Press back home

Just a quick re-post of a couple articles that have come out in the past two days back in Massachusetts. No other updates as of right now, expecting to speak to the pilot this evening to see where things stand regarding a swim tomorrow or Sunday. Will update as we hear, but the buzz is good about the weekend as far as the weather goes. There have been several swims that have gone out in the last day or so-- this could be our window of swimable weather, fingers crossed!

http://www.dailynewstribune.com/sports/local_sports/x1647369458/Waltham-marathon-swimmer-to-attempt-English-Channel

http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley/sports/x1543608272/Wellesley-assistant-swim-coach-takes-on-English-Channel

Day Four

Another nice swim in the Harbor this morning. Water is still great at 62. It was really windy today and the weather changes frequently- sunny one minute and pouring rain the next. Wandered around town today and went to the Dover Museum. There's a ton of history here in Dover-- Roman ruins, the Castle, Bronze and Stone age artifacts galore.

Khrista arrives in Dover tomorrow. Hope to have more information about the potential swim time soon...

Day Three

Things are bumping along swimmingly here in Dover, England as we gear up for the cross Channel swim. Swam for just under an hour in the harbor yesterday morning with Marcy, then rushed up the beach to meet my pilot, Fred Mardle, for the first time. He's a wiry fisherman who knows the Channel well and escorted 12 successful swims (out of 14 attempts) last summer, so I know I'm in very good, experienced hands. He took us up to Folkestone yesterday to see the boat. It was VERY low tide (think of those Nat Geo photos you've probably seen of the Bay of Fundy when all the water's run out and the boats are sitting in mud for a few hours) so we couldn't board the boat-- too muddy and treacherous to get down there-- but it was a sturdy-looking, no frills fishing vessel that's seen a lot of cross Channel travel. I'm sure the Samallen, as it's called, knows the way by heart by now.

Enroute to see the boat, we drove along the sea cliffs on the way to Folkestone (which is the next town to the south of Dover where we are staying). The road was winding and wind-swept and offered gorgeous views of the green-blue water and a faint outline of the French shoreline in the distant haze. We drove right past Samphire Hoe, where my swim will start. Samphire Hoe is a bit of land that was created by the thousands of cubic tons of dirt, clay, and mud that was dredged out of the Channel when the Channel Tunnel was being built. About half of all the silt that was removed by the excavation was piled at Samphire Hoe, and it was turned into a nature reserve that blends right in with the neighboring cliffs and seaside. It was lovely. I can't wait to see it at the start of the swim.

Fred answered all our questions and really put both me and Mark at ease. On the way to his car, we actually bumped into a gentleman who had swum with Fred 10 years ago on his third attempt and first successful crossing of the Channel. Joe is now 75, so he was 65 at the time of the crossing and he and his wife had only wonderful things to say about Fred and their experience with him on the Samallen. I took it as a good omen that we bumped into them when we did.

Also yesterday, I did an interview with Marvin Pave from the Boston Globe West Edition about the upcoming swim. He was really thorough and asked a lot of interesting questions. He's going to lead off his Sunday sports column with my story, so keep your eyes peeled for that newspaper!

Today we slept in a little and got ourselves together to go down to the beach a little later than we have the past two mornings. Martin, the owner of the B&B where we're staying, offered to give us a lift to the beach. Enroute, we drove to a lookout point way up behind the guest house at the top of one of the tallest cliffs around. From there, we could see the entire harbor (and some swimmers already doing their daily workouts!) and a hazy outline of France again. The water looked calmer than yesterday, but it was still very windy. Wind is the enemy of the Channel swimmer, and hopefully it will die down this weekend.

The weather forecast for the weekend looks pretty good, and based on this, my pilot has made the preliminary estimate that we will probably be swimming on Sunday, August 2nd. That's just 4 days away! Of course, that depends on what the weather is doing, but as of right now, Metcheck, the national weather forecasting site for the UK & Ireland, is predicting a mixture of sun and clouds and wind speeds of about 7-8 mph for Sunday, good conditions for making an attempt. By comparison, today the wind speed is listed as 15-29 mph. Fingers crossed that the weather predictions hold and that Sunday brings swimmable conditions. We'll know more as the weekend approaches and any decision to swim on Sunday will be made Saturday evening at about 7pm. If I do swim on Sunday, we will likely start at about 7:30 am, which will give me all day to swim in the light, definitely a favored option.

This is getting very exciting! Stay tuned for more details...

First swim in the Harbour

Took my first swim in Dover Harbour this morning. We moseyed down to the beach and got there about 10 am, in time to swim with Marcy, Mike, and Raquel, other solo swimmers who have had a couple days here already. It was definitely helpful to have others to swim with-- there were a few small sailing boat things out towards the end of the swim, and I felt better knowing that they could see the group of us. We swam for an hour, and I felt really good-- it was really nice to stretch out after all the cramped sitting yesterday on the plane and bus. It was also a great confidence builder-- I had started to worry in the past week or so that maybe I hadn't done enough cold water training this season, but based on today, I think I am well prepared. The cold rainy summer at home has, in that way, been a help to my training.

The conditions this morning were good for building confidence-- it was rainy and overcast, and got quite foggy in the middle of the hour. The air was probably around 60 or lower, so there wasn't really any heat to be gained from sun or air. The water was about 62 or 63 and quite pleasant. No gasping at the start which is always a good thing, and my feet never got cold. I had some chilliness in my hands and forearms, but no cramping or real coldness and my core felt very warm the whole way. A great first swim in Dover Harbour and I'm feeling relaxed and ready. Off to phone the pilot and go pick up some more supplies.

Arrival in Dover

We have arrived in Dover! Got here yesterday afternoon after a long journey by plane, a second plane, a bus, another bus, and finally on foot for about a half a mile. We were wiped out by the time we got here, but were greeted with open arms at the Sandown Guest House by Martin and Sonya. After a shower and a nap, I felt almost human again. We wandered down to the beach front to take a look at the water in the evening, had some supper, then came back to the Guest House for bed.

This morning, we had what may have been the world's biggest English fry-up breakfast. Beans, toast, sausage, proper bacon, hash browns, stewed tomatoes, eggs, Weetabix, and loads of tea and juice. I am so full, all I want to do is roll over and nap, but we are going to walk down town to go for a swim and pick up some odds and ends at the supermarket.

More soon!

Down to the Wire!

We leave in less than 24 hours! Eeeep!

Last minute prep

We are getting down to the wire with getting ready to depart for the UK for my English Channel solo attempt. We leave in less than 48 hours, and there's still lots to be done. Visiting with my brother and his family this evening then home to start packing. One more day at work, scrambling to get everything done that needs to be before I'm gone for about three weeks. Yikes! It's a little overwhelming, but coming together nicely.

There's still plenty of time to contribute if you want to help us financially in getting to France. We have already raised a jaw-dropping amount of money-- enough to cover all three of our plane tickets. We will definitely be making a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society regardless of how much we raise, so don't be shy about clicking that donate button to the right.

If you've tried to donate but have been having trouble with the PayPal link, let me know. You have to have a PayPal account to be able to send funds via that system, and if you don't have one or would rather not use that system, please let me know and we can make alternate arrangements.

Thanks so much to everyone who has already donated. You are making a big difference and the support is deeply appreciated.

Ok, back to getting this last bit of work done for the day. Look for lots more updates very soon. If you want to check whether you are on the email updates list or would like to be added to the list, shoot me an email!

Thanks for the send-off party!

Thanks to all who came out to the British Beer Company on Saturday for a final round of beer and well wishes. We had a great time and it was so good to see you all. Thanks again for the continued support. Thanks also to everyone who couldn't be there but was there in spirit, and to the many of you who have contributed to the cause. I am overwhelmed by your generosity and your willingness to help me in this crazy dream. Every penny is deeply appreciated and another vote of confidence that I can get there. As we inch closer to the date of departure, I am getting more and more nervous and excited, but it helps immeasurably to know that I have really wonderful friends who are willing to help me out on this. So thanks again!

Here is the July issue of NEM News, www.swimnem.org/news/Newsletter_709.pdf which includes a profile piece (pages 6-7) on my friend Ray Gandy who is attempting a double (!) crossing of the Channel the week after my swim is expected to happen. You can read more about Ray and his cause by visiting his web site here: www.rayswims.com.

5 days til take off!

Amazing and humbling

I have been truly amazed and humbled by the incredible outpouring of support, both financial and moral, from everyone as we head into the last week before flying to England for my English Channel swim. I don't know whether you all know this or not, but it makes an enormous difference to me to know that you all are supporting me, rooting for me, and wanting to know how I get on (and no doubt hoping that I make it.) It's funny that they refer to these swims as "solo" efforts, because that really couldn't be further from the truth. This is a group effort, and boy, do I have one hell of an awesome group pushing me forward. I am so grateful to have you all in my life and for every last penny you have donated.

I did hear from a couple people this morning, that they were having trouble completing the PayPal transaction, as there seemed to be some techno-glitch in the works. It appears to have been resolved now, so if you had trouble earlier, try it again. If it's still not working, please let me know and we can make alternate arrangements. You can also use PayPal to send money directly outside of the link on this blog by visiting www.paypal.com, signing in, and clicking on the "Send Money" tab. The email address on that account is ezzy_peach@yahoo.com, and you can just designate that as the address to send funds too.

Thank you all again for your amazing vote of support and concern. It really does take a village!

Please help!

Dear Friends:
In a little under two weeks, we will embark on the journey that takes us to my English Channel crossing attempt and the chance to complete the "Triple Crown" of open water swimming.

Now, as you may suspect this is not exactly cheap, and we realize this is not the best time to ask people for help given the sour state of the economy, but if you don't ask the answer is always "no!"

So, we are asking for any donation you feel you can make to help us get to France the hard way. There is a button just for this purpose on my blog http://blog.talesofthebeerbaby.com/

The money goes to cover the costs and any and all proceeds will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in memory of my sister Rachel.

For those of you in the Boston area, we will be holding a little 'going away' party on Saturday, the 18th of July at the British Beer Company (seems appropriate) on Rte 9 in Framingham from about 3pm onwards, and would be delighted if you could come along and join us for a beer and some fun. http://www.britishbeer.com/local/framingham/

Also, please let me know if you would like to be added to the growing email update list so you'll know how the crossing is going as it happens! You can also follow my progress on my blog listed above.

Thank you in advance so much for your help, we hope to see you at the party.

The Triple Crown

I am two-thirds of the way to completing the Triple Crown of Open Water swimming. Here's some more information about what that means:

http://www.amateurendurance.com/4/editorials/the-triple-crown-of-open-water-swimming/

http://www.10kswimmer.com/2009/07/crowning-achievement-triple-crown.html

12 days until we leave for the English Channel for the third and final installment of this task. Please consider donating to the cause and support me in my quest for the Triple Crown of open water marathon swimming!

What is the 6-hour qualifier?

To be permitted to swim the English Channel, swimmers must demonstrate that they understand what they're getting into and that they can handle it. To establish this, both organizing bodies that observe and ratify Channel crossings and register swims with the English and French Coast Guards (the Channel Swimming Association (CSA), who I am swimming with, and the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation (CS&PF), who Dori swam with) require that swimmers submit evidence of having completed a 6-hour swim in open water that is 60 degrees Fahrenheit or cooler. This can be tricky for a number of reasons, not least of which is that 6 hours is a long time to swim (but probably less than half the time that it will take me to get to France). Finding water that is 60 degrees or less can be tricky this time of year, and picking a day with weather that will be good enough to last for 6 hours can also be difficult, especially with all the thunderstorms and downright lousy weather we've been having this summer.

The CS&PF has in the past waived the 6-hour requirement for swimmers who have done the Catalina Channel and the Manhattan Island Marathon. The CSA was willing to accept my Manhattan swim as proof that I can manage this task, but encouraged me to do the 6-hour swim anyway. So I did it last weekend. I met up with a group of hearty open water swimmers at Hammonassett State Park in Madison Connecticut on Long Island Sound. We had a great day and plenty of sunshine. Too much sun, in fact. I managed to keep my shoulders and back from getting too burned after learning the hard way at Manhattan. But my lower legs did not fare so well. I neglected to put the 40% zinc oxide ointment all the way down to my heels, as my lower legs rarely collect too much sun... in the lake. What I failed to realize was that with the high buoyancy from the salt water, my lower legs would be more exposed to the sun and so I did need the zinc down there. After a week of painful swelling, my legs are finally starting to return to normal, and I think the good news is that I've finally learned my lesson with the sun- 40% zinc oxide slathered on heavily from cap-line to heel, no exceptions, no matter what water I'm in anytime I'm swimming longer than 2-3 hours.

Here's some "sexy" shots of the zinc from last weekend.























In this photo, you can see where the zinc wears along skin creases during the course of the swim.

Photos from the 6-hour qualifier

Finally downloaded the photos from Hammonassett last weekend.

It was a beautiful day and when we got there, the beach was completely empty save for the group of 11 swimmers there to brave the chilly Long Island Sound for a workout or 4- and 6-hour qualifying swims. It was a big foggy at the start.

The tongue shot is a standard one for the end of any salt water swim. My tongue swells in the salt water, and after 6 hours, it was getting kind of gross. It'll be even worse in the Channel after 12 or 14 hours, as the salinity is much higher there.


With Ray Gandy at the end- both logged 6+ hours swimming and feeling good. Onward to some night swimming and Dover. Ray is training for a double crossing of the Channel. Look for a profile piece of him in the July issue of NEM News out next week. Will post link when it's available.

Housekeeping and one funny Clif bar

Ok, so a little overdue posting about this past weekends events-- got in my 6 hour qualifier at Hammonassett State Park in Madison, Connecticut on Long Island Sound. Great place to swim and had 11 other swimmers to get through it with. Ray was there and he looked awesome. I will post some photos and more about that soon. Other than some sunburn on my lower legs, I felt great the whole way, which is a nice confidence booster.

In the meanwhile, here's a funny commercial that turned up on the Channel chat group today. Had me laughing out loud. Anyone who's done a busy open water swim or triathlon can relate. Enjoy.