Latest Update: We did it!!! Read the swim reports below

Swim attempt #2 - start time 0432 - Thursday 9th October

The offer of another go at the swim was an offer we couldn't refuse. It's another significant financial commitment, but it does mean that at least the 5 months of cold water training won't have been completed wasted. We substituted a new team member, so the team was:

Emma France
Sam Jones
Jim Boucher

As this was a re-swim we aren't able to use a new team name, so 3 birds & a boat stays For the purpose of this swim Jim was also known as Jemima we'll never let him forget it!!!

Emma's Swim Report

For photos - click here

I wanted to maximise my opportunity to sleep before the event as it was going to be an early start so I drove down to Dover after work on the 8th and stayed overnight at the local Premier Inn. I felt a little queasy and hoped it wasn't something that I'd eaten. With hindsight it was probably nerves! I did sleep but not as much as I'd have liked.

We were to be at the boat for 03:45. I arrived at the Marina at 03:30. Jim was already there having driven down that morning. The air was chilly to say the least, one of those days when you can see your breath as it condenses in the air. This didn't help to settle the nerves. I remember saying to Jim 'at least it will mean that the water will feel warmer' - who was I kidding!!

We paid for our parking and took our stuff down to Suva. At this point we had decided the swim order - Jim, Emma, Sam, but still hadn't decided whether to do 1 or 2 hours stints. Although 2 hours seems a very long time on a relay in my mind it was preferable than getting in and out all the time. One of the biggest considerations though was the temperature. In the end we decided on 2 hours.

It wasn't long before we were on our way and arrived at Shakespear beach. The water was flat calm. Jim jumped in and swam to shore and at 0432 the boat horn sounded and we were off. I was still feeling a little queasy and found that being in the cabin in the dark just made me feel worse so I spend quite a bit of the time out on deck watching Jim.

Time is a funny thing when it comes to channel swimming. The time on the boat passes really fast, but the 2 hours in the water seem to take FOREVER. After about 50 minutes Jim paused and shouted up 'Are you going to feed me?'. I shouted back '10 minutes'. During Jim's 2nd hour the day began to break. The sun hadn't yet come up, but it was very close. Adrian told me that I didn't need to use light sticks.

In what seemed like no time at all, it was my turn to swim. I stood on the back of the platform at the back and jumped in. Now last time I remember the water being much warmer than I expected. That didn't happen this time. It was cold, very cold. The temperature of the water has dropped by 0.9C since the last attempt and you could feel it. It doesn't take long to get used to though and I soon felt at ease again. The sun definitely makes the world a better place, and this 2 hours, despite being colder than last time, were actually quite enjoyable. No thoughts of cancelling the solo this time. I casually calculated where I was time wise, but I actually didn't care. I could have stayed in there for ages I was having a lot of fun.

I noticed a few ships during the 2nd hour and knew that meant that we were either in or close to the SE shipping lane. When I saw a ship pass behind me I knew we were in it. That gave me a huge boost and I probably picked up the pace a bit at that point. Eventually though I saw Sam on the back of the platform and I got back on the boat. I did shiver a bit when back on board but all in all an enjoyable swim, I'd have been happy to stay in there for much longer.

Sam was next in. Just after I got back on the boat we got hit by a wake from a passing ship and stuff got thrown everywhere. Neil's mug got smashed, my earplugs flew somewhere never to be found again and a box of cocktail sausages got scattered over the floor. In the absence of flying sea bass - Sam had to make do with Neil and Adrian throwing cocktail sausages at her instead!!

At one point during Sam's swim she got left behind a little bit so when she shouted at Neil for him to wait for her, he revved up and went further forward!! When she caught up he deliberately let her go ahead - although she stopped and refused to swim until he caught her up! It's stunts like this that made it such a fun day out, whilst trying to achieve something serious.

Sam took us into the separation zone.

Jim was next up for his 2nd swim. This time entirely in the light. He again looked strong. During his swim Sam went out on the deck to hang her costume up to dry, on the way back Neil & Adrian cornered her and, despite much struggling, managed to throw her overboard, fully dressed in her pink pyjamas!! Jim was very impressive and carried on as if nothing had happened!! Jim took us about half way through the NW shipping lane. We reached the half way point at about 6.5 hours. This was starting to look like it was going to be a good time. Neil jokingly said that since he'd planned to be out for a long time and that we were swimming faster than expected that perhaps we should swim back. I'll never know if he was joking or not. Sam & I said "OK" which I'm sure he wasn't expecting. I did point out that perhaps our observer may have some objections. All joking aside, it's a challenge that has never been done, so would have been great to do it. I understand that Jim was not so keen when he came out - at least someone brought some sense to matters again.

Before I knew it, it was my turn again. It was just as cold to get into, but at least this time I had the benefit of the midday sun on my back. The water was still flat calm. I shall be complaining next time I swim in the pool as I'm sure there are bigger waves in there, even with the anti wave lane ropes. With me I have to get my pace right at the beginning as I find it very hard to change pace mid swim. I went out hard, almost felt like distance race pace. I swam hard and strong for an hour and didn't miss a stroke. At the feed both Jim and Sam were there. I remember Jim saying something along the lines of "I don't know what you're doing, but keep doing it, you're going really fast". So I kept going as fast as I can, but inevitably slowed down a bit during the second hour.

The second hour really dragged. I counted in what felt like 5 minute intervals, but felt confident that I was being prudent with time so that it would be a pleasant surprise when the hour was up earlier than I thought. At what was I thought about an hour I was shocked to realise that the costume that Sam was planning to wear was still hanging over the side of the boat. I must have got it wrong. How much time would she leave to get changed I wondered - 10 / 15 minutes. It was a very depressing blow! After what seemed like about 1 hr 20 mins I noticed that the costume had disappeared which was, at last, a good sign, perhaps she was about to get in again. The second blow to hit me was Jim holding up the 10 minutes sign - 10 minutes - how could there still be 10 minutes to go!! Oh well, at least I now knew how long there was. So after what seemed like 2.5 hours Sam jumped in and my stint was over.

As I was getting back on the boat Jim and Bob (the observer) very kindly said what a great swim I had had. I got back into the cabin and Adrian said something similar. Neil's look was a picture. He looked at me with almost disbelief and asked 'where did that come from'. It wasn't until this point that I looked forward and realised just how close France now seemed. I had taken us out of the NW shipping lane and almost half way through the French inshore waters!!! I thought the swim felt good, but that was a complete surprise! Thanks to Jim's calculations it seems I swam just over 4 miles during the 2 hours. There will have been a small amount of tidal assistance, but not much.

It now looked like we might actually finish on Sam's leg and right underneath the lighthouse at Cap Gris Nez. Unbelievable. Sam swum well and made good progress. At one point as we got close to the shore a fisherman came alongside the boat and started to clap. I gave him a wave. Jim was more adventurous and had a conversation with him in French. He told him that this was a team swim and that he and two ladies were swimming the channel. Unfortunately he got his French a little wrong and actually told the fisherman that he was swimming with his two wives!!!

Suddenly the end was in sight and Jim and I got into our swim gear one last time for the swim to the shore. The water felt warmer when I jumped in this time, which is not surprising given that we were in shallow water again. We followed Sam in to the shore. As this was Cap Gris Nez it meant navigating some sizeable rocks and we clambered out of the sea on to a rock to finish. We all have cuts and grazes to show for it - the rocks were covered in barnacles which were very sharp.

We did it - total swim time of 11 hours 30 minutes and 15 seconds!!!

A tradition of channel swimming is to collect a pebble from the beach that you land on as a memento. So we did our bit for coastal erosion and went searching for a pebble - not easy at Cap Gris Nez. We weren't strong enough to bring one of the big boulders back, but did eventually find some large pebbles and then made our way back to the boat.

On the way back we went passed Ros who was attempting a solo. I haven't mentioned her yet, but she is, in my mind, the swimmer of 2008. Ros is confined to a wheelchair due to polio as a child. She has trained hard every week, regardless of weather and conditions. She has also waited very patiently for the right weather window to make her attempt. Ros started at 5pm the night before us, and we passed her after she had been swimming for about 24 hours. We gave her a huge cheer. She still looked strong. I can't even begin to imagine how anyone could survive that long in water than cold. It really was very cold. She is amazing. Sadly, she was taken from the water at 25 hours 15 minutes with only 0.7nm to go. So close, such an achievement.

Sam & I waited for her back at the harbour to speak to her when she returned. The atmosphere on the boat was very subdued. Everyone must have been both physically and emotionally exhausted. Ros looked shattered, she had given it absolutely everything and then some.

There has been a lot of talk about how amazing her swim was given her disability, and that is true. What occurred to me was her clear ability, not disability. A truly amazing and inspiring lady.

Jim's Swim Report

I think yesterday clearly belongs to Ros and that immense effort. As usual I had driven down to Dover in the morning for our relay start changed and ready in shorts crocs and the iconic green hat. It was FREEZING just walking across to the meter to get my parking ticket at the marina. This would have been about 3-30am. Ros would have been 8 hours in the water by then. Makes me shiver just to type this now.

As for the 3 Birds? Well there had been debate about 2 vs 1hr legs and for some daft reason I relented and decided I'd do 2 then. Sam had been unfussed either way and our Team Captain duly served her casting vote and 2 it was.

It was 2 hr legs with a feed at one just to break it up a bit. I started in pitch black dark and swam along fairly happily. No bass no nothing really, and I remember thinking how warm the water was compared to the air. It was Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalm. Dead calm. The thing about a 3-person relay is its just that plus the crew. And at 5am even the few aren't going to come out and look at you. So all I had was the diesel fumes from Suva to keep me company, pushed gently forward by a few milli-knots of wind.

After about 80 mins by my internal clock I had decided that I wasn't going to be fed and no-one cared, That there was more activity on the Marie Celeste than Suva and that the odd shriek of laughter from the cabin was some spirit of a long lost soul wandering the seas.

I couldn't remember saying that I ALSO wanted feeding on the hour, so it was to my great surprise that Emma duly appeared clutching my feed bottle. It was a shock - be warned newbies - that my steel flask hadn't kept the water near boiling and my feed was yukkly lukewarm. But it went down and stayed down and off I went. Dawn broke but the sun hadn't yet risen - warm? Hell no, but it looked promising..

Emma appeared after an eternity on the rear of Suva and couldn't have heard what was going through my mind in those last two minutes before the changeover. Lets say she was encouraged to get in and get on with it!

Its a strange world, and once they get their Hadron collider doing its stuff, scientists must turn their attention to time-shifts on relays. Time stands still when you're swimming, it flies when you're in the boat. Perhaps the secret of eternal youth is to be always swimming in a Channel relay, but then like most things from the harder chapters of physics that's also impossible. Suffice to say I don't recall much of Emma's swim and before I knew it Sam was getting in and I was next. I'd managed to down my staple diet of ham rolls and coffee and one of the last boxes of cuppa soups not bought by Adam Walker back in July.

By the time I got back in to swim we were heading for the Separation Zone at about 6 hours and it was a fantastic day. The calmness of the water will be seen when we post a few pics, but for those of you who have battled out there this year, you will have to believe they weren't doctored. Getting back in was easier, and we all swam better on our second leg according to observer Bob. The only distraction for me was a pink figure appearing earlier than I had expected on the stern of Suva. I was already heading for the transition when to my horror it was Sam. Again I wont share my thoughts from the time. What I hadn't realised was that she was exiting from the water, having managed to overbalance, right in the middle of the main cabin and, despite Neil and his crew's efforts to hold her back, mysteriously fall all the way out the port door and into the sea beside me.

Which I didn't notice, as I was maintaining a tremendous focus somehow! Or was just in some state of suspended animation due to the cold.

Emma eventually got in and swam a fantastic 3.6k in her first hour and about 3 on the second to put Sam within a Bass' leap of the Cap. She had a strop with her feed, which we later discovered was my maxim and special gentlemens hormonal and growth supplements, flavoured with non-alcoholic red grape juice. I think Sam will be OK, but she may have a deeper voice for a day or two depending on how much she swallowed.

The landing was as one would expect if you'd had to listen to Chris Sheppard the day after his scarring on the rocks. There is a new saying "Give Blood, Land on the Cap!". There is also a Frenchman out there today who is still thinking that polygamy rules in England. He started cheering Sam as she swam in and I explained in my best French:

"Monsieur c'est une equipe, c'est moi et deux femmes".

He wished me good luck and to save my energy for the celebrations, as I realised I'd said "We're a team, me and my two wives".

It was, as we've already said, perhaps the best tidal/weather combination of the summer and thanks to Emma for letting me join her team as the token "Oirish bird". Sam for her sense of humour all the way, in and out of the boat, and Neil, Adrian and Bob the observer for making the most of the great conditions and landing us right on the Cap.

But whilst the above was all taking place Ros was still going, 15 point something water all the way..Respect!

Swim attempt #1 - 9pm, 28th September 2008

This chart shows the route we took in the first 4 hours. I'll update it with the full information once I have it.

The conditions were perfect, the water looked like a lake (as you can see from the photo of Sam below). We started at 9pm with each of us doing 2 hour stints. I was the second swimmer. The water temperature was something in the region of 16.5C. Although the sky was clear the air temperature was warmer than I was expecting.

Swim Report

We found out that our pilot, Neil Streeter, had a strong dislike of the colour pink and has been known, in the past, to throw anything pink overboard. Well you can't have an all female team without wearing a lot of pink. So we turned up kitted out in pink pyjamas, pink hats, pink socks etc. We had loads of people there to see us off, most of whom were also wearing pink to some degree or another. The lighting was not great so it took Neil a little while to realise what was happening, but when he did he literally stopped mid sentence, I won't say what he said, picked up his coat and walked off the boat. Next thing we knew he was whizzing passed on a small boat. The reporter from the Dover paper who was also there was highly amused. Fortunately he eventually came back and we got away.

We started from Shakespear beach. Sam Jones was the first swimmer. We had decided to do 2 hours each. The conditions were perfect, it was flat calm, hardly a ripple to be seen.

Sam started at exactly 9pm and made good progress through the swim. Just before the end of the first hour a Sea Bass jumped out the water next to her, landed on her back, wiggled for a bit and then jumped back in again. In the dark that would freak most people out, but given that Sam has a real fear of marine life, she stopped and said "what the *&%# was that". She was not impressed. Interestingly she didn't notice the hot tea bags and chewing gum that were also thrown at her from the pilot (NB this is not normal practice - Sam has observed and crewed with Neil quite a lot in the season, he was also her pilot for her solo, so they know each other well).

On the boat the first two hours seemed to go very quickly and it was soon my turn to get in. At 11pm exactly I jumped off the boat wearing only swimming costume, PINK swimming hat, ear plugs, goggles, a flashing light on my head and a lightstick on my back. Considering that the water was probably only 16.5C, it felt really warm when I got in. A very pleasant surprise. Throughout the swim the temperature was weird, it felt warm and cold at the same time - no idea why, I don't think there was much of a breeze, and the air temperature was warmer than it's been in the last few days. I have to say that although the first 2 hours passed really quickly on the boat, the 2 hours in the water took FOREVER!!!! We've done countless swims that are longer than this. Both Sam & Michelle have done successful solo swims this year, but we all thought that time dragged in the water. Maybe it was because you can't see anything in the dark, or maybe it's just like the harbour where the first 2 hours are the worst!! During my swim I even thought that I would cancel my solo attempt next year!

When I got out and was getting changed Sam came and spoke to me and told me that Michelle had been really ill for the last two hours and had been really upset. She really didn't feel well enough to swim, but did it anyway. Often when you are sick on the boat from seasickness you feel better in the water. Problem was she didn't feel better and continued to be sick every few minutes in the water. She was cold before she started as she'd been sitting on the back of the boat being washed by water in her clothes. Having to keep stopping meant that she just got colder and colder. We were sure we could get her through the 2 hours but knew that she wouldn't be able to go inside the cabin to get warm without getting sick, so had no real way to warm her up. We also knew that she may well have the same problem on the next swim and by then would have been dehydrated and had no source of energy for 8 hours. Furthermore, because she had to keep stopping we weren't making much forward progress but were being taken down the SE shipping lane (against the flow of traffic) by the tide, so would have been an extremely long swim.

After about 75 mins of upset and sickness we asked her what she wanted to do, and that it was OK if she wanted to get out. She didn't know, she was desperately unhappy, but didn't want to let us down. She carried on battling on. After another 20 minutes or so we changed the tack to 'I think you should stop, but it's OK if you want to carry on swimming'. She carried on, still being ill & upset. Eventually we waited until she was close to the boat and Nic (our observer) reach out a hand which she took and came back on board.

So that's that. We didn't make it. But we live to swim another day.

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Christina - hope everything goes really, really well!!