As I was preparing for my third stint our pilot, Paul Foreman, came over and said, "Rach, we are about 2miles from the point we need to be when the tides turn in less than an hour. I need you to sprint as hard as you can for your stint. If you can push really hard you won't have to swim again but if you don't then we could be stuck for six or more hours." Hmmmmm. Wasn't sure how much energy I had for sprinting (not that I think activity lasting 60mins+ can ever be classified as a sprint!) but the fact that I could avoid us 6+hours more of swimming was a pretty huge motivator and I swopped with Mike, put my head down and did everything I could. The hour actually passed fairly quickly and thinking about sprinting distracted me from the crazy waves and the cold. Getting back on the boat, I was told that, though the tide had turned early, we had passed the point we needed to and we would probably land during Andy or Mike's next turn. Hurray!
As Chris started off on his hour the waves did finally begin to calm down as we reached the calmer, more inland waters off the coast of France. The sun came out and warmed the air which at least made the prospect of diving into a cold seas somewhat more appealing. Andy followed Chris and did a fantastic last push to get us within a mile of the coast. Mike swopped in for his turn and about 25mins into his stint, Paul said we had reached the shallow waters where the boat would stop. He allowed us to all get in the water to swim the last few hundred metres in to shore before Mike upon whose exit and clearance of the water, the official clock would stop. Finally those last few metres were upon us and we staggered triumphant out of the water on a pebbly beach frequented by a few french day-trippers who looked at us like we might be a bit mad! Celebratory hugs and the obligatory picking up of a pebble of the shore and we had finally made it. We had swum to France!!!
After a few minutes soaking up the achievement we headed back to the boat where we were congratulated by the crew and given our official time of 13.32hrs from Michelle. Handshakes and thanks all round and some posing opportunities and I could finally take off my cossie and get changed into warm dry clothes, bliss! The calmer waters meant I could also finally eat and drink which I did with gusto before curling up for the return journey home.
Luckily our boat is one of the faster ones and after 1hr 45mins we were back in Dover Marina and unpacking the remnants of our trip. Many thanks were exchanged with our wonderful boat crew, especially our boat pilot, Paul who looked after us so well despite having had no sleep as he had just returned from another successful crossing when the weather cleared enough to take us too and we just couldn't miss the opportunity. I lugged my things back to the car and got ready to set off home. The team said our goodbyes with hugs in the carpark and a promise to stay in touch . It is always so strange how shared experiences can bring you closer to people in a short space of time then you are to some people you have known for ages. I set off home praying for a clear route and was rewarded with a very fast return journey to get home just before 8pm. A quick clear up and I was all ready for a huge hug and congratulatory kiss from my lovely boy when he got home. What a day! Post-trip thoughts to come but this has already been a bit of a mega-posting!
Bye for now from your Channel swimmer! :)
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