Cancelled For Thursday

We got the go ahead last night at 7:00PM, woke up at 2:00AM, and got a call cancelling the swim for today at 2:10. We had a little bit of wind yesterday, and it was suppose to die down overnight, but it didn't. It got stronger. So, it looks like we are in holding mode. It is a little disapointing, but last night and this morning I got to thinking about things I should have taken care of yesterday but didn't. Things like getting another memory card for my camera, and making sure the batteries are charged.

We went to Dover Castle, and ended staying longer than I expected. It was very interesting. Not only is it a medival castle, but there is also a network of tunnels under it that were used by the military during WWII. We spend about 5 hours there, probably too much for the day before a swim. It is probably good that we get a day to rest.

It's Official - The Swim Begins at 3:00 AM Thursday

The relay team will be leaving for the marina, via taxi, at 2:20 AM (7:20 PM PST Wednesday evening) with the departure time being between 2:45 - 3:00. The winds the past couple of days have been a bit stronger than they were the first day we arrived but they are predicted to subside some tomorrow. At their last swim workout this morning, they seemed to be ready to go.

Tracking The boat

For those that wish to have a more minute by minute update as to our progress as we swim, here is a link to be able to track the boat as we cross the channel. We are on the Viking Princess out of Dover. You pull down for port,[UK] Dover, then vessel look for Viking Princess. The signal can be lost while we are out in the middle of the shipping lanes but will show again when in French territory.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

Since it will be mostly through the night for those on the West coast, at least you should be able to catch the beginning & possibly the finish!

Squishy

Our first practice in the English Channel was an experience of a lifetime. The temperature was 59 degrees and the waves were choppy. All of us were together fighting the waves and enjoying the group's company. During the swim, I felt a jellyfish inside my hand. The jellyfish felt very squishy hence the name of the blog. A lot of the other swimmers felt them also on their hands, arms, and other parts of the body. Fortunately, no one got stung. Our first time in the English Channel was enjoyable and we are prepared to swim on July 1st, which is our set time to swim.

Swim is set for Thursday

This is Jeanne, Jim's wife. Everyone arrived in Dover Monday afternoon. Joni, Drew, and Tim were able to get in a swim yesterday afternoon. All 6 of the relay team members swam about an hour this morning. I heard complaints, not about the water temperature, but about the jellyfish. I don't think anyone was stung but they felt the jellyfish through their fingers, on their legs, arms, and around their body. All were pleased with their swim and are ready for the Channel.

At 1:00 this afternoon (Tuesday) the relay team met with Reg, the boat pilot, regarding their swim. Before Reg had arrived for the meeting, he had checked the weather forecast and it looks like the relay will be able to swim the Channel on Thursday, July 1. Joni will be contacting Reg Wednesday evening at 7:00 to learn the time to meet him on Thursday morning but from what we heard today it will be sometime around 2:00 - 3:00 AM (this is 6:00 - 7:00 Pacific time). I will be there along with Carolyn, Natalie's mother. Cameron will be on the boat with the rest of the relay team.

As the relay team is swimming I will be contacted, via text messaging from the boat, regarding who is in the water. I will be sharing comments and messages from the swimmers as I receive them.

Team Suits

Joni designed team suits for us. This picture, of the three relay team members from Beaverton, was taken on Friday at our team practice. In the picture are Tim, Natalie, and Jim. Tim "forgot" his team suit. On the back side of the suits are the words "Oregon Quacks".

Questions

After I sent out the link to this blog to a few friends I started getting some questions. The common question is whether we are going to wear wet suits?
No, we won't be wearing wet suits. The Channel Swimming Association which sanctions the swims, has created rules to make the swims as close to the conditions of the early swimmers who crossed the channel. We are allowed to wear grease, but chose not to. I don't think it helps that much, and it makes it difficult if they have to pull you out. It's kinda like pulling out a greased pig.

I was also asked if we need to swim with our passports. We don't have to swim with them but they must be on the support boat. When we land on the beach in France we have a limited amount of time we can stay on the beach without going through customs.

The distance across the channel is 21 miles as the crow files, but with the currents we will end up swimming about 25 miles. My understanding is that it will be a U shaped course. We will be pushed one direction for the first part of the swim and the opposite direction for the second part.

I've have been spending more time thinking about the swim now that the time is getting shorter. I looked up first aid for jellyfish stings. I have experienced a jellyfish sting before, several years ago in Hawaii. It wasn't too bad. I was like a very localized sun burn. Annoying but not debilitating. Fortunately we are not swimming on the north side of Australia where the nasty box jellys are.

I also did a web search looking for other problems people might have had doing a channel swim. I didn't find anyone who had problems with jellyfish, but I a couple of people mentioned problems with mats of kelp. One solo swimmer had to drop out because of leg cramps, and another dropped out due to rough seas. I hope the weather holds out for us. If any of us get a cramp, I'm figuring they can just stay in the water until their time is up. It is a relay, but each team member doesn't need to cover any certain distance. They just need to stay in the water for an hour. The others will just have to swim a little extra.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. We have been training to do swim the channel for several months. All of us are experienced swimmers, but over the last few months we have been focusing on cold water swimming. The temperature in the channel at the time we plan to swim is usually between 55 and 60 degrees, and to get ready we have been swimming in Oregon lakes. We started back in April swimming in Hagg Lake. The temperature was in the high 40's when we started. I only stayed in for about 2 minutes the first time. The next time it seems like the temperature was about 52 and I think I stayed in for about 20 minutes. Gradually as the weeks went by I was able to stay in longer and longer. Two weeks ago Natalie and I swam in Nehalem Bay for an hour. It was 54 degrees and we felt fine.

We will be traveling to Dover England within the next week. We will arrive on June 28, and plan to recover from the trip and do a little training in Dover Harbor before our tide starts. That's what they call the window of time for our swim. We haven't been able to swim in salt water in our training. This will be our first real chance. We also haven't been able to swim at night, and that is also something we need to be prepared to do.