Thanks to everyone for their continued support over the last few months. I look forward to sharing my swimming journey with you and receiving your comments and ideas into the future.

My reflection of 2009 has reaffirmed my belief that no sports person achieves their goals alone. They are always surrounded by passionate, committed and visionary supporters. My journey has been no exception and I wish I had the space within this blog to thank everyone who has supported me. Instead, I have a Supporters page (http://www.chloemccardel.com/supporters/) and I encourage you to consider the marvellous companies who have provided me with quality products and support when making your next business decision or purchase.

Before I reveal my plans for 2010 I must make personal mention of my wonderous boyfriend Paul whose intuitive, meticulous eye for detail, planning, execution and business know-how have opened my eyes and my swimming possibilities beyond my imagination! …Not to mention spending 25 hours on my support boat in England without sleeping a wink Thank you for your amazing support!!!

To view my events calendar for 2010, and my results from my 2009 swims visit www.chloemccardel.com/events/ Some of these events are locked in and some I am yet to confirm. Here is a little bit of information about my most important swims for 2010:

Catalina Channel – Solo Swim (Swim Date TBC)

Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the US state of California. The island is located about 35 km (22 miles) off the south-southwest of Los Angeles, California.

All swims are overseen by the Catalina Channel Swimming Association. During the swim you have a boat (this must be registered with the association) and your personal support crew. Water temperature is between 16 Celcius in April and in August it is usually around 23 Celcius (62 -mid 70’s F) . 173 people have swum this Channel including 4 Australians.

For more information visit www.swimcatalina.org

 

Manhatten Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) – Race

This annual 28.5 mile swim race is a full counter-clockwise circumnavigation of the island of Manhattan. This event is organised by the Manhatten Island Federation. The mission of the Foundation is to expand public Learn-to-Swim programs throughout New York City (particularly those that serve at-risk youth), and to raise public awareness of the waters that surround New York by supporting efforts to clean and protect them

This swim is arguably the most competitive, prestigious, non-FINA marathon swimming race in the world. Solo entries for 2010 closed less than an hour after they opened. All solo entries were required to demonstrate a high level of marathon swimming experience. Expected water temperature is between 17 and 19 Celcius (62-66 F).

Australians have an outstanding success record at MIMS with previous winners including Shelly-Taylor Smith, Tammy van Wisse, John van Wisse and Penny Palfrey.

For more information visit www.nycswim.org

 

English Channel – Solo Swim (Double Crossing)  

The English Channel separates England from northern France. The Channel Swimming Association oversees marathon swims in this channel. It is only 34 km wide (21 miles) at its shortest point across the Strait of Dover. This Channel is one of the world’s busiest seaways carrying over 400 ships (600 vessels) per day. This is arguably the most prestigous marathon swim in the world. Water temperature is between 15 and 19 Celcius (59 – 66 F) depending on the month you swim and the weather.

The shortest distance across the Channel is from Shakespeare Beach, Dover (England), to Cap Gris Nez (France). The Channel has quite a lot of hazards such as seaweed and flotsam and jetsam (rubbish and timbers, etc.). It usually has a swell and when the wind is in the opposite direction to the tide it can turn quite choppy. The weather is always uncertain and local conditions can change in a very short time (30 minutes).

During the swim you have a boat (this must be registered with the association) and your personal support crew. 63 Australians have swum the English Channel, including myself in September 2009.

For more information visit www.channelswimmingassociation.org

 

Here are some basic rules which apply to all of these swims:  

During a swim attempt, no swimmer shall use or be assisted by artificial aids of any kind. Swimmers are permitted to grease the body before a swim, use goggles, wear one cap, wear one porous suit, neither of which may be designed either to retain body heat or aid in buoyancy. No wetsuits are permitted.

During a swim, no supporting contact whatsoever with the swimmer shall be permitted by any person or object.

For the Catalina and English Channel the following rules apply:  

The timing of the swim shall start from the moment the swimmer enters the water until he/she touches the opposite natural connecting shore, and clears the water. The observer is in charge of timing the swim.

For a swim to be officially recognized, a swimmer must cross the channel from the natural connecting shore, touch the opposite natural connecting shore and clear the water.

For double crossings to be officially recognized, a swimmer must cross the channel from the natural connecting shore, touch the opposite natural connecting shore, clear the water, return to the water directly, touch the originating natural connecting shore, and clear the water.

Next week I will be sharing my insights into Goal Setting!

Safe Swimming

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was content to write a closed letter to the CS&PF committee about my concerns until a member of the committee (Mike Oram) jumped on Channel Groups to make comments about my swim as an authoritative figure without even attempting to contact myself (the swimmer and customer) or my support crew. If Mike had bothered to contact me after my original post before posting himself, I would have made him aware (maybe he is already?) of serious safety issues and the lack of professionalism by CS&PF representatives on board the boat. His contact would have ensured this remained a closed letter to the CS&PF.

In addition, Mike has made serious errors in his summation of my swim which need correcting. I am sending this document to the CS&PF committee as well. This blog is now an open letter to the CS&PF (in addition I will follow this up with an official letter to the committee). Mich (from Channel Groups) believes “any concerns about pilots are taken seriously by the CS&PF and investigated accordingly”.  The CS&PF committee have an opportunity to prove Mich correct.

As both Charlie Gravett (CS&PF Chairman) and Mike Oram (CS&PF Secretary) have publicly misrepresented my swim on Channel Groups and have made incorrect comments about myself, I am left with little choice but to expose the details of the swim for people to have the opportunity to read for themselves.

CS&PF representatives on my boat during my swim:

• Pilot = Eddie Spelling
• Crew= Dave
• Observers= Nathan and Laura

Detailed Summary: 

1.            Pilot conduct (before and during my swim)

      I must restate that nowhere in my previous blog did I blame the pilot or crew for the outcome of my swim. If anyone can quote me blaming the pilot in my blog then I do encourage you to email me so that I may review the wording I have chosen and if necessary rephrase what I have written.

• The pilot, beach crew (p.s. i love the beach crew!) and boat crew knew when I was swimming before me (as outlined in my previous post).

The CS&PF website (under ‘swimming rules’) states that pilots must give the secretary 12 hours advance warning before a Channel attempt. Eddie’s contract states “a minimum of 24hrs is required to set up pilot / boat / observer”.

I rang my pilot Saturday night asking if I was swimming the next morning. He said ‘no’ and for me to call him at 9.30am the next morning. On Sunday morning I called him at 9.30am and he had just woken up and told me I was probably swimming that (Sunday) night and to call back in a few hours. I was shocked when Paul and I walked to the beach shortly afterwards (about 10:30am) and Freda and a couple of the beach crew told me that they believed I was starting at lunch time that day. They told me that the two observers had known since the day before (Saturday) that those involved in the swim were to meet at 11am for a midday start. I got back in touch with Eddie as I was confused about what was going on.  Was I expected to swim with 30 minutes notice, after just being told I wasn’t swimming until midnight (especially after having a large carbo-loading breakie)?  It was therefore impossible for me to be ready in 30 minutes. I spoke to Eddie and we mutually decided on Sunday night. Only Eddie and I had that phone conversation. So where is everyone getting this misinformation from?? I never delayed the swim (I had been waiting 4 and a half weeks why would I knowingly miss an opportunity?).

How is it that the Secretary must get 12 hours notice, the boat, boat crew and observers require 24 hours notice and yet, I only get 30min notice (2^nd hand notice from other people who are not my pilot) and no-one cares (aka no-one discussed this on Channel Groups when critiquing me)?

The swim start (meeting at 11am) Sunday was also organised without my permission/ final decision, even though Eddie’s contract (also accessible from my blog) clearly states: “It is, however, the responsibility of the swimmer/s and their support team to agree the final decision to make an attempt.”

• Both Nathan and Eddie made my support team feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome on the boat during the swim.

• Eddie refused to chart my swimming course on the navigation map that my boyfriend gave him after I had been swimming for only an hour. Eddie claimed the reason he wouldn’t plot the course was that he wasn’t given the map at the very start of the swim, keep in mind he had an electronic chart of the course in front of him which he could have easily copied.

• The boat crew provided very little information about the course when requested by the support crew.  On the 2^nd crossing the pilot closed the chart for the direction of the course so that my support crew could not see it.

• The pilot told me in writing to “get here before the tide start on the Spring and we will get you over then” 2/12/2008 but had no interest in keeping this commitment. I have an extensive email trail of this and I will be forwarding this to the CS&PF committee.

2.     Conduct of one observer / Role of observers

Since Mike Oram has been quoting the observers report, I am willing to post the report on my blog (if Mike Oram is okay with this – please let me know) to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to read the entire report.

Observers Report
This document is flawed because of serious inconsistencies, missing information and falsehoods:

• The last three sections (last three hours) where weather/swim conditions are supposed to be filled into the observers report of my swim are missing – this was when the conditions were at their worst (the boat crew told my support crew that the conditions were Force 6 at this time). This also means that Mike is not aware of the last three hours of my swim and cannot claim the worst conditions I experienced were a maximum of Force 5 or as he says, merely “uncomfortable”.

• The observers report lists waves at a maximum height of 1m which is incorrect because at Force 5 (which Mike acknowledges I was swimming in) the wave height is listed at 2-3m on the Beaufort Scale. This report is also inconsistent with the information provided by Nathan. He told my support crew that we were experiencing Force 6 conditions and at 11pm, just hours before I finished.

• My observers report (as previously mentioned) lists a maximum of 1 as the wave height. I am not quite sure whether this means meters or feet but they are both inconsistent with 19knot conditions (listed in the report and by Mike on Channel Groups). 19 knot conditions is towards the top end of 16-20knots which is Force 5 on the Beaufort Scale. According to the scale Force 5 is 2-3 meter waves and 6-9 foot waves, as 19knots is towards the higher end of Force 5 you would assume the waves in feet/metres are towards the higher end of these figures (and not ‘1m’).   

• Nathan was piloting from approximately 9pm until the end of the swim and Laura has been noted as sleeping between 8.45pm until at least 10.30pm. Who was observing during this time? How are there comments about my feeds in the observers report at this time? Have the feeds been falsified? No-one saw or asked my boyfriend before or after the feed what I had been fed. I was originally informed by the observers that Laura would observe on the 1^st crossing (while Nathan slept) and Nathan would do the 2^nd crossing as the observer while Laura slept – and yet he was my pilot for a few hours on the way back – so much for an independent observer.

• There are many missing feeds which are not on the observers reports. These feeds are not listed on either the observers report nor the feed report. The last three hours of my swim I was fed at least every 20-30 minutes but the reports do not reflect this. The feed report does not show any feed between 10:40pm and 11:30pm.

• Another inconsistency is shown at 16:37 the feed report says I had 300ml of maxim (only) and the observers report says I had maxim + soup. At 12.00 it says I had a feed for 2 minutes of 400ml maxim and aero bubbles. But at 12.03 I hit the Cape. Do they really expect anyone to believe that I fed for 2 min when I was less than 100m from touching France?

Observer Conduct – Nathan

Nathan piloted the boat for approximately the last 4 and a half to 5 hours of the swim. CS&PF committee members could you please clarify the role of observers during the swim? Can you please also clarify how observers can be pilots at the same time? Can you please explain to me whether you were aware of observers piloting boats, and especially in my example whether you were aware that Nathan was piloting my boat? Could you please also explain how I paid Eddie and his boat crew to take me across the channel and another person not named as boat crew was piloting? I assume that Nathan was a qualified and experienced pilot. Can you please confirm this?

I hope Nathan is licensed to be piloting (legally if required and) with CS&PF because my contract with Eddie states that “Both the craft and the pilot will be registered as required by the CS&PF and the English and French Coastguard authorities.”

In addition to the above, Nathan verbally abused myself and my support crew during the swim.

Observer Conduct – Who is observing?

The CS&PF website states: “The appointed Observer shall be in sole charge of the timing of the swim, and shall be responsible for observing compliance with the rules, subject to ratification by the Committee.” Towards the end of my swim (at the same time, as already noted above) one observer was sleeping and the other was piloting the boat. Nowhere in my observer documentation does it list at what time each observer is being the official swim observer.

3.     Conduct of two CS&PF committee members (post swim)

Mike Oram, CS&PF Honorary Secretary

      The following comments from Mike were posted on the Channel Groups chat site on the 2^nd December 2009.   

RE: Mike’s comment: “She was late in booking for a priority position and did not have a number 1 priority, but expected to be prioritised”

I booked one year in advance (which is not uncommon) and originally received third position. I communicated with Eddie via email asking if there was a cancellation could he please move me up a position. I said to Eddie that I could be free any week in the season if a better position popped up (this email trail will be sent to the CS&PF committee). Thankfully, someone cancelled and I became 2^nd position in my original week. Mike, is this what you call expecting “to be prioritised”?

RE: Mike’s comment: “She worked on her dream without fully comprehending the reality of what she was trying to do” and…  “in an enviourment (sic) she did not know or fully understand”.

Please explain. How did you come to these conclusions? What evidence do you have to support these accusations?

RE: Mike’s comment: “It was a good crossing however and the pilot managed to salvage
the crossing with a good turn around.”

This is an interesting view on the turn around after I hit the Cape. Ned’s post on the 30^th November on the Channel Swimmers Chat group from an account of the day of mine and Owen’s swim states that “After coming off the Cap, Chloe was driven North by the current.  When we saw her she was low in the water and going backwards.  I actually thought that Chloe was getting out at that point – but fair dues she hung in for another 10 hours”. Mike, would you call Ned’s description a ‘good turn around’ by the pilot?

This ‘good turn around’ can be seen from the GPS coordinates (see my blog) from my swim where I swim parallel to the French coast (and swam backwards as I had thought in my blog, due to the extremely strong tide on this particular day) for a long time….making no forward progress.

RE: Mike’s comment: “To blame the pilot (more to the point “the CS&PF and the pilots” as a group as she did not name her pilot), is not a good way to start.”

Nowhere in my blog do I blame ANYTHING on the pilot or blame the CS&PF. I do specifically say that I will not use either in the future but this is very different than blaming.

It is interesting that a few vocal CS&PF representatives are happy to celebrate successful crossings but do not want to hear about swimmers who were unsuccessful. I have had many emails from people supporting me. One person has emailed to me: “It is very refreshing to hear a report that is unafraid to express genuine sentiment and criticism…there certainly seems to be a real problem in addressing the issues that are of real concern to potential Channel swimmers such as choice of pilot or association”. These vocal few at the CS&PF accuse all swimmers who question their swim after not being successful of blaming their pilots and then they deflect attention away from the pilot to the perceived deficiencies in the swimmer. In their view it is obvious that the swimmer was suffering one or more of the following: didn’t prepare enough, didn’t want it enough, bring up issues only “when things don’t go their way” or is a ‘diva’. It seems a little hypocritical to blame swimmers 100% of time for failures and yet to get annoyed at swimmers who question their pilots. Aren’t you doing exactly the same thing that you accuse swimmers of doing? Are you saying pilots NEVER contribute to an unsuccessful English Channel outcome?

RE: Mike’s comment: “The general rule for a 2-way is to accept the first leg as a swim to the
start. You need to start the second leg in good condition for a hard swim – not tied (sic)… and having feed problems.”

• I knew the first leg was a warm up, I mentioned this in my blog before my swim.
• I was tired after the first crossing. Who wouldn’t be tired after swimming the English Channel with the strong current around the Cape? As Ned said “Them spring tides are strong (around the Cape) – it is no surprise to any of us”, so why bring it up, Mike? The tiredness goes away very quickly as the observers report reads (my emphasis)–
  • 12.03 Chloe hit the Cap
  • 12.30 Chloe “looking tired…but going good”
  • 13:22 “Chloe has a good swim to this feed”
  • 14.00 “Chloe has been going for 14 hours and still looking great and in good spirits”
  • 14:27 “Chloe is still going really strong”

RE: Mike’s comment: “All the pilots do their best for their swimmers but we can only travel with
the person in the water and are restricted with their ability to do the swim.”

Refer to Nathan piloting in the observers section of this document to see whether this was a pilot doing “their best for their swimmers”. Swimmers are equally restricted by the ability and the course set by the pilot and in my case for the last few hours, the observer acting as the pilot.

RE: Mike’s comment: “Chloe does not seem to have comes to terms with her failure and still has the need to apportion blame”

Another incorrect reference to me apportioning blame when all I said in my blog was: “I believe I have been painfully honest in my account of my swim. On a different day with a different pilot and boat crew or a lower tide or lower winds (preferably all of the mentioned!) I would have had a much more successful day.” I would never call crossing the English Channel a failure. I wanted to do a double crossing and it was within my ability. I double would have created “a much more successful day”. I don’t call swimming for 24hrs and 50min in any water a failure (let alone in the English Channel).

RE: Mike’s comment: “The pilot is there to… look after your safety…They (pilots)… produce you (sic) a safe path to a French beach” 

Mike, would you call Nathan (the observer) piloting in darkness and Force 5-6 winds back to England “safe piloting” or looking after my safety?

Charlie Gravett, CS&PF Chairman

The comments from Charlie (after Sally’s Channel Post) were posted on the Channel Groups Chat site on the 2^nd December 2009. Like Mike, Charlie has not consulted me about my swim so I wonder what sort of value, if any, his comments contribute to the discussion of my swim.  

On the other hand, Sally (Charlie’s partner) was out in the Channel on the day of my swim (like Ned) and what she has said on Channel Groups on 24/09/09 about the conditions on the day are more similar to Ned’s account than to Mike’s.

From: “Sally & ‘Charlie’” sinkors…@jerseymail.co.uk
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:40:38 +0100
Local: Thurs 24 Sep 2009 05:40
Subject: Re: [Channel Group] Re: Chloe McCardel 2-way

“I echo those sentiments completely.
We were a strong relay team of 5 people – who also caught in the strong
tides and winds that day – and only doing a solo crossing – and we passed
Chloe with Anastasia mid Channel (within about half a mile) way over to the
east of Dover!!!!
It was a tough day out there and Chloe did brilliantly to get as far as she
did…
Well done
Sal”

RE: Charlie’s comment: “Your pilot will stick with you when the going gets tough”

Charlie, I wish this were true for all of us. Unfortunately, when the going got tough (Force 5 – 6 conditions) the pilot was nowhere near the controls and Nathan (employed as the observer) was piloting the boat in Force 5-6 conditions and 6-8 foot waves. It was also in the last few hours of the swim in which Nathan says “who do you think you are, don’t you know I am the captain of the boat?” to one of the support crew.

RE: Charlie’s comment: “The pilot in question is amongst the very best”

Well if the CS&PF Chairman thinks that a pilot who lets the observer pilot the boat “is among the very best” then he either does not know what is going on, or he does know but doesn’t care about swimmer safety.

RE: Charlie’s comment: “He’s a qualified professional with years of experience.”

I don’t know how well the word “Professional” can sit with a pilot who:

1. Makes commitments to a swimmer he never intends to keep
2. Sets a swim day and time without consulting the swimmer
3. Allows the beach crew to inform the swimmer when they are swimming
4. Allows a non-boat crew person to pilot the boat (and does not consult / ask permission of the swimmer to do this)

The years of Eddie’s piloting experience did show in the successful hitting of the Cap in partnership with my swimming ability. But he had zero experience piloting successful double solo crossings (to my knowledge) and for that reason alone I should not have asked him to pilot for me (my mistake).

RE: Charlie’s comment: “I was saddened to see his good name being dragged through the mud” and “deformation of [Eddie’s] character” (defamation?)

Exposing safety issues and professional mistakes on a swim allows all involved in this sport to examine procedures and become more swimmer and safety focused. I would like Eddie and the CS&PF representatives on the boat to be accountable for their actions. I am hoping to work towards this by providing a truthful and well thought through analysis which is starkly different from defamation.

RE: Charlie’s comment: Chloe is a “naive swimmer”

Yes, I was naive in the fact that Eddie had zero experience piloting successful solo double crossings (to my knowledge) and for that reason alone I should not have asked him to pilot me (my mistake).

RE: Charlie’s comment: Mike’s post was “toned down for public dissemination”

It may or may not have been but many people will not think it fitting for a chairman to post the words you did on December 2^nd (see Charlie’s comments below).

RE: Charlie’s comments: Chloe was an “ill prepared [and an] unqualified naive swimmer” her main support person is an “unqualified boyfriend” 

It is strange to call someone who completed the 6 hour cold water swim as required and has completed numerous marathon swims around the world (see my website) as “unqualified”. How can I be an unqualified swimmer, how does one become qualified?

I do not believe it is fitting for the chairman of a federation to be describing any swimmer, who has met all the administrative and swim requirements of the federation (let alone an English Channel successful solo swimmer who swam for 24hrs + 50min) as “ill prepared [and an] unqualified naive swimmer”. Neither should a Chairman be describing one of her support crew as an “unqualified boyfriend”. If the Chairman had taken the time to look at the facts he would be aware that Paul undertook an incredible task of supporting me for 25 hours on the water, has swum the English Channel himself only 1 day before my own swim (in a fantastic time of 13:28 and has completed 5 Ironmans and supported many people for Ironmans). I also wonder what the “swimming ilk” of this world would think about these types of comments against a swimmer or support crew (especially those preparing for a Jersey swim?).

How does one become a “qualified” support crew for the English Channel? If you call Paul “unqualified” surely, the CS&PF have a qualification standard or requirement? Or maybe the CS&PF provide specific information for the support crew to prepare them for this incredible task? If the federation does, please forward to me as I cannot find any, anywhere.

For anyone who thinks I argued with my support crew, you will not see this in the observers report or hear it from my observers. In fact one of the support crews tweets from my channel swim which is still on Twitter describes my “perfect attitude and amazing energy… Go Chloe!” and “I was helping crew for Chloe, and I want to say she put forth an amazing effort...” (Channel Groups 22/09/09).

4.     Swimmer Safety

I accept and fully appreciate that (as stated in my contract with Eddie) “Channel Swimming is an extreme sport that has its dangers” and that I am required to swim a 6 hr qualifying swim to prove that I have minimum fitness to undertake a Channel attempt. Where is the “the CS&PF “Duty of Care” and awareness programme” available for swimmers to access? This programme is mentioned on Mike’s personal Channel swimming website http://www.channelswimming.com/training.htm. Can someone please define and make readily available the duty of care owed by the CS&PF, the pilot, the boat crew and the observers for the swim.

When the conditions were at their most severe the observer (Nathan) was piloting the boat. As I mentioned in my blog I was being tossed into the boat by the waves. When the conditions were at their most severe the boat kept losing me and I couldn’t keep up with the boat. My support crew kept telling Nathan to cut the engine so I could catch up (Eddie was downstairs). I was constantly falling behind the boat – this was extremely distressing for me, the swimmer.

Mike’s website states that “Both the CS&PF and your pilot put safety first, second and third”. What happened to this statement in the last hours of my swim? Please explain Eddie / Mike / qualified others why I wasn’t owed this duty of care at that time? My support crew were very concerned about my welfare in the last few hours of the swim, because the boat kept losing me and I was being left up to 50 metres behind the boat in the middle of the night in at least Force 5 conditions. They were also concerned in these last 5 hours at other times when I was being thrown against the boat due to the conditions combined with the lack of lighting for me to see where I was supposed to be swimming. Another concern was that Nathan was the only CS&PF representative on deck for a considerable portion of time during the last 5 hours (and the only pilot during this time).

If something had happened to me during those last 5 hours when Nathan was piloting who would have been responsible? Is the support crew responsible, or the pilot, or observers, or boat crew or the swimmer or a combination of the previous parties listed? Mike / qualified other please clarify…

I would encourage people to read the following article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/channel-swimmer–goes-missing-one-mile-from-success-665555.html). Richard was, according to Mike “very experienced” and “very qualified and more than capable of doing the job”. If Richard was an experienced pilot and yet lost a swimmer in 20knot conditions (Ueli, who was found dead 7 days later) is it not then also possible for Eddie to have lost me in those same conditions? And yet Eddie was not even piloting the boat when the conditions were at their worst.

 

The article claims that Ueli was swimming in 20 knot winds. Mike is quoted as calling these conditions 

“quite rough”, yet my swim had at least 19 knot winds and Mike calls my conditions merely 

“uncomfortable”.

 

As I have already outlined, the observers report lists 19 knot winds but is missing the last 3 hours of 

conditions, as noted earlier conditions were deteriorating rapidly towards the end of the swim. I assume 

that Nathan was a qualified and experienced pilot. Mike / others please confirm this... Richard was, 

according to Mike in the article was “very experienced” and “very qualified and more than capable of 

doing the job”.

 

The article continues to quote Mike... “Richard was an operator who had accompanied cross-Channel rowing 

attempts”. If he was experienced and yet lost a swimmer in 20 knot conditions is it not then also 

possible for Eddie to have lost me in those conditions? And yet Eddie was not even piloting the boat when 

the conditions were at their worst. My contract with Eddie states “It is the swimmers and their team’s 

duty to know the challenge they are undertaking and be aware of the possible conditions that can be 

involved.”

 

 How can the support crew look out for the swimmers welfare when the boat crew decide to stop sharing 

information with the support crew? Where is the information (via the CS&PF website or via the information 

which is sent out with swimmer/s paperwork) directed towards the support crew to assist them with the 

massive task of supporting a swimmer/s to cross the English Channel? As mentioned on the CS&PF website 

“English Channel Swimming is an Extreme endurance Sport that can result in injury or even death”. How can 

the CS&PF acknowledge the severity of this swim and yet provide little / no information for the support 

crew who work so closely with the swimmer during the swim?

 

The only advice from my pilot was via the contract in which it is stated that swimmers and support crew 

need “to be aware that sea sickness can be a serious problem for the support team members on the boat.” 

Although there is virtually no documentation / other training for the support crew from CS&PF, the 

Chairman of the CS&PF has the audacity to claim my main support person was “unqualified”. This is strange 

considering the CS&PF provide no assistance / qualification and do not require any qualification to be a 

support person. Charlie / other committee members please explain Charlie’s comments.  

 
 
 

The CS&PF website claims “There is a reason for the rules we work under”. Well, what are the exact 

rules and guidelines for the pilot, boat crew, observers and support crew on the boat during the swim?  

What do I know about CSA?

Paul swam with CSA (a day before me, I was not on his boat as I was resting for my swim). Paul was extremely happy with his experience from the first contact with his pilot, through the swimming journey to France, on the way back to England and post-Channel. His pilot (Eric Hartley) was very encouraging of Paul during his swim (lots of thumbs up and encouraging words), made the support crew tea every hour of the swim (it’s all on video too), popped champagne he had brought (as a surprise) at the conclusion of the swim and was very open with his communication with Paul before the swim. Paul was personally congratulated by the President of the CSA (who is not a pilot) via email a few days after his swim. I wish I had had the same English Channel experience as Paul!

I have been in email contact with Julie Bradshaw (President of CSA, world record holder for the English Channel) and I trust if I have any concerns with the CSA that she would listen carefully to my concerns and address them in a professional and balanced way.

I have also met Reg Brickell and I have spoken to him at length. He also has the record for piloting the fastest female solo double crossing so I trust that I am giving myself the best opportunity for success with himself as the pilot.  

My mistake (please correct me please if I am wrong with this guess the info is difficult to obtain on the internet) is that I picked a pilot without any previous success of a solo double channel crossing (to my knowledge). I picked a pilot with a zero success rate for what I wished to accomplish. It didn’t matter how many successful solo swims he had because a double crossing for both the pilot and swimmer (and the crews) is much more difficult.

It doesn’t matter what the result of my swim was (success / failure / single / double), the conduct of two CS&PF individuals during the swim (Eddie and Nathan) and the Hon. Sec (Mike) and Chairman (Charlie) after the swim has been totally inappropriate. Pilots have a duty of care to their swimmers in one of the most dangerous extreme sports in the world and they also run businesses for commercial gain and must provide the service they claim to offer / which is in their contract. For these two reasons Pilots should be held accountable for their conduct. CS&PF representatives on the boat should act professionally at all times. Likewise, CS&PF committee members should act professionally on the Channel Groups website and refrain from slandering and misrepresenting swimmers.

The article about Ueli (the swimmer who drowned), states that the CS&PF was set up when “Mr Oram was suspended from the list of registered pilots of the Channel Swimming Association after a complaint from a swimmer that crew were allowed to sleep below decks, leaving “insufficient crew on station to attend to the safety of passengers during bad weather and rough seas”” (www.independent.co.uk). It would appear that I am not the only one who has taken a stand for the safety of swimmers in the English Channel.

Hopefully, the safety issues exposed in my swim and the similarity to those of the death of a swimmer in similar conditions will encourage the CS&PF to look closely at how the safety of the swimmer/s is better protected to ensure the safest passage for English Channel swimmers.

Suggestions:

1. The explicit duty of care of the CS&PF and the pilot and the role and expectations of behaviour of the observers, boat crew and pilot is sent out with paperwork before each season starts.
2. Observers are informed when they apply for this role that they cannot perform other roles on the boat (including, but not limited to piloting the boat), even when they are ‘off duty’.
3. There are currently no requirements for support crews to undertake any specific training, nor is there any specific information provided for them by the CS&PF. I would suggest a dedicated document is sent out with each swims / teams paperwork well before the swim season starts. There are many very knowledgeable people within the CS&PF community (Freda, Ned and others) who could have input into a document for support crew. There may even be some tech savvy CS&PF members who could make a clip for U-tube or similar. 
4. If observers are sharing the observer role during a swim they notify the swimmer in writing who will be observing for each section of the swim (e.g. there is a standard CS&PF form which is filled in and handed to the support crew at the start of the swim).
5. Committee members state their title when posting on Channel Groups so everyone can recognise they represent the CS&PF.
6. A feedback about their whole Channel swimming experience from their first contact with CS&PF through to the conclusion of their swim (success or not so successful) form could be mailed to swimmers and /or support crew after their Channel swim.  This information could hopefully be used in a positive way to improve the channel swimmers experience for all (similarly pilots/observers may wish to complete a similar form). This form could include a section regarding safety.  

——————————————————–The End——————————————————————-

In my last blog entry I thanked many of the amazing and supportive people who have assisted me in my English Channel swim and I also covered my perspective on my first crossing from England to France. To recap briefly, the first crossing had good conditions with low wind in most parts. I became frustrated near France and especially after reaching French shore as I took two hours longer than I had predicted to complete the first crossing (despite feeling strong, good weather conditions, not feeling cold and averaging 6.6 km an hour in many parts). Something wasn’t adding up…

The next section is the second section of my swim report: English Channel (France towards England). (Please note: my ‘boat crew’ refers to the crew provided by the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation or CS&PF and my ‘support crew’ refers to Paul, Mike & Craig who I had personally chosen to feed and support me during this swim).

I had no choice but to swim very solidly the last two hours of my England to France crossing so that I could force my way through the strong tides around Cape Gris Nez. Every swimmer wishes to hit Cape Gris Nez to save precious time. When I touched the rock on this Cape in France, Paul was behind me (he had jumped out of the boat and swum behind me, this was necessary according to the rules). It was lovely to share this moment with him but I was also very tired and slightly disorientated from the physical effort of reaching the Cape.

I had pondered a few times in preparation for this swim about this exact moment. Advice from both Anne Cleveland (double English Channel swimmer) and Freda Streeter (who mentored her daughter though two separate double crossings) was to view my first crossing as a warm up. I followed their advice and I felt much fresher viewing my swim this way. I don’t think the mentality of ‘I have already swum the entire channel and now I am swimming it all over again’ would be very helpful to any swimmer in my situation. It was therefore easy to turn around and start my second leg. Ten and a half hours was my longest previous continuous swim. I had already swum the English Channel and swam longer (in both distance and time) then I had ever in my life. But this was only the start of a very long 25 hours…

The return journey challenged me on many levels; physical, mental, spiritual and intellectually. I was shocked when I was told I had swum 12 hours and three minutes but I also understood that the last section of my first crossing had dragged on for a long time. I reasoned with myself that I could get upset and ask questions of the boat and support crew or I could swim as fast as I could towards home. I knew I had precious little time as there was a Force 6 scheduled 6am Tuesday morning. I had started approximately 12.30am Monday morning, it was therefore about 12:30pm Monday lunchtime. I needed to beat the Force 6 winds by getting back to England, I needed to beat hypothermia which would be slowly eating away at my core body temperature and little did I know the new challenges I would need to beat…

The return journey started fairly well with swimmable conditions and a low to medium wind for the first 6 hours. The sun was high in the sky and I was kept under watchful eye of my support crew who ensured that at least one person was always watching me (I am sure this would have been very boring hour after hour after hour!!!) They chatted to each other and I was curious as to what they were chatting about. Sometimes all three of them sat on deck and watched me. I felt like a zoo animal in an enclosure, like a different species. Maybe I am a different species? After all, why would someone want to swim for 20+ hours continuously in challenging conditions? Philosophical questions kept my head busy in between very short feeds with little verbal communication. It also helped distract me from analyzing the puzzling question of what had happened during my first crossing.

At this stage I had well and truly left France behind and I could not see land neither in front nor behind me. Visibility into the distance from my low position in the water was difficult and made more so by my dark blue coloured goggles. I watched the boat continuously. I often watched the front of the boat where the captain controls the boat. There was often no one there. I wasn’t too worried about that at this stage. I kept swimming. The boat crew had informed me that the boat would dictate the direction I would swim and I would dictate the speed. This sounded like a reassuring arrangement. As I swam along I had had lost sight of land which meant I had lost the ability to judge distance and speed against a fixed object – I had only the boat to guide me. Although I had nothing solid to support my belief, I became convinced I was not actually moving forward.

It is very disturbing to have been swimming for 16-18 hours and realise that you may have wasted the last few hours. I was starting to believe that my swimming energy had been expended, my beliefs in forward progress nurtured falsely and time had been lost against the encroaching Force 6 winds. I wasn’t happy. I insisted to my support crew I wasn’t swimming forward. I became very frustrated. I stopped swimming or treading water to test my beliefs and was literally pushed backwards at an alarming rate. I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t swimming back to England, I was swimming on the spot to prevent myself from being pushed back to France. It was very demoralising.

I asked to speak to the captain and one of the observers (there were two as I was attempting a double crossing) came out. I questioned her about the tide and she said we were ‘waiting for the tide to turn’. I asked when this would be and she said she couldn’t tell me. In fact, I was told it was already turning. I asked to speak to the captain and was given a similar response. No-one could tell me how much time was wasted or when I would start moving forward. This was a difficult period of swimming.

I continued swimming for the next few hours and I was told that Ali Streeter (an amazing marathon swimmer) was piloting with her boat a relay team across the channel and that I had passed them. Although my support crew were stretching the truth they knew it would give me a psychological boost which I needed after the previous period of swimming and also because it was turning into night, the air temperature was dropping and the wind was lifting which would be testing me even more (cooler air and water temperatures increase the chance and severity of hypothermia).

It was at this stage that I was thoroughly suspicious of the information that I was being fed. I wanted to know how close I was to shore. This is a difficult question in the best of times due to the unusual ‘S’ curve of English Channel swimming, the differing pace of the swimmer and the wind and tides. I was persistent with that question. The last 5 hours of my swim were horrific. My body had already endured approximately 70km of swimming in cold waters (15-17 Celcius) and now I had to deal with a boat crew I did not trust and wind and water chop which was determined to break me. It was now pitch black, I was getting battered by waves and thrown against the boat and I only had two questions on my mind ‘Where is Paul?’ (my security blanket and the only one I trusted 100%). Paul was always there but in the pitch black I couldn’t see him. The other question was ‘How long till we get there?’

I was being told firmly by the boat crew not to swim into the boat. I was told to swim wide of the boat 10m and towards the back of the boat as the waves would be smaller in this place. This was like telling a 3 year old to walk 10m in front of them and then 4m to their right. After 20 hours of swimming I was experiencing the early stages of hypothermia.  My thinking became simplified. Numbers were difficult to judge and even if I could judge them accurately I was being pushed in all directions by the waves and there was no lighting in the water to guide me. Finally a torch-light was placed where they wished me to swim (Paul’s brilliant idea) and I focused all my energies on following the light (like mosquitoes towards bright lights at night) and keeping my arms churning over.

I could see many lights in the horizon but I didn’t believe the pilot/boat captain with his estimate of how close we were to shore (1-2 hours). I was thinking maybe it’s another 5 hours? Or could it be another 3 hours? The waves were sapping my energy. I began falling off the end of the boat and shouting for the boat not to leave me behind. I was then convinced the boat was taking 90 degree turns away from me, upon reflection I may have been swimming in random directions due to the hypothermia. The waves kept coming. When I was forced to swim near the end of the boat (due to the conditions) I was swimming close to the engine and I was very vocal about how concerned I was about the possibility of getting  my limbs ripped off (I knew the boat had many blinds spots and they could not always see where I was). I found it very difficult to stay with the boat. I was out of the water after 24 hours and 50 minutes of swimming. The boat was as bad as swimming (if not worse). It rocked like it was about to tip over with every wave that crashed into it. It was nauseating and extremely uncomfortable. I wanted to go home (our accommodation) and get into the bath. Paul rapped me in towels and blankets (he was my guardian angel the whole swim and when we got home afterwards).

It took 1 and a half hours to get home in the boat, you can imagine how long that would have taken to swim (much longer than I was being told)… The Force 6 winds had come early, much earlier than anticipated. It supports the notion that Spring tide weather can change very quickly. 

When I returned to our room Paul ran a bath and I jumped in. I called him into the bathroom to inform him that the room had been redecorated while we were out. I insisted (and firmly believed) that there were stickers on the bathroom walls, door and all surfaces except the mirror. In fact, there were stickers on my legs! He said I was hallucinating. I was honestly shocked. And then I realised it must be true (the sticker shapes were changing as I observed them)!

I believe I have been painfully honest in my account of my swim. On a different day with a different pilot and boat crew or a lower tide or lower winds (preferably all of the mentioned!) I would have had a much more successful day. But I still crossed the English Channel and became the 62^nd Australian to have ever done so. I amazed myself by swimming for such a long time and for a really tough last 6 hours of 6-8 foot waves and 50km/hr winds. The channel didn’t beat me on that second crossing but I do feel let down. I was and I am still (with the same distance and style of training) capable of swimming what I had hoped to achieved – a double crossing of the English Channel. 

If there are any marathon swimmers reading this and planning to swim the English Channel I strongly implore you to strenuously investigate your pilot and federation you wish to use for the crossing. A £2000 (English Pounds) non-refundable fee per intended swimming crossing is too much to sacrifice to an unsuitable pilot and boat crew (feel free to email me for advice). All of my future English Channel swims will be exclusively conducted with the Channel Swimming Association or CSA and with the very experienced and accomplished pilot Reg Bricknell.

This final swim report instalment is two months after my swim. I have had plenty of time to reflect on the whole journey. There were certain money-focused and unprofessional people that I was forced to deal with during this journey but I will not be going into details here about their behaviour. I am now very aware for next year. I will not let them tarnish my fantastic journey and success. After a very challenging, interesting and rewarding English Channel journey I will certainly be back in 2010 to swim the English Channel both ways!!!

Thanks for following this journey, just one of many more swimming journeys to come!! Next blog will include my swim calendar for 2010!

My first thought is that I have had so much amazing support and I have so many people to thank for their efforts in assisting me to swim the English Channel. A big thank you to my boyfriend, the Everyready superstar Paul McQueeney who swam the English Channel and then jumped onto my support boat (for 26 hours) only a few hours after the conclusion of his own swim! To the support crew on the boat Craig and Mike who jumped in to assist with supporting me with only a few days notice; thanks to Craig, Pete and Rog for updating my twitter; thanks to Freda Streeter for her 27 years of amazing knowledge and experience that she has so graciously passed on to myself and Paul; thanks to my supportive family for keeping everything on track for my return to Melbourne, thanks to Mandy for looking after my most treasured friend in the world (my doggy Bazza), thanks to those who have believed in my ability to swim the channel and assisted meeting my costs – Lenovo, Bioeffectives – Multivitamins, Colorpak Packaging, Garry Burson from Burson Autoparts, Cut ‘n Fresh Salads and the ‘B’ Squad from Harold Holt Pool. Thanks to Michael Renford and the many channel swimmers at Dover and from around the world for their friendship and advice. Thanks to everyone who I haven’t mentioned for their kind words of support!

The next section is the first section of my swim report : English Channel (England – France)

The window or tide that I was booked on was a Neap tide from the 11th to the 16th of September and I was position two. Position two means that once position one swims I am offered the next position. The whole channel swimming season was very poor due to high winds and you may remember me saying (on a previous blog entry) that many swimmers had to go home without the opportunity of even getting in the water (their window was not swimmable). My window was wiped out completely. I therefore swam had an opportunity to swim on the following Spring tide. The challenge with Spring tides is that the weather can change very quickly (aka wind can blow up quickly) and the water (tide) runs very fast. Fast water is great if you’re swimming with it but it is horrible to swim against (think swimming on the spot) and it can easily force you to swim extra kilometres then you would otherwise (for a double crossing). I had the opportunity to swim on a Spring tide or go home not having swum at all. I had a serious think about it, looked at various weather / wind websites (my favourite being windguru.com), consulted various people – including my pilot and accepted the only day on the following Spring tide which seemed feasible. I knew bad wind (gale force) were coming Tuesday about 6am (I was leaving Monday 12am) but I backed myself and believed that I could finish the swim within 20 – 24 hours .

I knew the tide I was swimming upon was fast but not that it was the biggest/fastest tide of the whole entire season and a tide that many experienced pilots would refuse to send a double attempt out on (I learnt that later)! Because my original Neap swim window had closed I had lost my original support crew (they were now unavailable) and I was still frantically trying to get my support crew organised just hours before my swim. After the excitement and celebration of Paul completing his crossing the same morning of my crossing I had to quickly refocus on my double channel attempt. After very poor communication from my pilot about my starting time we finally agreed upon Sunday midnight at 12.17am to leave from the beach. As I was informed I arrived at the boat at 11pm to find the driver still asleep and the observers then arrived. Kevin (who is from Melbourne and swam the channel in August 2009) and his partner Sandra saw us off from the Dover Jetty.

In the boat we headed towards the starting point for the swim which was the beach named Sanfire hoe. I was covered in so much Lanolin (wool fat) that I wasn’t sure whether I was Arthur or Martha (see photos). I started in pitch black and swum for another 6 hours until the sun started to rise. The first 6 hours were great. I felt fresh, the water and air temperature wasn’t bothering me (the air temperature at night is considerably cooler). Feeding was tough because the boat wasn’t lit up so I couldn’t recognise who was who on the boat. Feeding was also difficult because I was swimming with the tide and the drink bottles move at the speed of the tide even when I was stationary! My eyes were just above water level (looking to my left and right) so it was difficult to see far into the distance unless I changed my stroke and looked forward like waterpolo players do. I did manage to see a few ships lit up like floating Christmas trees in the dark (a rare pleasure in a very repetitive environment), an array of beautiful stars (stars always look brighter away from cities) and a magnificent sun rise!!

The second 6 hours were also exciting as the sun rose and I could see the familiar faces of my support crew. I think I swam into a ball at one stage (it is common for cargo ships to lose containers and for their contents be floating in the channel) and I also swam though a bit of seaweed. I got a bit impatient at the 9 hour mark because I had been swimming at such a strong pace with the assistance of a strong tide that I believed I was very close to the coast. The direction of English Channel swims of an ‘S’ curve necessitate swimming close to the French Coast before moving away and then later reaching land. I knew of many swimmers who were fooled by this mirage – it was very frustrating indeed. I believed at my speed I should have made the first crossing in 10 hours. The exact reason I didn’t make the coast in time is for anyone’s guess. Looking at the charts of where I swam shows that I did an ‘S’ curve much, much larger than usual.

Every English Channel swimmer desires to reach Cap Gris Nez on the French Coast. It saves an extra 1—3 hours swimming. Whether you reach the coast is a combination of a few factors (the tide is very strong around that area). I did reach the coast but not before 2 consecutive hours of swimming the strongest aerobic pace I have ever swam in my life! This was the first point I realised something was very wrong. With absolute exhaustion I swam into the point with Paul behind me to share in the experience. I touched a French Rock on the waters edge. It was the most average and the most amazing rock I have ever touched. I had been told by others that the first crossing of a double crossing is your warm up. I had finally finished my 12 hours and 4 minute warm up and I was ready to swim home!

I will post my second part of my swim within the next week! I am currently enjoying time-out at Lake Como in Italy with Paul.

Arrivederci!

Chloe all lathered up with goose fat before the swim

After an exciting 12 hours and 4 minutes I touched my first piece of French soil – a very beautiful rock! That rock has cemented my place as the 62^nd Australian to have swum the English Channel :) My amazing boyfriend Paul became the 61^st Australian to cross the English Channel a few hours earlier!!

I swam the English Channel in a time of 12hrs and 4min. Unfortunately, due to Force 5 & 6 winds (50km p/hr & 8 Foot waves) I was prevented from completing my double crossing. I had swum for 24hrs and 50 min and covered around 100km.

I will upload a more detailed account of my swim in the next week or two. Many thanks to my amazing support crew and so many of you who have sent me well wishes and congratulations.

One of my support crew Mike Solberg not only crewed my swim but also swum the channel a couple of days before my swim to raise money for charity. He is raising money for Angola which is recovering from the results of a 27 year civil war. Angola has the hope of a peaceful future, the hope of recontruction, the hope of it’s children, who deeply long for education. Mike is aiming to raise at least $50,000 to help these children flourish and rebuild their country. He believes swimming the channel, although challenging is worthwhile for the children of Waku Kungo ‘it is not a burden, but a gift’. I encourage everyone reading this to support his incredible efforts by visiting his website www.swimmikeswim.com :)

I also, owe many thanks to the many sponsors who have believed in my ability and supported me in my journey. I look forward to catching up with you all individually and thanking you personally when I am back in Australia.

Lastly, on behalf of myself and Paul we cannot thank Michael (Murf) Renford enough. He has been an amazing source of inspiration and a wonderful mentor through both of our English Channel journeys.  

My spirits are still high and I am planning another big swim very soon. Stay tuned for a possible announcement in the next 7 days!

The AMAZING support crew of L-R Paul, Craig & Mike (www.swimmikeswim.com)

Chloe behind the inflatable boat touching a FRENCH ROCK!

Very Windy White Cliffs of Dover

Ignoring suggestions to fly, catch a ferrie or train or even a car, I am swimming off to France! At 00:11 tonight the 21/9/09 I will be starting my journey to swim a double crossing of the English Channel.  I will be following the advice of both Freda Streeter (mother of Ali Streeter who has swum the channel 43 times) and Anne Cleveland who have offered the following advice:

“Remember, when you do a two-way your swim starts in France, but you must swim (from England) to your starting place, which is a beach in France. Your swim from England to France is your “prerequisite swim”. Your swim is finished when you crawl out on a beach in England.” – Anne Cleveland

I have been so inspired by my boyfriends own crossing of the English Channel which finished just this morning (and in an amazing time of 13hrs+ over 50km) that I intend to use his swim to give me extra strength when the cold really starts biting in deep. I have had so many well wishes from sponsors, family and friends and I will hold these very close to my heart as I swim up to 100km on my round trip!  

Follow my journey on Twitter at http://twitter.com/chloemccardel or via GPS on my boat http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0BmAad26YdAEXF3xrrW7t1uWuEUKPUDcT 

See you soon !!!!

Chloe getting ready to swim in Dover Harbour

Training in Dover Harbour

Pete & Paul at dinner

My amazing boyfriend Paul is just hours away from being the 61st Australian to swim the English Channel. He has been swimming with me in 17-18 Celcius water everday (save 3) for the last month in Dover Harbour England getting ready for his own single crossing. I have been updating his progress on his twitter (Englishchannel9) for the last few hours. I am now lucky enough to confirm that I will start my own swim at either UK lunchtime tomorrow, Sunday, (approx. 14 hours) or most likely late Sunday night (approx 24 hours). I will be sending a Media Release out shortly. Just to give you the heads up when I start my swim you can track my boat ‘Anastasia’ at  http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0BmAad26YdAEXF3xrrW7t1uWuEUKPUDcT and my crew will be doing live updates on my Twitter so make sure you follow me (just type ‘Chloe McCardel’ into twitter to find me  

Here are some of my Twitter updates for Paul:

Englishchannel9Paul is passing swimmers who started hours B4 him!! MOM is powering to FRANCE !!!!

Englishchannel9Paul is now averaging 4km an hour! WHAT A FREAK’N GUN!!!!!!!!! GO PAUL

Englishchannel9Paul is doing AMZINGLY!!!! he is ovr 1/2 way, the water is still flat & he is all thumbs up! His support crw R also doing well!!! Thkscrew!

Englishchannel9Holding this pace he will cross the channel in 12 and a half hours!!!!!!!! 3-5 hrs quicker than expected

There are 9 boats out tonight each taking either a solo swimmer or a team across. Most people/teams are doing a solo crossing. There is an american team which has just finished their first crossing of a double you can follow their progress at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0RsLqd0OfljkLGCkqOSpPqE8DLAaEKhMc. An Irish lady who I mentioned in my last blog is also doing well, you can track her progress at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0BmAad26YdAEXF3xrrW7t1uWuEUKPUDcT. There is a minister from the US who is 1 position in front of me with my pilot (hence why I am not out tonight) who you can track at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0BmAad26YdAEXF3xrrW7t1uWuEUKPUDcT - he is very close to finishing!!!

I can’t finish this blog without an enormous THANK YOU to Pete (Melbourne) and Mel (Syndey) who flew all the way from Australia to support Paul, but unfortunately (due to very bad winds over a long number of days) just missed Paul’s swim by a day or two. Another SUPER THANK YOU to Bel from (UK and soon from Switzeralnd and her friend Steph Case (Canadanian Ultramarathon runner) for jumping on Paul’s boat and doing an AMAZING job supporting him (PS thanks Steph for training him with the whistle)

Tonight/the early morning is going to be filled with Celebration, Moet Champagne, Hugs, Congratulations and a Warm Bath for PAUL   I AM SO PROUD OF YOU PAUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will blog again tomorrow

Paul with the famous White Cliffs of DoverAlby, Mel, Pete, Chloe & Paul having drinks

It is Sunday night and officially the third day of Paul’s and mine ‘window’ or ‘tide’ for swimming the English Channel. The window is only 6 days long so we have our fingers and toes crossed in anticipation of our chance to swim. We communicate daily with our pilots and we also jump onto www.windguru.com to check out the weather forecasts to help ease the frustration of guessing and waiting…  Besides the waiting game Paul and I have been busy with a few other things…

Paul and I caught up at Cullens pub for dinner with Freda Streeter  who is known as “The Channel General”. She has been involved in channel swimming for 30 years, of which 27 of those years have been coaching by the shores of Dover. Channel Aspirants from all over the world congregate in Dover Harbour to prepare for their swims and Freda and her volunteer support crew are there every weekend and many week days over the English summer period. She is loved by and has supported many swimmers across the world to achieve their dreams! She is always willing to offer her advice and help to those who ask. She assisted Paul and I with our feeding plans for our swims and offered a few gems of wisdom. The most important advice I took away was to view my first crossing to France as a ‘warm up’ and when I hit the shores of France to swim with the belief that I have just started my swim J  

Only a few days after our dinner with Freda we were at Cullens pub again! This time we had a selection of new faces who had all arrived in Dover to support us. Alby, who is the head our group the Black Rock Icebergers (also known as ‘Black-Ice’ www.black-ice.com.au) had come from Melbourne Australia (where we live) to support Paul in his crossing. The support crew expanded as Peter and Mel (both friends of Pauls) bounced into Dover (their enthusiasm is contagious!). They had spent a few days in London before catching the new high speed train into Dover. Lastly, Kevin who I have mentioned in an earlier blog (he swam the English Channel in August this year) arrived with his partner Sandra. The seven of us had a delightful afternoon of drinks and snacks followed by a dinner immersed in Jazz music J

To finish in a neat trifecta we found ourselves at Cullens a third time tonight where we dined with Alby, Pete, Mel, Sandra, Kevin and two of Alby’s British friends. Towards the end of the night Mo and Jim (a few locals who I have mentioned in earlier blogs) dropped in and we had a good chat about the weather conditions within the channel. As an added bonus we also found the Irish English Channel swimming and support crew headed up by Ned. They have 9 successful English Channel crossings from 9 starts which is an enviable total by any marathon swimming standard. I was happy to find Lisa in the group who I had been exchanging emails with before she arrived in Dover. She is also swimming a double crossing and we have been training in the harbour together! Check out her blog at http://swimmingthechannel2009.blogspot.com/ :)

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to delve into English Channel history within this blog (as I promised). But it will be coming soon!!! One more thing… there will be a Global Positioning System (GPS) on my boat during my swim so that you can following me whilst I am swimming and live twitter updates. I will post more information about this closer to my swim

Pete, Mel, Sandra, Alby’s friends, Alby, Kevin, Paul & myself at Cullins Pub

Lisa and myself (we are both attempting a double crossing)

I was very fortunate to speak to Red Symons Friday morning AEST 11/9/09. I even got a mention on their twitter and blog forum http://twitter.com/774melbourne/statuses/3899312905 and they also have a link on the ABC website to the audio from the interview http://blogs.abc.net.au/victoria/rss.xml I am also very privileged to have the audio from an interview from 3 weeks ago still featured on Denis Walter’s 3AW website http://www.3aw.com.au/displayPopUpPlayerAction.action?&url=http://media.mytalk.com.au/3AW/AUDIO/200809_ChloeMcCardel.wma  I have also been up to some English Channel research in my spare time! I found some channel swimming history when I was at the Dover Museum last week which I will share with you below.  

The Dover Museum which I mentioned in my last blog hosts a small selection of history and information about English Channel crossings. As one of the narrowest and busiest shipping channels with dangerous waterways, crossing the Channel has been the first objective of numerous innovative sea, air and human powered technologies.

The first recorded notable crossing of the channel was by air in 1785 (in balloon, from Dover to Calais). The second notable crossing of the channel was by the Paddle steamer “Rob Roy” (the first passenger ferry to cross channel). Most importantly, on the 25^th of August 1875 the first known person to swim the channel was Captain Matthew Webb of the UK (Dover to Calais, 21 hrs, 45 min).

At the reception given to Captain Webb in Dover after his swim, the Mayor of Dover said, “I make bold as to say that I do not believe that in the future history of the world any such feat will be performed by anyone else”. Since then many people have attempted to swim the English Channel and I will explore this in more depth in my next blog! Chat soon J

Lighthouse and English Flag - view from room

Dover Walkway - view from our room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Read, M, Taylor, D, Trusty, N, Stockdale, C, Smith, J, Doherty, T & Espin, T  2004, Handbook og the Channel Swimming Association Ltd, Wednesbury.

Wikimedia Foundation Inc 2009, Wikipedia®, viewed 8 September 2009, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Channel

Although there were settlers predating the first construction of Dover Castle I start my history analysis of Dover in 1066. It was this year that William the Conqueror constructed the castle following the Battle of Hastings. This castle was strategically significant because of its elevated position upon the White Cliffs of Dover and its view across the English Channel to France. Successions of Kings were the first to occupy and extend the castle between 1170 and 1250. A series of underground tunnels were built in the Napoleonic era. In the Second World War anti-aircraft guns became its main armament and the tunnels were extended for military use. Paul and I took many photographs within the Castle grounds and we highly recommend you visit the castle if you are heading to England!!

  The Dover Museum was also an exploration back in time. We enjoyed strolling through the building and absorbing the local history and archeology of the region. The museum is situated in the town centre of Dover. Paul and I delved into the Bronze Era which was a feature exhibition hosted by the museum. We marveled at the  Bronze Age Boat, the world’s oldest known seagoing boat and a fascinating archaeological discovery. Other museum displays include Roman glass and pottery, Anglo-Saxon finds on loan from the British Museum, the Norman conquest and the burning of Dover, the history of Dover Castle, the medieval development of the town and port, the Victorian rebuilding of the town and Dover’s important place in both World Wars. If you are interested in the history of the area visit www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk, click ‘visitor information’ and then click ‘Heritage Factsheets’.

It has been exciting exploring the history of Britain’s most historic port town. The next blog which will be posted Wednesday AEST will continue exploring Dover’s history- the English Channel swimming history!

Reference list

Dover District Council 2008, Kent , viewed 8th October 2009, www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk
                                                                                                                      

Properties Presentation Department – Research and Standards Group, Dover Castle – English Heritage Guidebooks 2007, editor Susannah Lawson, London.