On Tuesday July 10, 2007 I swam to France...

Above: Hoffy & Support swimmer Loraine Verghese . Thanks Lorraine, you were a Godsend!

Yesterday morning at 06.50 hrs. I set off from the support Vessel Louise Jane in my attempt to swim the English Channel. I dived from the boat (see picture below), swum to shore at Samphire Hoe near Dover, raised my arm, then dived in to start on my momentus journey to France.

The experience and task was mammoth, and today I am feeling very sore. I can barely move my shoulders. I will update the blog when I return to Bury. However, suffice to say that 13 hrs. and 52 minutes after leaving Samphire Hoe, I walked ashore at Wissant in France to be greeted by about 30 cheering French men, women, and children who took photos and shook my hand. It was a very emotional experience which made me cry.

Please find below just a few of the many photos taken by BBC Radio Suffolk Reporter, Jon Wright, and my wonderful wife Beccy who fed me and watched me solidly for nearly 14 hours. From the bottom of my heart Bex, thank you.

Above: Leaving Samphire Hoe, near Dover, with about another 13 hours swimming ahead! A film crew from Dangerous Films Limited were on board and circling the boat to film for a documentary for The Discovery Channel about the Human Body. 

Above: swimming with Ferries, Super Tankers and the Dangerous Films Limited small boat with film crew on filling my lungs with Diesel fumes!

Above: Lorraine dives in to give me a helping hand whenever the support team felt I was struggling, particularly near the French coast.

Above: The very difficult job of feeding in The Channel. The longer the swim goes on, the smaller your throat appears to get making it very difficult to swallow. I swum on Maxim Original, Maxim Electrolyte, Bananas and 2 x Hot Chocolates.

Above: Bonjour Wissant, in France! A sight for sore eyes and tired arms! What Beccy didn't tell me was that as I swam towards the shore on my own, a seal was swimming along behind me. I think I would have swum much quicker had I of known!


Above: Back on board the support boat, Louise Jane after a long day in the channel. Tired, sunburnt, but very happy!

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Thank you. Hoffy.

Tapering down, preparing to swim the channel in just over a week...

Above: When we emerge from our training sessions, all our shoes are always neatly lined up waiting for us to step into them. 'Crocs' are obviously what the best dressed chanel swimmer is wearing this summer! Mine are the "Okey's" top right (NOTE - I must get fashinable and buy some Crocs).

Saturday June 30, and Sunday July 01, 2007 saw me start to taper the training down to a 3 hour training session each day. With just over a week to go before my channel swim attempt, it is important to keep my body fresh, and not overdo it, but to still keep training.

I did my 3 hours but throughout the session I kept thinking that I just wanted to swim the channel now. I felt ready. After about 30 minutes, I stumbled into Loraine Verghese and we did 3 widths of the harbour together (about 3,450 Metres). I found it really useful to swim alongside someone else who swims at the same pace as me. Loraine did exactly this, and on emerging out of the sea, I asked her if she would accompany me on my channel swim attempt as my "swim buddy". I was astonished when she immediately said "Yes, I'd love to". I was really pleased about this as I had been struggling to find anyone the same speed and who was prepared to do it. Loraine - "Thank you" and I look forward to seeing you on board the "Louise Jane" next week!

Above: Loraine Verghese and me prior to Sunday's training session. Loraine will be my "Swim Buddy" during the channel swim.

The Sunday swim, I found really boring. Having done a 7 hour and a 6 hour the week before, I really could think about nothing but the channel. I wanted to swim the channel I was fed up fannying around the harbour now, and so I decided at two hours I was going to get out. I spent the last 30 minutes thinking what I was going to tell Freda (The General).

"I'm ready now - I'm getting out". Mmmm. A bit weak.

"Freda - I don't care what you say, I'm ready now to swim the channel and I am getting out". But would she buy it? I doubt it.

I settled on "I'm bored now and want to get out". That would do it. She wouldn't stand a chance with that little beauty. She would be shaking in her boots when she heard that one. What could she possibly say to that one? This was going to work! Nothing she would say would stop me getting out!

Approaching swimmers beach, I started to break out into a cold swet as I saw her standing on the beach. I kept practising my lines over and over. Coming ashore, I knelt up and said "I'm getting out now I'm bored!". The roar nearly bowled me over in the water! "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE THEN? GET BACK IN THERE!" rooooAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! came the bold reply. I went rigid. Took my banana, ate it. Drunk my Maxim and swum away for my last hour with my tail between my legs.

Above: Feeding after my bollocking for asking to get out because I was bored.

Coming in after my 3 hours, I thanked Freda and we laughed. "You wouldn't get out if you only had an hour left to do in the channel would you?" she said. "No" I replied like a naughty schoolboy! Everything she says makes perfect sense, and you just can't help but see why she gets so many people across the channel.

Beccy was the puppy babysitter again this week for Sandy and Laura's puppy (our dog Casper has been sniffing that jacket all week).

Above: Beccy "puppy sits" Jessie the Jack Russel Puppy while we are swimming.

Well, I completed my two days, covering 17,900 Metres and it had been a successful weekend. Next weekend, I will be in Dover waiting to swim, covering just 1 hour per day until the swim. I will try to update this blog when I know I am swimming so watch this space...

I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who has helped me, trained me, supported me, and read this blog and who has made this whole experience something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It's been great fun, we've met some great people, and now we just have the big day to get through!

Kind regards.

Hoffy.

Another 6 Hour, 17.15Km swim just to make sure!

Above: Ecstatic about the thought of another 6 Hour swim the day after the first one!

The night of my first 6 hour swim was agony. Staying at the wonderful Sandown Guest House, I tossed and turned all night and barley slept due to the pain in my shoulders. When I got up I was knackered! I ate a full breakfast of a bowl of cereal followed by Bacon, Egg, Sausage, and beans, followed by a Herbalife Formula 1 Milk Shake, a cod liver oil tablet, 2 x Hebalife Schizandra plus tablets, a full flask of Maxim and 2 x paracetamol. I felt quite full after that lot! Somehow I was going to have to swim again and drive through the pain!

When we got to the beach, it was a totally different day than the previous day. It was dull, misty and not very warm. I really did not want to get into that water! I looked round at Beccy and she said "You wanted to swim the channel". My bottom lip dropped, she laughed and took the photo above.

I stripped off, and Cliff put the vaseline in the necessary places (armpits, side of face where beard grows and back of neck). I looked down into my Speedos just to assure myself that it really was a decent size, not the size it became after a 6 hour swim! I then slowly walked into the water.

God it felt cold. Much colder than yesterday, but then again it was probably due to the fact that there was no sun out. It makes hell of a difference when the sun is out. I dived forward and started to swim towards the Eastern Docks doing the same course as yesterday (It turned out to be 14.1 Degrees Centigrade actually, the same as the day before but just with no sun on your back).

After about two hours, the fog cleared. It was still cold, but not unbearably so and I received probably about 6 jelly fish stings. But this was old hat now, no problems. I came in for feeds (Maxim, Banana and pain killers) at 2 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, then there was just one hour to go. My shoulders really hurt. On the last hour, I slowed the pace down, and just swum to get through to hour 6. I was relaxed and in pain, but whenever it hurt, I just thought about something else. I switched off the pain. I headed towards swimmers beach at about 5 hours 50 minutes, and by this time the sea was really rough. Far rougher than the previous day's swim, but I was nearly there.

At 6.00 Hrs. I swum to shore, kneeled on the beach and was chuffed to bits! In two days I had swum 2 x 6 hours swims covering a total distance of 36.75 Km. This was a real milestone.

Above: Coming ashore after 6 hours. Relieved and pleased with myself.

I had now qualified to swim the channel not once, but twice in two days. Next week is the British Long Distance Swimming Association "Champion of Champion" event (5 Miles, 3 Miles then 1 Mile) in Dover Harbour. That should be easy after this most challenging but rewarding of weekends!

Hoffy.

Web: http://www.hoffyschannelswim.org.uk/
E-mail: paul@hoffyschannelswim.org.uk