Channel Queen - The Boat

For many years Chloë swam next to an English Channel escort boat and dreamed of one day skippering her very own boat, escorting open water swimmers. 

Fast-forward to 2021, the very same year she was crowned Queen of the English Channel, she decided to make her dream a reality and started the process of finding the right boat. After 7 months of extensive research with the support of experienced mentors she secured 'Trading Places' in April 2022.

'Trading places' was a Trader Tarquin Sunliner built in 1986 for luxury offshore recreational ocean cruising and was sold to her first owner for £1,000,000 (that's £2,500,000 in todays money). She was built for short and long comfortable journeys and to withstand all types of weather and conditions. She has even travelled to Spain through the notorious Bay of Biscay! 

Chloë aptly renamed the boat 'Channel Queen' to epitomise her love for the English Channel and to celebrate the boats new role as an open water escort vessel in the South of England, including the English Channel. 

2022 was the very first swim season for Channel Queen. After extensive upgrades between late April and late June she was then ready for commercial work and starting taking passengers in July. 

 

Quick Stats:

  • 15m long, 5m wide (51ft / 15ft), making her bigger than any other English Channel swim escort boat
  • 15 person capacity (12 passengers and 3 crew maximum, including for trips over 24hrs)

  • FULL kitchen (oven, cooktop, microwave, fridge, freezer, toaster, cutlery etc). Swimmers / guests are allowed to use the kitchen, on selected swims, after an induction and if sea conditions allow
  • Large undercover deck
  • Fly bridge on top level with 360° views
  • Plenty of indoor space and beds
  • Toilet & Shower
  • Plenty of fresh drinking water onboard

Channel Queen meets the highest Maritime Coastal Agency (MCA) safety standards and is classified as a Category 2 commercial vessel coded to 60 miles offshore for 15 persons in daylight and darkness. This is the same coding standard as the other English Channel escort boats in the Dover Straits area (CSA & CS&PF boats).

Channel Queen also has other smaller crewed safety vessels which assist swims as needed including RIBs, a tender boat and kayakers. All crew are being put through a safety training refresher by Head of Safety, Roy Beal. This process has already started, with the first two crew undergoing refreshers in early November 2022. Channel Queen and her other vessels are being used for this activity, all skippers and crew will go through refreshers before the start of the 2023 swim season. 


Berthing (where Channel Queen lives!)
Channel Queen lives at Portland Marina, run by Boatfolk, in Portland (DT5 1DX, UK). Please note you may meet Channel Queen and her crew and load the boat at a location closer to your swim start, please discuss with Chloë directly. 
Chloë and Roy are very impressed with Boatfolk's green credentials. Roy's charity, Clean Jurassic Coast, has been partnering with Boatfolk's Portland Marina for a couple of years now.

In 2021, Boatfolk switched to a fully renewable electricity source to reduce its carbon footprint.
 
In addition, a partnership between Boatfolk and The Seahorse Trust has been launched to protect the seagrass meadows present at Studland Bay by installing eco-moorings. Seagrass stores up to twice as much carbon per hectare as terrestrial forests and provides an essential habitat for the UK's native Spiny Seahorse. These eco-moorings, if used responsibly, will allow future generations of boaters to enjoy Studland Bay without doing so at the expense of the environment.   

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