finalised.

Sylvain Estadieu's English Channel Swim. England to France, September 20-21, 2009 - 14 Hrs. 44 Minutes

Above: Me (left) with Sylvain Estadieu on the quayside at Dover Marina prior to his 14 hour 44 minute successful swim of The English Channel on Sunday September 20, 2009.

On Sunday September 20th, I was one of three crew members to crew for Sylvain Estadieu, a French national currently living in Ireland. The other two were Niall MacCarthy, a Sandycove Swimmer from Ireland, and Dan Martin who will be attempting to swim the Atlantic in 2010. We had stayed the night in Lisa Cummins's caravan at Varne Ridge the night before. Lisa was just hours away from completing a historic, 35 hours and 20 minute 2 way channel swim, the first Irish person and only the 20th person in history to complete a 2 way (click here for further information). We boarded 'Gallivant' captained by CS&PF Honoury Secretary, Mike Oram, and set off for Samphire Hoe.

Sylvain entered the water and swum ashore to be greeted by a group of people who had assembled to see him off. This included Ned Dennison a well known and respected open water swimmer who had also stayed at Varne Ridge the previous night. Sylvain entered the waters and set off on the swim he had been training for for many months.

We hadn't gone out far when a Belgian film crew pulled up and started filming Sylvain. Dan, speaking excellent French, found out that they were doing a documentary on swimming the English Channel. They were a bit invasive, at one stage the cameraman entering the water, swimming up to within about 3 Metres of Sylvain and filming him in the water. However, after about an hour they sped off into the distance.

Above: In the South West shipping lane, dodging the oil tankers.

It had started fairly calmly, but the wind and therefore the waves really picked up and I actually felt quite cold on deck. Niall did a sterling job mixing the Maxim feeds, while Dan and I took it in turns feeding him. It was good teamwork, and an essential part of a channel swim. He fed every hour for the first 3 hours, and every 1/2 hour after that. It worked perfectly.

Above: Niall and I on deck watching Sylvain on his swim. It is important that at least one person watches the swimmer at all times.

Above: The P&O and Sea France ferries can be constantly seen on any channel swim.

Not once did Sylvain moan or even speak. His feeds were awesomely quick, mainly about 10 seconds, the longest probably 20 seconds. He just put one arm in front of the other, head down, and headed for France. As night fell, the wind dropped a bit and it felt a little warmer. We were swimming on a 7 Metre Spring tide, and what happened next, will linger in my mind for any future swims I may do.

Having swept past Cap Gris-Nez down towards Boulogne, we tried to get Sylvain to pick up his pace. He was literally 1KM from the French coast. For 30 minutes he upped his pace, but the tide was just too strong. All of a sudden, we were swept around the cap at a speed of 6 Knots! It was incredible. The sea felt as though a volcano had erupted underneath. The boat was all over the place, and Sylvain was about 30 Metres away from the boat heading off to England. If I had not have seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it! Then, all of a sudden, dead calm. We were round the cap, and headed into the bay towards France.

Above: Nearly there, about 600 Metres to go until Sylvain reaches France.

Above: Dan prepares to swim in to shore with Sylvain, a large can of Guinness tucked into his trunks for them to celebrate with in France!

Above: Sylvain Estadieu - Channel Swimmer - England to France - 14 Hours 44 Minutes. Well done. Fantastic job!

We had a 3 hour trip back to blighty, then I headed back home to Bury, totally shattered, but really pleased to have been part of another English Channel swim.

A full set of photos can be found on my Facebook page by clicking on the link below:-

<Click here for Sylvain Estadieu's Channel Swim Photos>

Abbeycroft Leisure - St Edmundsbury Sports Awards 2009

I am delighted and very honoured to have been nominated for the "Sports Personality of the Year" award at the 3rd annual Abbeycroft Leisure St Edmundsbury Sports Awards 2009. The event will be held at the Bury St Edmunds Corn Exchange on Sunday September 27th, 2009.

It was won last year by fellow open water swimmer Steffanie Biller of West Suffolk Swimming Club and Germany. I was runner up at the inaugural event held in 2007 following my first swim of The English Channel. The entry listed all my swim achievements from my 2007 channel swim up to the UK Cold Water Swimming Championships in January 2009.

I will update the blog after the award ceremony to let you know how I did, however, I am just very proud to have been nominated in the first place.

Boats, Waves and Automobiles - Bank Holiday fun in "The Far East" (Thorpeness & Aldeburgh, Suffolk)

Above (left to right): Me, Nick Clements (my brother-in-law) and Viv Clements (mother-in-law) on the Thorpeness boating lake, Monday August 31, 2009.

Having had a bit of a swimming sabbatical while waiting for our son Luca to arrive, on the last summer Bank Holiday of 2009 we decided to head for what I like to call "The Far East" for a swim in the sea, my first since my mammoth session in Dover Harbour back in March. So after negotiating all of the very frustrating Bank Holiday traffic, through which Beccy and Luca slept soundly, we finally arrived in Thorpeness, one of the most easterly towns in Great Britain (Lowestoft is the most easterly) to meet up with my mother-in-law, Viv, brother-in-law, Nick and his girlfriend Danni for some good old Suffolk fish and chips before heading for the famous Thorpeness boating lake.

Above (left to right): Danni, Beccy and Luca enjoying the glorious sunshine while being rowed around the lake by Nick.

Above: Me with Luca, Nick (doing a sterling job rowing) and Viv.

Having spent about an hour on the lake (the exact time was in dispute due differences in everyone's watches) we headed for the short trip (about 3 miles) to Aldeburgh, where I was going to swim. It is ideal there because there are no groynes, just a very straight beach of a couple of miles, so you can swim along the beach in deep water, and only be about 5-10 Metres from the beach at any one time. It is ideal for training in.

As I got in the sea and started to swim, it was simply fantastic. So refreshing after the heat of the day, and great to be back in the sea after such a prolonged break.

It was fairly rough in there, quite a few waves, but then again it was The North Sea. I really enjoyed myself, and it has fired me up in preparation for by next big swim which I am currently trying to organise. More details will follow as soon as I get the go ahead.

Luca was looked after during my swim by his mum and Nick. Apparently he did in fact open his eyes and watch me swim for a while before adopting his usual sleeping position!

After my swim, we headed back through the winding countryside roads to avoid the heavy Bank Holiday Monday traffic, stopping off for a glass of cider in Framlingham. It had been a beautiful day!

"Channel Buoys and Gulls" Channel Swim Team appear on BBC TV show "Eggheads"

Above: The "Channel Buoys and Gulls" team who took on the mighty "Eggheads" on Monday August 17, 2009. Left to right: Paul Hopfensperger (2 x English Channel swims), Megan Forbes (1 x C.S.), Mike Cross (3 x C.S.), Sophie Rutenbar (1 x C.S.), Jim Boucher (1 x C.S.). Kevin Murphy, "King of The English Channel" with 34 x Channel swims was the team substitute (not pictured).

Above: The world famous BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, London.

When we were asked to audition for the BBC quiz show "Eggheads" in June of this year, I have to admit that I honestly didn't expect to be selected, however having been informed that we had been selected, we all journeyed from our various parts of the country to assemble at the BBC Television Centre as a team of English Channel swimmers with a combined total of 42 channel swims between us and to be know for the day as the "Channel Buoys and Gulls" quiz team.

Above: Assembling in "The Green Room" which was in fact remarkably yellow prior to entering "makeup".

Above: Jim and Sophie get their makeup and hair sorted prior to entering the studios.

Above: Having our microphones fitted in the main Eggheads studio.

Above: Lisa explains to Kevin why he has to be the substitute member of the team. This was due to the fact that he works for the BBC and so was not able to appear on the show.

Above: One of the extremely large Sony television cameras used for filming the show.

We were given about 30 minutes of instructions prior to the Eggheads entering the studio, and as team captain, we had a list of the subjects and who would answer them if the subjects were selected. As I was not allowed to have the piece of paper during filming, I was trying to memorise who was doing what.

Every time one of us broke into a slight sweat, the makeup girl came and "touched us up" with her little brush!

Final check of my papers before the Eggheads entered and filming commenced. Due to the secrecy we must maintain, I am not allowed to explain here how we did. The show will be aired sometime in 2010 as part of series 11 (we are currently on series 10).

Above: After the show was complete, we had the picture above taken with the Eggheads. Again due to secrecy, one of the Eggheads is temporarily airbrushed out of the photo.

Above: The Eggheads sign autographs in Megan's Eggheads book after the show.

We all had a fantastic day, and I would like to thank Lisa and here team for inviting us and making us feel very welcome during our day in London. A full set of photos can be found on my Facebook page by clicking on the link below:-

<'Channel Buoys and Gulls' Eggheads Photos>

Article in The Bury Free Press, Friday August 28, 2009:-

Dover? Felixstowe? or Pin Mill? Where? - Pin Mill one of the most beautiful hamlets in Suffolk for Luca's first view of Open Water

Above: Beccy with 11 day old Luca Jacob following a seafood lunch at "The Butt and Oyster" in Pin Mill, Suffolk.

Following an early night on Saturday to get up early for a swim in Dover Harbour at the 2009 Dover Regatta weekend, Beccy and I woke up at 8.25am after a restless night feeding our 11 day old son Luca. Not then feeling bothered to drive the 2.5 hour, 145 mile trip to Dover, we set off for the 38 mile trip to Felixstowe. At about 20 miles, I couldn't even be bothered to drive to Felixstowe and suggested stopping off at Pin Mill for some lunch before proceeding to Felixstowe. Beccy agreed and turning off at Ipswich, we headed along the shore of The River Orwell towards Pin Mill. Never heard of Pin Mill? Shame, it is a beautiful place. This is what the BBC website says about it:-

Pin Mill

"On the banks of the River Orwell the hamlet of Pin Mill is at the heart of one of Suffolk's areas of outstanding natural beauty. Situated on the Shotley peninsula, it is a haven of tranquillity, loved by artists, walkers and birdwatchers. The 17th century "Butt & Oyster" inn is so close to the river that it can serve pints of ale through the window to yachtsmen at high tide.

Pin Mill had links to smugglers in the 19th century and it was the setting for Arthur Ransome's book 'We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea'. It was also featured in the popular BBC Lovejoy series."

Above: Beccy and Luca after our helping of Scampi and Chips at "The Butt and Oyster", Pin Mill, Suffolk.

Following our hearty meal, Felixstowe seemed further and further away so I took Luca for his first look at a bit of open water - The River Orwell. He didn't say much, probably because he was asleep as he has been through most of his "first time experiences" over the past 11 days!

Above: Luca's first experience of Open Water in The River Orwell with Dad.

Having dipped my feet in, I decided that the water looked very appealing, cancelled Felixstowe and decided on a swim in The River Orwell, the first time I had swum in it, even though we had been up and down it many times when we used to have our boat.

As I entered, a small RIB came in with a man and his children. "That's a Channel Swimmer" he laughed to his children. "Yes twice I replied". He looked at me rather strangely and carried on paddling to shore!

It was beautiful in there. It was also incredibly warm. When I came ashore and got out, my watch was reading 24 Degrees Centigrade, hardly a "cold water swim". I felt very rough and unfit, but am really glad I got in. I am now ready to start training again for hopefully some big swims over the next couple of years.

It was a stunningly beautiful day, and I had a thoroughly enjoyable swim. There was no need to trek all the way to Dover, we have great facilities here in Suffolk. If you are ever in the area, I thoroughly recommend Pin Mill.

Thanks to Bex as always for taking some great photos, and hopefully Luca enjoyed his first look at Open Water even if he was yawning. Get used to it Luca, there's plenty more to come!

Nick Adams swims the English Channel for the 6th time on July 14, 2009

On July 14, 2009, Nick Adams, who I have trained with many times in Dover Harbour prior to my channel swims, completed his 6th English Channel swim in 13 hours and 3 minutes. Above are his two videos of the swim. The second one is not for the squeamish! Well done Nick. A fantastic achievement.