Brilliant footage from Cameron's swim

This is from Cameron's swim on Saturday - it's brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEPM56acTVE

And no, none came that close to me - the closest ship to me was probably about 200 metres away.

All done

Well it's all over now, and all that's left is for me to wander around with a ridiculous smile on my face and floating a few inches off the ground.

This whole experience was everything I ever dreamed it would be and then some. I hadn't for one second expected that I would feel like this after the swim and I can't explain quite why it feels so special. But when someone walked up to me yesterday at Dover beach and said, 'Hello, Channel swimmer' my face nearly split open with the smile.

I'll do a swim report over the next few days but anyone who has read one before knows that they go on a bit so it will take me a while.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent texts, emails, tweets before, during and after the swim. The support I felt was just unbelievable and to know that so many people followed the tracker until the early hours of the morning makes me feel so blessed to have so many friends who care. John read out as many texts as he could during the feeds and they made me feel great. Especially knowing that Anna was there in her pink cossie stroke for stroke next to me. And my goodness I needed her those last couple of hours when the tide seemed to be pushing me away from France.

Unsurprisingly, I am over the moon with the time. 11 hours 5 minutes wasn't even in my wildest imaginings and everyone I saw afterwards said they couldn't believe how fresh I looked. Jane (observer and A-Team support crew with John) said she's never had a swimmer who was awake enough to talk all the way back to England before. Not really a surprise for anyone who knows me well.

And speaking of talking a lot, the man from the BBC came back to the caravan park to film a follow up yesterday afternoon. Duncan and his crew had already left to go to London yesterday morning and the interviewer was disappointed because Duncan had so much to say when he had filmed him on the Friday. Unlike me, of course, who also had so much to say but was mostly hyper-excited waffle on the day before the swim. So I'm sure you can all imagine what it was like when he was interviewing me yesterday afternoon.

The owners of the caravan park, David & Evelyn, are impossibly generous and enthusiastic about channel swimming, and as there were a few of us there who had successful swims on Saturday, they threw a party for us yesterday afternoon, which the cameraman filmed. The day was completely mental - exciting, wonderful, fantastic, amazing.

Now back in Yorkshire having a bit of a holiday before we head home next week.

Media tart

So a man from the BBC just came to the caravan park to do a feature on Channel swimming. Duncan and I were interviewed. Riveting footage of me packing my food crate. Apparently it's a show called Inside Out. I didn't even ask what kind of program it is. Could be the UK version of Today Tonight and I'll hang my head in shame. Hopefully my section will be skillfully edited so that I have something interesting to say. Although I was a bit stumped by the question "So what do you think of Dover?"

A Saturday swim

I had a stressful day wondering whether I was going to swim tomorrow or Saturday. Ultimately it's my decision but god it's an awful one to make. All I want to do is get in the water and swim. Forget all the decisions and organising and packing. I'm just looking forward to swimming so much. Today France looked so close you could almost touch it. Apparently the wind is supposed to still be quite strong in the morning and easing off during the day. Hopefully it will stay calm through most of Saturday. At this stage we're set to get in the water at 6.30am on Saturday morning (3.30 pm Sydney time.) That means I've got 13 hours to get the swim done before it gets dark again so fingers crossed I might have a daylight swim. It seems quite a few boats will be out on Saturday although I saw Duncan this afternoon and his pilot is taking him out tomorrow morning so best of luck to Duncan for his swim. Will confirm on here tomorrow if definitely on. Then it will be whether John is able to post any updates on twitter. The twitter address is www.twitter.com/swimfacilitator The link to the gps tracker is www.ais-doverstraits.co.uk and click on the link to Anastasia.

Saturday looking good. Let's hope this forecast comes good.

Had a chat to Kevin earlier about how to pick when to go. He said that looking at all the forecasts Saturday is looking like the pick of the days. Being number one on the tide always means I get first choice. But it's so hard to know with this changeable weather. Apparently the wind is forecast to be Force 1-2 on Saturday which would be unreal if it came true. I have mentally prepared for this to be as tough as it gets. I am still prepared for that but feel quite lightheaded with the thought that it might not be blowing a Force 4 all day out there. As they say, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Here's hoping.

Better update

Sorry about short post before. I have only just discovered how to blog from iPhone. All this technology is beyond me sometimes. The weather here is unbelievable. It bucketed down last night and woke up this morning to see clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight. Yesterday the sky was so low you could almost touch it. Still looking on for early hours of Friday morning (so about midday Australian time.) Saturday looks very good but as my pilot just said that's the curse of being number one on the tide. Decisions, decisions. And as I've quickly learned here 24 hours can make a huge difference. So if Friday is swimmable then I go Friday. If Saturday turns out to be better well that's just the chance you take. The worst thing could be to turn down Friday and then have Saturday blow out. Oh the tension is a killer! Tis a beautiful sunny day so we're off for some sightseeing in Canterbury. See twitter address in earlier post for a couple of pics.

Possible Friday swim

The Waiting Game

Tomorrow is the start of the official tide window so I could get the call at any minute. I stare at the phone like it's a bomb waiting to explode.

Yesterday was a glorious day in Dover and I had an enjoyable two hour swim in the harbour though the tide was out, it was pretty shallow and very murky. My pilot, Eddie, took a relay out last night before this weather front moves in. He has now said it will be Thursday or Friday at the earliest before I swim. It was beautiful this morning (and I thought he might change his mind and waited for a call) but the wind has swung round this afternoon and it's now blowing hard from the wrong direction, SW (NW is the best.) Kevin will be on my support crew if the swim is Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Jane if it's Saturday or Sunday. And John's on his own if it's Friday!

Had a (nearly) two hour swim in the harbour this morning. I was miserable - it wasn't a good swim and hopefully I just needed to get that one out of my system.

Will update when I can but now on slow computer in library so they won't be frequent.

Next week

I had my first chat with my pilot, Eddie, earlier today. He has looked at the long range forecast for next week and it looks as though there might be a window on Tuesday. It won't be a big one, but there might be one. So we'd be setting off in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with a few hours swimming in the dark and then into the dawn.

I can't allow myself to get excited yet as it's still only long range. But fingers and toes are crossed.

The Channel General

After Sunday's three hour swim, without a feed:

Channel General: How was that then?

Me: Great, thanks.

CG: How did you feel without a feed then?

Me: Yes, fine thanks. No problem.

CG: Do you hurt anywhere?

Me: No.

CG: Bugger.

Sunday's Swim

Sunday morning was another swim in Dover Harbour, again, three hours without a feed. The water was pretty lumpy for the first hour (it just gets a lot of wind chop as there's no swell given the shelter from the harbour wall) but then settled down. It didn't feel as warm as on Saturday and the water seemed dirtier as it was more churned up. Perhaps some of the novelty had just worn off and I wasn't quite as excited as the previous day...

Kevin made it down to the beach at about 12.30, given that he hadn't got home from observing for the 19.5 hour swim until 4am. He introduced me to Miyuki from Japan, who already has six solo swims under her belt and, last year, a 29-hour swim on an attempted double crossing. Once, Kevin tells me (as Miyuki speaks no English) she completed a six hour training swim in the harbour and then got the call from her pilot to swim that night. Off she went and swam across the Channel.

Kevin also introduced me to Jackie Cobell, the lady who recently set a new world record for the slowest crossing of the Channel in 28 hours 44 minutes. What an incredible lady.

When Kevin (finally) stopped talking and got in the water for his swim, I headed back to Yorkshire to catch up with family. As I drove away I thought about what it must be like for those who live in southern England who go down to Dover every weekend to train for a season or two in the lead-up to their swim. I feel lucky I have been able to change my training locations, from Coogee to Manly to Balmoral, to keep some interest; I imagine swimming between two walls in Dover harbour could get pretty tedious if you did it every weekend. But then to be a part of that community would be really quite special, and I imagine would leave quite a void after the swim.

Channel Stories

I spent Saturday afternoon drinking cups of tea on the couch of Jane Murphy, wife of Kevin Murphy (King of the Channel), along with Freda Streeter, mother of Alison Streeter (Queen of the Channel.) I could not have been talking to two more experienced support crew in the world. Some of the stories they told were jaw-dropping (but probably not fit to be posted on a blog, to protect the identities of those involved!)

And then Neil Streeter, Freda's son and long-time Channel pilot, dropped in for a cuppa. We talked about the Channel for a bit, and then some more, and then some more. I was actually chatting about weather and tides in one of the most fickle stretches of water anyone tries to swim across, with people who know more about them than pretty much anyone around. I am so blessed.

Ever since the last couple of tide windows blew out in August, apparently the Channel has been 'weird'. Last week, the tide carried people up the Channel one way but then didn't really turn much and carry them back the other way, seemingly why several people didn't finish their swims on Friday (OK, that's not a particularly technical explanation so I'll just stick with the fact that it was 'weird'.)

Those who did finish last week took much longer than anticipated, on the whole. One man whom Freda said was a good strong swimmer of around the 10-12 hour mark took 18 hours. We got a text from Kevin at about 3.30pm on Saturday afternoon. He was observing for a solo swimmer who, after about 9 hours, was 5 miles from the Cape. It then took him another 10 hours to finish. An incredible swim of 19.5 hours, but much longer than expected.

I absorbed all this and am preparing myself in case the Channel is still 'weird' next week. I will keep swimming as long as it takes. Freda's main piece of advice: "Never, never, never ask how far you have to go," because, as evidenced on Kevin's swim on Saturday, no one on the boat will ever be able to give you an honest answer and you might not like what you hear.

Just keep swimming til your feet hit sand.

Training in Yorkshire

£3.90 to swim in an over-heated indoor 25m pool.

No wonder I love ocean swimming in Australia.

First swim in Dover

I arrived in Dover on Friday afternoon and headed straight down to the beach. It was blowing pretty strongly out there and the white caps were dancing. BUT...... I could see the cliffs of France in the distance. I was quite beside myself with excitement. If I can see it I can swim it!

When I got back to the guesthouse I discovered several swimmers were out that day. I was quite surprised given how strong the wind seemed so that was lesson number one learned.

I have been on the Channel chat group for two years now, reading about the Dover harbour training sessions. Every Saturday & Sunday from the first weekend in May (when the water is a chilly 10 degrees) to the last weekend in September, swimmers head down to Dover for training. As the tides ebb and flow, the numbers dwindle through the season as swimmers head off to France.

Manning the shores is the infamous 'beach crew': Channel General, Freda Streeter, and Shingle Stompers, Barrie & Irene. The beach crew volunteers its time every weekend, sitting there all day, in all weathers, marking people in and out of the water, greasing them up, feeding them, all to help people's dreams come true. Their generosity of spirit is humbling.

It was such a thrill to be here and finally put names to the faces. I couldn't have been made to feel more welcome. And I was reunited with Jane Murphy (Kevin was out observing on a swim.)

Freda told me that Saturday's training swim was three straight hours without a feed. After having demolished a fantastic English breakfast at the B&B there was no way I needed any more feeding anyway so that was fine by me.

Dover harbour has two walls either side that would be about 1.2km apart and you swim between them. At the ferry wall end you swim beneath the shadow of a white cliff and Dover castle. As I swam by it for the first time the smile on my face was so wide - I was really here - swimming beneath the white cliffs. Breathe to the right and I could see the P&O Ferries coming in and out (safely on the other side of the harbour wall so they're not near any swimmers) - this was it, I was really living the dream.

The water seemed much cleaner than I thought, although when I got out I realised that the white lining of my new cossie was never going to see a lighter shade of caramel again. And it was much much warmer than I thought it was going to be. In fact, instead of the mocha that I usually dream about when I swim, I couldn't stop thinking about eating an ice cream. When I later spoke to Kevin he told me it was 17 degrees. I've obviously come a long way if I think that's warm!

The beach was an odd place on Saturday. Last Wednesday, five out of five swimmers made it across; on Friday, four out of five swimmers didn't make it, so it was a mixture of joy and sadness at the beach with hugs all round, regardless of the outcome. At some points it feels as though the Channel is a bit of a production line these days, with people queueing in their hundreds to swim each year. But then I don't think there's anywhere that has created such a swimming community as this place. And everyone on that beach is training for the same thing. We can only hope to understand the elation that comes from setting a foot down on French sand but also feel the pain of those whose dreams have come crashing down - for now. As they say, the Channel will always be there another year.

What a send off

I had the most beautiful send off last week from Anna & Millie at Balmoral. I couldn't even finish the double muffin stack they bought me. And I'm sure all in Awaba cafe thought we were mad drinking champagne at 8am (and yes, I did have a sneaky wee tipple.) I wonder whether they'll still be there tomorrow morning...

I have had the most incredible emails and text messages and if wishes could carry me to France I'd be floating there right now.