Dover 2008 week 17 - 3 Days in Dover Harbour (on our wedding anniversary!)

Above: A 7 Hour training swim in Dover harbour on our 11th wedding anniversary - Saturday August 23, 2008.

Day 1 - Saturday August 23, 2008

This weekend was going to be a really important one. With only two weeks to go before my two-way channel swim attempt, it would be the last big training weekend before I start to taper down ready for the channel. It was also our 11th wedding anniversary.

Arriving at the beach, it was a beautiful clear sunny day and the harbour was dead flat. When Freda said "6 hours please Hoffy" to me, I replied "Can't I do 7 please?". She crossed out 6 on her pad and wrote 7 in it's place. I think I am slowly going mad! It was 9am and I said goodbye to Bex, wished her a happy anniversary, and told her I would see her at 3pm - 7 hours later. This is the fantastic thing, she is fully supportive of the swim, and without this support, it simply would not be possible.

I set off with Nick Aspey from Wigan, who was in the harbour doing his 6 hour qualifying swim. It was hist first time in Dover, and he was really excited about it. I did explain that it wasn't always as calm as it was today, but he simply had a great time, really enjoying himself until he got out at 6 hours with his swim complete. Well done Nick, great swim - the longest he has ever done in one go.

Beccy was on the beach with the usual team, and was there to feed everyone when we came in. After 7 hours, I came in pleased with myself having completed 19,260 Metres in 7 hours.

To celebrate our anniversary, I had booked a table at Cullins Yard for 7.30pm. Having been there for about an hour, I heard some South African voices behind me. I turned round, and there sitting right behind me was none other than "The Ice Bear" himself, Lewis Gordon-Pugh - the first man ever to swim for 1KM at The North Pole in -1.7 Degrees Centigrade water!

Above: South African Channel Swimmers including front, left in the red T-shirt - Lewis Gordon-Pugh, me seated on floor, and far right at the front, a South African swimmer who had just swum the channel that day.

Above: Beccy on our 11th wedding anniversary at Cullins Yard.

After a fantastic steak, we said goodbye to the South Africans, and headed back to our beds for the night, ready for another big swim the following day.

Day 2 - Sunday August 24, 2008 - 133 Years to the day since Captain Matthew Webb first swum the English Channel.

Above: Coming in for a feed during Sunday's swim.

What a bloody miserable day. It was horrible. When we got up, it was cold, grey skies, raining and no sign anywhere of the sun which had shone the day before. To cap it off, over by the Eastern Dock it was like swimming in a washing machine. It was horrible, so I swum with Chris Enyon from Sudbury & District swimming club "up and down the wall" where it was a bit calmer to say the least.

At about 3.75 hours, I had one of those feelings which I have experienced many times when we are fed Maxim Electrolyte rather than the full Maxim. I was sprinting with Chris, when it felt like I had just run out of fuel. I told him to continue at his pace while I swum at mine. I continued up the wall, back down again, and really struggled along the beach. I was absolutely famished. I was so hungry it hurt. I stopped and started, just making it to the beach at 4 hours and 5 minutes ready for a very welcome feed when to my astonishment Beccy stood there and said "Everyone out. Finished. You're all getting out". Apparently, for the first time in living memory, Freda had had enough, and you can't blame her. All of the beach crew, including Beccy, were absolutely soaked through to the skin. It was a truly awful day. I had however, completed 10,255 Metres.

Chatting to Beccy later, she told me that we were going to do 4 hours tomorrow so that we could all get home early in case of bad traffic. This was a shame as I had wanted to complete 7 Hours/6 Hours then 5 Hours over the weekend.

Day 3 - Bank Holiday Monday August 25, 2008

Monday was no better than Sunday. Grey, dark skies, cold wind and really miserable. At least it was only going to be a 4 hour swim and then we could be off home. "Hoffy - 6 hours." came the words from Freda's mouth. "6?" I replied. "Yes, we need to get the hours in as we only did 4 yesterday". Bloody weather! I got in and set off to swim for 6 hours.

At 4 hours I was really fed up, and for the first time for a long time I was cold, so cold that I was shivering as I swum. This was not good so near my channel swim. I think I had mentally prepared myself to swim for 4 hours, not 6 and it's amazing how your mind adapts to this way of thinking. I was a bit angry with myself, and as I came in for a feed I said "What a bloody way to spend a Bank Holiday Monday. One more hour then I'm getting out!". I had my feed then set off.

I sprinted quite hard, and soon began to warm up. Up and down the wall I was putting in some good sprints. When it came to the end of hour 5, I had snapped out of it and was looking forward to the last hour. As I arrived back at the beach, several women of varying degrees of looking stern were standing at strategic locations across the beach. Standing head and shoulders above the rest at the top of the beach (the tide was out) was The General. "What's the matter with them?" I thought to myself. Then I realised and burst out laughing. They were all stopping me getting out! "It's Ok." I said, "I'm all better now, I'm not getting out!". I had my feed and completed 6 hours 5 minutes covering 16,180 Metres.

Above: Getting out after 6 hours and 16,180 Metres. Thank you ladies for ensuring I didn't get out at 5 hours! LOL!

All in all, although the weather was miserable on the Sunday and Monday, it was a very productive weekend covering a total of 45,695 Metres. Next week, I will be tapering down hopefully, weather dependant, preparing to start my two-way channel swim attempt the following weekend. After the disappointment of Jersey, let's hope this one goes ahead!

Total time in the harbour this week - 17 Hours 10 Minutes.
Total distance covered - 45,695 Metres.

For training diary update click here

Dover 2008 week 16 - 6 hour swim in miserable conditions

Above: The ever present Barry Wakeham puts on the Vaseline before another 6 hour swim in Dover Harbour.

After the disappointment of last week, it was important to get back into heavy training for my two-way channel swim attempt in September. Having tapered down for the Jersey swim, then not swum and only did some light training while I was there, I felt as though I was losing some fitness. So Saturday night at 8pm, only 24 hours after returning from Jersey, Beccy and I set off for Dover.

Arriving at 10.00pm, we headed for a pint of Guinness at the White Horse. As soon as we walked in I heard American accents and found out that they were non other than Liz Fry and her crew. Liz, had literally hours earlier, been pulled out at "The Varne" in the channel after swimming for 24 hours on a two-way attempt. This was a fantastic effort, and we chatted for about an hour about her valiant attempt. At 11pm it was off to bed ready for the next day's swim.

Arriving at Swimmers beach it really was a glum, grey, misty day with light spots of rain. "Looks like I'll be sitting in the car all day!" said Beccy. Barry greased me up and in I got.

The water was in fact dead calm, and I proceeded to swim my usual 2 hour routine before the first feed. However, after about an hour, it cut up rough again at the Eastern Dock and it turned into a battle with the waves.

At the 3 hour feed, The General came down to speak to me, but I simply cannot hear her when I have my ear plugs in and hat over my ears. This is what I thought she said:-

"Don't go up to the Eastern Dock because I can't see you. It too rough over there. Go over the other side and go up and down the wall".

This is what she actually said:-

"Don't go past the slopey groyne, I can't see you because it's too rough over there. Don't go up and down the wall".

I spent the remaining 3 hours going up and down the wall, as I though she had told me, only to get a bollocking when I got back for going up and down the wall! It was however, and friendly bollocking as I was laughing so much due to my total misunderstanding! I spent a bit of time with Chris Enyon doing some sprints up and down the wall, and with Chris Pountney after Chris Enyon got out at 5 hours.

It was a good "blow the cobwebs away" swim, and it will only now increase with the 2 way channel approaching fast.

I would just like to say very well done to Leanne Harling, who I was supposed to be support swimmer for. Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, her swim was brought forward a week, and it happened when we were on the airplane back from Jersey. She swum brilliantly for 12 hours before being pulled out due to the terrible weather conditions. Well done Leanne, you will do it next time I know you will.

Total time in the harbour this week - 6 Hours
Total distance covered - 17,100 Metres.

For training diary update click here

Dover 2008 week 13 - 'Split' channel swim number 4

Above: Arriving at "Swimmers Beach", Dover to be greased up by the ever present Barrie 'The Shingle Stomper' prior to another 7 hour swim.

This weekend was to be my last 'split channel swim' prior to my attempt to swim from Jersey to France in August. It was therefore important to get a good two days swimming in prior to Jersey, which will be my second of three big swims this year, the first being the Serbia swim and the third, the 2 way English Channel. Having said that, I am at present contemplating a fourth one in October, but it is not decided yet. Watch this space!

Day 1 - Saturday July 26, 2008

During last week's split channel swim, I swam for a little while with Dr. Leanne Harling from London. She is a member of the Serpentine Swimming Club, who trains with two-way Channel Swimmer Nick Adams. I thought then that we trained at a similar pace. This week, we both got into the harbour on a beautiful sunny day, and decided to swim together. We did this for 5 hours before I went off to do some sprint training at about 5 hours. I find this very useful for arm strength and stamina towards the end of long sessions. It is also something that you may need to do in the channel at any time into the swim if your pilot tells you to speed up for 30 minutes due to the tide or to miss a tanker etc. You need to be able to pull this out ofthe bag when your arms simply do not feel like it.

After about 2 hours or so I said to Leanne "I was wondering if you would like to be my support swimmer?". She replied "I was just thinking exactly the same!". Her swim is the tide of August 23rd, and mine is the tide of September 6th. So once we have checked diaries etc. this week, hopefully we will be supporting each other on our respective swims. She is a great swimmer with a really long, but fast stroke who trains with Nick Adams. This explains why she is so fast!

Above: Dr. Leanne Harling and me after our 7 hour Saturday swim.

After the 7 hour swim, we went to Cullins Yard for something to eat, then went off to "The Coastguard" in St Margaret's Bay. This is a lovely pub overlooking the channel. From there I like to sit and stare across the channel at France and watch the shipping go by, and get a mental feel of what lies ahead in September. They also have a very large selection of continental beers! Antonio Abertondo, the first person to complete a two way channel swim in 1961, finished his swim here in 1961. I sat there and mentally pictured myself, walking up the beach, into the bar and ordering a beer after 30 hours swimming in the channel! That will be my goal and the mental picture I will take with me across the channel and back in September.

Day 2 - Sunday July 27, 2008

Waking up on Sunday morning, I felt as though I had been attacked by 'The Morning Gorilla'. I'm sure he picked me up by the hair and swung me round the room in my sleep, bounced me off the walls, then put me back to bed! My whole body ached, and I felt very subdued and stiff in the arms, neck and shoulders. Undeterred, as I am used to this by now, I had a Sandown breakfast and off to meet up with Leanne for a 6 hour swim.

Getting in and swimming across to the Eastern Dock, I said to Leanne "Wow this is a good to be alive day today!". The cool water, and the already scorching sun made it feel as though we were in some lagoon in Europe somewhere rather than Dover Harbour. It was beautiful, if not very "patchy" with the hot/cold/hot/cold... patches of water. Some of them over by the Eastern Dock were really cold. I have no idea where they kept coming from. It was as if there was someone under the water turning on freezing cold jets of water and firing it up at us as we swum over. Very strange.

Above: Feeding at 5 hours, the last feed of the weekend. Left to right, Beccy Hopfensperger, me and Leanne. We were both absolutely famished by then.

Beccy was working non stop this weekend feeding all the swimmers as they came in. She was there all day Saturday and Sunday up and down the beach, and said that it was a good workout just feeding us! We had 1/2 bananas and chocolate mini rolls, but of course the essential "Maxim" (both the full product and Electrolyte) at all stops. We fed on both days after 2 hours for the first feed, then every hour after that. Thanks Bex, you were a star as always, as were all of the beach crew who give up their time every weekend for our benefits.

Above: Leanne and I setting off for the last swim of the day at about 5 1/2 hours into the 6 hour swim.

At 6 hours we came in, and Beccy was there to greet us with "A BIG MAC!". After Nick Adams had fed us last week, Beccy had run up to MacDonalds and got us both a Big Mac. It was great! When we got out, I was told that Nick Adams had broken the World Record swimming from Jersey to France! He had lowered the record from 7 Hrs. 47 minutes to 7 Hrs. 3 minutes. Awsome swim Nick! Well done. I'm going to have to go some to beat that!

So all in all a very successful weekend. Next weekend, it will be about 3 hours on Saturday, followed by a 2KM race at the Dover Regatta weekend. Last year I won the over 40's race, and hopefully I can do the same next week.

Total time in the harbour this week - 13 Hours.
Total distance covered - 36,750 Metres.

For training diary update click here

Dover 2008 week 9 - A very windy and rough weekend in the harbour, but another 'Split' channel swim

Day 1 - Saturday June 28, 2008

Arriving at 'Swimmers beach at 08.30am on Saturday morning, I was delighted when The General handed me my goggles which I had lost the previous week. Apparently, they had washed up on the beach at low tide last Sunday morning. Amazing! Thanks Freda. I changed the lenses for the tinted ones, which you are able to do with these goggles, then set off for the first day of my second 'Split Channel Swim'. i.e. 7 Hours Saturday and 6 Hours Sunday, total time in the water - 13 hours separated by a nights sleep. This may sound easy, but it is very difficult to pump out 6 hours the day after you have completed 7 hours. You are tired, your back and shoulders hurt, and the last thing you want to do is swim. However, this is Freda's tried and tested means of preparing channel swimmers for the most difficult task in world swimming. i.e. To swim The English Channel. It worked for me last year, and I hope it will again this year.

This week, Beccy sat on the beach studying for her 'Anatomy and Physiology' exam on Monday July 07, 2008. She is studying this first, followed by body massage afterwards so that she can treat my worn out old body after all these arduous swims! Below, is what she was staring at for most of the weekend, as well as being official photograper as usual.

I set off on my swim, but when I arrived at The Eastern Dock, I was amazed at how rough it was. It was incredibly rough, but when you looked at it from the beach, it looked very calm. I think that most people who swam over there found the conditions the same, almost too difficult to swim in. So I spent a fair bit of time "going up and down the wall" as we say in Dover. i.e. Swimming up and down the 325 Metre stretch that is the Prince of Wales Pier.

Above: Coming in for one of my 5 Maxim feeds of the day, while another swimmer has the time and energy to do a break dance in the background! Thanks to the beach crew as ever for all your hard work.

Above: Swimming with Sam and Michelle towards the Prince of Wales Pier. The place to be this weekend!

Above: Exiting the water after 7 hours and 19.21KM @ 16.2 degrees Centigrade. 2007 Channel Swimmer Sandy Wilson was helping with the feeding. Good to see you Sandy.

Day 2 - Sunday June 29, 2008

Arriving at the beach on Sunday morning, we could see that nothing had changed and it was still very rough over by the Eastern Dock. I managed 3 lengths on my first swim, but rather than my usual 4 lengths before the first feed, I decided it was too rough, and murky to go over there again. I spent the rest of the day over by the wall.

At about 3 hours, I bumped into Nuala Muir-Cochrane who I met at The Champion of Champions event this year. I swum up and down the wall with her for the rest of the afternoon, but she really is an incredibly fast swimmer, in the league of Nick Adams. We swum quite a few 325 Metre sprints down the wall towards the beach, and a gentle swim out towards the harbour. I really enjoyed this, and saved my fastest until the last one of the day. I was flat out at 5.75 hours doing a 325 Metre sprint. It felt really good (even though Nuala finished in front of me again uttering the words "What kept you?"). I thought I was fast, but she is amazingly quick!

Above: In for a feed with Nuala Muir-Cochrane at 5 hours. Mike Cross can be seen in the background coming in for a feed (Photo by Rob Telford using Nicola Millichip's camera. Thanks Nic).

I completed 15,960 Metres @ 15.8 Degrees Centigrade in 6 Hrs. 2 Minutes. All in all it was a good weekend, although I had to drive the 140 miles home as Beccy had forgotten her contact lenses! That was a tiring experience I can tell you.

Total time in the harbour this week - 13 Hours 4 Minutes.
Total distance covered - 35,170 Metres.

For training diary update click here

Dover 2008 week 6 - A 'Split' Channel Swim and a tough but rewarding weekend

Above (left to right): My dad Johann Hopfensperger, me and my mum, Vera Hopfensperger at Varne Ridge Holiday Park, on Friday June 11, 2008.

This week we went down to Dover on the Friday to meet my mum and dad who were staying in Folkstone. We accompanied them to Dover, and dropped in to see Evelyn and David at Varne Ridge Holiday Park. We stayed there during our channel swim week, and will be staying there again for my two-way this year. The main reason was to show my mum and dad the plaques with all the channel swimmers who have stayed at Varne Ridge on the wall. The above photo was taken in front of mine, and David assures me he will be getting the surname spelt correctly when he orders the next batch of successful swimmers plaques!

Day 1 - Saturday June 07, 2008

Arriving at swimmers beach on Saturday morning, it was a dull, misty horrible morning. It was good to see Mark Robson again, having travelled all the way down from Teeside to train in the harbour. Fellow West Suffolk Swimming Club Member, Mark Ransom was also there, and we undressed and waited for our orders from The General.

Above: Barry "The Shingle Stomper" Wakeham applying Vaseline to my delicate areas, while Mark Robson waits for his turn.

"Hoffy - 7 Hours" came the orders across the beach from The General. I wasn't worried or surprised because I had been through all of this last year. I was expecting 7 hours today, and 6 tomorrow. It's when you are not expecting it that you beat yourself up mentally. If you are training in Dover, it's always best to expect the unexpected, that way you should breeze through whatever is dished out. Mark Ransom was given 5 hours, as he will be swimming in 2 weeks time. I am delighted to say that I have been asked to be his support swimmer. I am looking forward to this, and will give a report on his swim, hopefully with live blog updates via Beccy on the day.

We stepped into what was undoubtedly the shallowest Dover Harbour I have ever swum in. It was so shallow, that the first 5 minutes of the swim were taken up walking to an area to swim in. i.e. one that you didn't scrape your hand on the bottom! The water was very cold (13.4 Degrees Centigrade) but we set off on our mission to swim to the first feed, which was 6,060 Metres and 2 hours.

I have said this before, many times, but breaking it down into feeds, gets you through the swim. It is so important not to think in terms of hours. Swimming across to the Prince of Wales Pier, we stopped, and were amazed to be able to put our feet down and touch the bottom. I don't think I have ever done this before. It must have been a spring tide.

Above: Stopping at the Prince of Wales Pier, Mark stands in a cloud of the finest 'brown' I have ever seen. God only knows what it was, Mark didn't mention that it came from him, but we soon swum away I know that for sure!

We then just continued to swim from feed to feed, at about 1 hour intervals, and before we knew it, we were at 5 hours, and Mark got out. The last two hours were totally different, and I just swum across the harbour in a triangle for hour 6, and Nicola Millichip took the photo below of Beccy and Barry feeding me.

The last hour was tough, as my shoulders were quite painful, and there was only 2 or three of us out there. The tide had also come in, and I was amazed that it was now above the "slopey groyne" whereas earlier, I could see the bottom of it! It was a huge tide today without a doubt. I swum a bit of a bizarre route, out to P.O.W. pier, across to the "slopey groyne" back to the P.O.W. pier, across towards swimmers beach, back towards the pier, then diagonally in to complete 7 hours! Yes! Awesomely satisfying. A 7 hour swim, covering 19,870 Metres in 13.4 degrees Centigrade water.

I went back to the guest house, showered, went for a meal with my parents in Folkstone, then returned home for a good sleep before what I assumed would be a 6 hour swim the next day.

Day 2 - Sunday June 08, 2008

Arriving at Swimmers Beach after a hearty breakfast consisting of 2 x Wheatabix, Half a pint of milk, a full fried "Sandown" breakfast of 2 x Bacon, 1 x Sausage, 2 x Fried Egg, Baked Beans, 1 x Hash Brown, 2 x Fried Tomato's, 2 x cups of coffee, a "Herbalife" Tropical Fruit Vitamin and Mineral drink in half a pint of milk, I was still a little peckish, so I downed a whole banana and sipped my half pint Maxim Electrolyte drink as we waited for instructions.

Above: Waiting for instructions on "Swimmers Beach" for Sunday's swim from The General.

As Mark Ransom and I stood there waiting, our worst nightmare happened. Both feeling very stiff and sore from the day before's swim, the last thing I expected was for two-way channel swimmer, Nick Adams, to come flying over saying "I'm swimming with you today boys". You may remember from last week's Sunday swim, that on the Sunday he made us sprint for over 4KM nearly finishing us off! Well, No! Not this week. We were not falling for that again. No way. Absolutely not! No, no, no NO! "Sorry Nick" I said. "Did 7 hours yesterday. Couldn't possibly swim at your speed today". I was astonished that he gave in so easily and said "Oh well. I'll have to swim with someone else", and off he went. "Huh! That told him" I thought. "Soon got rid of him!".

"Hoffy 6 hours" said The General. "Mark 5 hours". A little bit of stretching the shoulders out, and into the water we went. It was once again, incredibly low and 13.4 Degrees Centigrade again. Quite cold, but we just went through exactly the same routines, and procedures again, and the time flew by.

Above: Entering the harbour for 6 hours (me) and 5 hours Mark Ransom.

All went pretty much to plan with swims to the next feed, until at 4.75 hours into the swim, and just about to swim from the P.O.W. pier, back to swimmers beach, for Mark to get out, and me to get my 5 hour feed, a cerise pink hat suddenly emerged in front of our eyes.....

10 Minutes earlier on the beach...

Beccy was on the beach, standing in for Barry and Irene and instructing 6 foot 4" swimmers to not be such wimps, the water wasn't cold and get back in and swim to the P.O.W. pier and back. They duly obeyed. While standing there, out of the corner of her eye, she saw this:-

... yes a pair of cerise pink swimming trunks, with cerise pink swim hat protruding from the underside of the brief, and a nice pair of cerise pink "Crocs". Yes, it was none other than Nick "The Fish" Adams, scanning the harbour for two members of the West Suffolk Masters Open Water Synchronised Swimming Team...

"Right where are those two homos? Where's Hoffy I want to pee him off?" said Nick to Beccy. "You just want to be on his blog" said Beccy laughing. "No I don't" he replied.

Nick stepped into the water, and adjusted his heat seeking goggles, scanning the harbour like a vulture searching for his prey. Nicola Millichip witnessed this, and barley able to control her laughter took the above pictures of Nick. "Ah right there they are, I can get them from here. I'm not worried about being on the blog, I just want to cause as much misery as possible." said Nick to Beccy, as he slipped into stealth mode and sped across the harbour towards the P.O.W. pier to catch up with Mark and me.

Prince of Wales Pier

Mark and I had just decided to swim in for a feed, then it was just one more hour for me, on my own, swimming with my thoughts before coming in at 6 hours to complete a total of 13 hours in the harbour for the weekend. I was pleased with myself, but very sore in the neck and shoulders. Having seen Nick Adams get out a couple of hours earlier, the last thing I expected was to see him here at 4.75 hours into out swim.

"Right you two, you've got me for the last hour. Come on chop, chop" said Nick. "Nick, Mark is getting out, and I'm going in for a feed, and I did 7 hours yesterday, and this is my last hour! You just want to be on my blog" I laughed. "No I don't, but I'll just swim with you then". I swum into shore, Mark got out, and I wondered what on earth he was going to get me to do. I had my feed, and off we went over to the Eastern Dock, starting off slowly, then stretching out, and getting faster as we completed the 830 Metre swim to the dock. "Right, we're going to sprint across the harbour and I'm going to time you" said Nick. "But I'm knackered" I protested. "I did 7 hours yesterday, and have done 5 so far today. My arms have had it". Nick would have none of it. Off we went. I was flat out. I couldn't have gone any faster if you paid me.

The first 100 Metres weren't too bad. My arms burned, but they felt tired. At 200 Metres, still flat out, they were starting to hurt. At 300 Metres, I was hallucinating! My arms were just simply about to explode! At 400 Metres, against all my best intentions, I pulled up and said "Nick, I'm knackered. I can't go on at this pace". He looked at his watch and said "When you're in the channel, and your pilot asks you to sprint for 30 minutes, you need to be able to do it. It can knock 3 hours off your swim. Come on, just stretch out, and do your best." We swum across to the P.O.W. Pier, then headed towards the beach to complete my 6 hours.

I was smiling to myself, wondering why he kept picking on me, when I lost concentration and swam over the back of his legs. "Hoffy" he said. "You're not trying to 'Roger me' are you?" he said. I just laughed my head off to myself. He is a great swimmer, and does make me laugh, and is genuinely trying to help me achieve my goal of completing a two way channel swim. "Come on" I said. "Let's have a picture for my blog." and here they are...

Above: (Left) Hoffy, 2-Way Channel Swimmer Aspirant. (Right) Nick "The Fish" Adams - 2-Way Channel Swimmer. Respect.

It was a fantastic weekend, having achieved what The General calls a "Split Channel Swim". i.e. 13 hours over two days. Thanks to Beccy for helping with the feeding, Freda for being Freda, Mark for being a great swim companion and Nick for being Nick. It makes it all so worthwhile being surrounded by such fantastic and inspiring people.

Next week will be something different, "Champion of Champions" in Dover Harbour. I am looking forward to it, having come 5th overall last year.

Total time in the harbour this week - 13 Hours.
Total distance covered - 35,780 Metres.

For training diary update click here

Dover 2008 week 5 - West Suffolk Masters Swimmers Mark Ransom and Hoffy qualify for the channel!

Above: Bury St Edmunds Swimming Club ("The Beavers") before leaving for a swim trip to Kevelaer in Gemany in 1982. Mark Ransom (12) is seated on the bottom left at the front. I am kneeling down holding the banner, 2nd from the right on the front row. I was 19 at the time. Photo (c) Bury Free Press 1982.

I think that both Mark Ransom and I enjoyed last week's 2 x 3 hour 20 minute swims, but we were we were quite certain that this week was going to be much tougher. We both had to qualify for the channel by doing a 6 hour swim. Mine was not so urgent, but Mark will be swimming in only 3 weeks time. I felt quite emotional for him in a funny way, as it was a big day, and I couldn't believe that someone I had swum with all those years ago, was now about to attempt to jump from 1 hour, to 2 x 3 hour 20 minutes swims and then the following week, come straight in with 6 hours! I kept thinking about the photo on my living room wall with 12 year old Mark sitting at the front with a big grin on his face. I have reproduced it above.

Day 1 - Saturday May 31, 2008

Arriving on 'Swimmers Beach' after the 145 mile drive, we undressed and waited for instructions from The General. "Hoffy, Mark - 6 hours" came the roar across the beach. We 'Vaselined' up and got into the water.

Above: Mark Ransom (left) and me getting in for the start of our 6 hour channel qualifying swim.

We set off and did the same route as last week, which was out to the Eastern Dock, 4 lengths of the harbour and back in for a feed. This was a distance of about 6,060 Metres in about 2 hours 20 minutes. The water temperature wasn't too bad at 14.9 degrees Centigrade. It's amazing how the surface temperature warms up when you get a bit of sun on it.

Above: Swimming across the harbour, in for a feed, then off for another two laps.

Before we got in, I said to Mark that he shouldn't think about swimming for 6 hours, we just swim to the next feed. We have to think of it in laps followed by feeds, not distance or hours. Just laps. After the first feed, it was just out to the Eastern Dock, 2 lengths of the harbour, then back in for a feed. Another 3,860 Metres completed, and 3 hours 20 minutes gone. Next time, out to the Prince of Wales Pier, two laps, then in for a feed. 3,260 Metres and 4 hours 10 minutes gone. We then finished off with 2 x "triangle circuits" of the harbour (Eastern dock, across the harbour to Prince of Wales Pier) in for a feed and 5 hours, then 6 hours 3 minutes and we completed the swim, both qualifying for the channel!

Above: Channel Qualifiers! Mark Ransom (left) and Hoffy at the end of their 6 hour channel qualifying swims.

It was tough, and we were both shattered afterwards, but we had done it! The General congratulated us, then we all went of to Cullins Yard for a well earned one and a half pints of Guinness and some nosh! Before we went, The General asked me "Who was slowing down for who?". I wasn't sure what she meant. She said that we were both swimming exactly the same speed and someone must be slowing down for the other one. I hadn't thought about it. We just got in, swum together and completed 6 hours and 18.1KM. That's all I knew really. She smiled. This was worrying.

That night, I laid on the bed rigid, and could barely move my arms, my back and shoulders hurt so much. We watched the finals of "Britain's Got Talent" and "I'd do Anything". I just laid on the bed, unable to speak or move. At about 10.15pm I said to Beccy "I'm going to sleep now". She told me the following day that she said "OK", walked about 2 Metres to the sink, then heard me snoring! I had just passed out! Little did I know then, that the next day would be even tougher than today...

Day 2 - Sunday June 01, 2008

Arriving at Swimmers Beach at about 08.40am the next day, I felt as though rigor mortis had set into my back and shoulders! "Hoffy - 5 Hours" came the call from The General. Then something unexpected happened. Nick Adams, a 31 year old Maths teacher from Eton College and one of only 4 English people to have completed a two-way English Channel Swim, walked over to Mark and me and said "Morning Boys". (We are both older than him!) "I'm swimming with you today". "Excellent!" I said. "Why's that then?" I asked inquisitively. "Freda asked me to". Now I was worried. "What was going on here" I thought to myself. I didn't have to wait long to find out.

Getting into the water, I explained how we were going to swim over to the Prince of Wales Pier, then do four lengths and in for a feed. This normally took just over two hours going this route which was about the right time for a feed. "2 hours?" said Nick Adams looking surprised. We headed over to the Pier.

Arriving at the Pier he said "Right, come on then boys, follow me" in his best school master's voice. We obeyed. We shot across the harbour like a bloody rocket! Nick in front, me behind his feet, and Mark behind mine. Arriving at The Eastern Dock, I was panting heavily. "I don't think I'm going to be able to keep that speed up for 5 hours" I said nervously. Nick looked at me and said "Right, off we go!". We shot across again faster than the first time I think.

Arriving at the Pier, I said "How long are you staying in for Nick" hoping he was going to say that he was getting out now. "I'm not sure" he replied. "Come on, off we go!". We shot across again, the muscles in my arms now seriously starting to ache and feel heavy. While I was full flat out going across the harbour, Nick was bobbing up and down, doing a bit of backstroke, etc.. He just looked like he was playing. When we finally arrived across the harbour for the fourth time, I was knackered, I have no idea how Mark was feeling, I hadn't even got the strength to ask him.

"You boys are slowing down a bit now" said Nick. "Yes" I thought, "That would be correct. We have just swum over 4,400 Metres at Mach 1!". I could barely get my arms out of the water. "Right in for a feed, I will be doing my own swim now" said Nick. Although I have alot of admiration for Nick, like his sense of humour, and was honoured to have swum with him, and studied his toes in great depth knowing exactly how many hairs he had on each foot, I have never been so pleased to hear those words! We swum in, and when I looked at my watch, we had completed 5,460 Metres in just over 1 Hr. 42 minutes! That was 20 minutes quicker than normal for me. "It's not how long you're in the water for, it's what you do when you're in there" said Nick. I would love to have had a photo of us all coming in for a feed, unfortunately, Beccy wasn't expecting us there for another 20 minutes, and when she arrived, we were long gone!

Swimming over to the Prince of Wales Pier, It was all I could do to get my arms out of the water, but somehow we just kept going, albeit somewhat slower than the first 2 hours! When we got there, Beccy was up on the Pier and took a photo. I remember just floating there trying to wave at her.

Above: Arriving at the Prince of Wales Pier after Nick Adams had left us, then below, swimming off across the harbour again.

The previous day, Beccy had commented that Mark and I looked like synchronised swimmers when we swum. We had an almost identical stroke. This could be that we were both taught by the same coach, John Stemp, in the 1970's and 80's. She took the photos below, which seems to emphasise this fact.

Above: West Suffolk Masters, Men's over 35 Synchronised Open Water Swimming Team in action!

Arriving in for our 3 hour feed, there on the shore, fully dressed was Nick Adams! He had got out! As we slowly came to shore I heard the schoolmaster voice - "Come on you pair of homo's! You look like a pair of turtles swimming ashore!". I couldn't help but laugh to myself, it was like being back at my old school, Moreton Hall. That's how the teachers spoke to us there. We fed, and swum off at the same speed as we sum in at, i.e. slow with arms barely breaking the surface.

Somehow, we made it to 5 hours, and completed 14,640 Metres. I was absolutely knackered, but pleased that somehow, we had crossed all the mental barriers, including the cold (my watch read 13.1 degrees Centigrade, 1.8 degrees colder than yesterday, Kevin Murphy's read 12.5) and completed a 6 hour and a 5 hour swim on consecutive days.

Emerging from the water, The General was smiling. "I'm not talking to you!" I said jokingly. "Why?" replied the General. "Did you tell Nick Adams to push us like that?" I smiled. "Yes, you were both holding back yesterday" she said. So even way out in the harbour during a 6 hour swim the day before, Freda had been watching us, and to ensure we were swimming as she wanted us to, and to make sure we complete our respective tasks this year, she put Nick in with us today to give us a helping hand. That's why she's called "The General". She commands, and get's respect from all the swimmers.

Total time in the harbour this week - 11 Hours.
Total distance covered - 32,740 Metres.

For training diary update click here