English Channel cheering section

suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
edited June 2015 in Cheering Section

Grant Callaghan finished his EC Solo in 14 hrs and some odd minutes the other day. Wendy Trehiou just finished a solo one way as well, looks as if she landed by Wissant. Grant was on the Louise Jane w Andy King and I am pretty sure Wendy was with Neil on Suva.
I have to say.. I took Grant on his first Aquatic Park swim about a year and a half ago. Out of his wetsuit.. for the first or close to his first time swimming without. WHOOO HOO!! Well done folks!

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Comments

  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
    edited August 2016
    I am not sure at all of total time but it was a superb swim, a mirror track and just WOW. To even contemplate a 2way EC swim is gutsy. To finish? It's an elite elite elite group of swimmers who have done it.
    Congratulations Dori.
  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member
    Dori was kind enough to enough to give me ride back to my brother's place after the South Head Rough Water swim briefing in 2012, nicest person possible from my brief acquaintance with her.

    One of the bonuses of this sport for me is that it is actually possible to meet the people who do these crazy swims - it's both humbling and inspiring to realize the person sitting next you at a briefing, or lined up with you at the start of a swim is triple crown swimmer or is training for an EC double or god knows what else :-)

    So congratulations Dori!

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    edited August 2014
    Stuart (Twitter) has already attempted a three way twice previously. He's out this morning with CSA's senior pilot Reg Brickell on Viking Princess. As usual the CS&PF tracking page is better. Stuart is a hugely capable swimmer (and fast) and extremely modest, who doesn't engage in any promotion of his own swims, whose sole motivation is to inspire his own kids.

    Every three-way attempt is something special and only a week after the sad loss of Jon Erickson, it would be great to see Stuart finally prevail. His weather window is constrained to about 48 hours, sufficient time for him, if it holds. But it's the Channel and it's never completely predictable. Go Stuart!

    loneswimmer.com

  • JimBoucherJimBoucher Senior Member
    Definitely very capable and fantastic stroke rate - even today he is rattling along at 80 strokes per minute. I was observing on Gallivant when he last tried and even though he stopped just after 2 legs, he'd been keeping a great pace for 24 hours and hadnt really fed due to illness in the last 6-7. It will be an experience for his crew on Viking Princess this time.
  • Stuart! Lovely lovely man, great children and a lovely wife. Unassuming and modest to say the least. Best of luck. If anyone tweets, please tell him San Fran is pulling for him.
  • bruckbruck San FranciscoMember
    edited August 2014
    Looks like about 9h 10m for first leg.
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
    edited August 2014
    Looks to be about half way back on the 2nd leg. Just astounding.
    Here's a sentence you won't see very often
    **Amazing. First leg was 09:02, some 3 hours faster than any leg on his previous 2 doubles. ***
  • JimBoucherJimBoucher Senior Member
    Awesome swimming, fingers crossed for stable weather. He isnt hanging around!
  • courtneypaulkcourtneypaulk Richmond, VirginiaMember
    Looks like he is nearly done with lap 2 - currently at about 8 1/2 hours in for this lap. Truly amazing. Sandettie Light is showing wave heights of .3 and wind at 7 knots and water temp around 65. Looks like ideal conditions to get back to France. Go Stuart!!
  • bruckbruck San FranciscoMember
    19h 45m or so for the two-way, I think? Well into leg 3 now. When was the last time someone got this far into a triple?
  • MvGMvG MauritiusCharter Member
    Amazing stuff. Go Stuart!
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    By the tracker looks like Stuart turned back half way through the Separation Zone. :-( No updates yet, but we'll have to hope Stuart is ok which is most important. That's still THREE two-way EC swims he has done, which alone is phenomenal.

    loneswimmer.com

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    edited August 2014
    Cyril Baldock (Twitter) & web, Australia, just broke Roger Allsop's 2011 (UK/Jersey) record for oldest person to solo the Channel; Cyril is 70 years and nine months, beating Roger by five months. Cyril first soloed 30 years ago!

    Roger was 17 hours 41m while Cyril was 12 hrs 45m!

    Meanwhile Otto Thaning (73, South Africa) awaits his tide for his chance also while Sue Oldham also waits to try to break her own record for oldest woman (set at 65 in 2006).

    Exciting & inspirational swimmers all!

    loneswimmer.com

  • JimBoucherJimBoucher Senior Member
    Brilliant swim, fantastic time.
  • phodgeszohophodgeszoho UKSenior Member
    edited August 2016

    Simon Cooke is currently attempting to break Kevin Murphy's record for earliest EC Channel crossing.

    He set off at 04:30 BST Tue 26/05 on Louise Jane with the CSA.

    Best of luck to him. :-)

  • phodgeszohophodgeszoho UKSenior Member

    Sandettie Lightship currently showing 53.8F (12.1C).

    http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=62304

  • phodgeszohophodgeszoho UKSenior Member

    Never 100% sure but based on the tracker it would appear that the Louise Jane has turned back after, what looks like, four and half hours.

    Kudos for attempting it. Hope everyone is OK.

    suziedodsloneswimmer
  • ChrisgreeneChrisgreene Mercersburg PA/Atlanta, GAMember

    Just read that he's OK but they had to stop the swim as he was getting extremely cold.

    phodgeszoho
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    It appears that it was aborted as you said and glad that all are safe .Again, while a valiant effort... it seems a bit of hoopla for a rather short swim. The temp was cold, but not insane. You would think that , training in Brighton, he would have had a chance to properly acclimatise. It appears the conditions were lovely and flat with alot of sun.
    It's back to the ole "did press drive the swim as opposed to the conditions"driving the swim? I am glad all is well but question these big swims attempted with alot hoopla and little completion are growing more common.
    I don't know if it's a bad thing personally but I do think that it might begin to give the sport a bad reputation, especially if lives are on the line.

    phodgeszoholoneswimmerHelbeslknightssthomasMvGswimfitchic
  • phodgeszohophodgeszoho UKSenior Member

    I don't know much about the guy and only found out about his swim the other day when the BBC started to cover it. I was interested to see how he got on but must admit I was also quite surprised to see it aborted sub six hours.

    @suziedods, I agree with a lot of your sentiments. As you say the conditions looked good and at 53.8F (12.1C) "not insane" temperature. A valiant effort and I have respect for anyone who puts themselves out in the public eye to promote their chosen charity, I certainly couldn't do it.

    The thing that twitches my mild OCD is the claim now circulating about the water temperature. Since yesterday I have seen a few stories posted that imply he was pulled because the water was unseasonably cold for this time of year.

    "Simon became disorientated due to the cold. The water is very much colder than it has been in May in previous years so achieving the world record was always going to be a massive challenge." - Amaze, Brighton and Hove News, The Argus, BBC.

    Unfortunately that is not very accurate. Based on Sandettie Lightship Buoy's previous 10 years the temperature in the EC Channel is currently sitting above the average for this time of year.

    May

    As he had promoted his swim as going for two "world records", "the earliest" and "the coldest", I would have hoped that he at least knew in advance what the expected temperature range for this time of year was.

    @suziedods you raise some interesting questions about swims that are big on "hoopla" and "little completion" and their potential impact on the sport's reputation.

    However to end on a positive, he did try and he did manage to raise almost 20K for Amaze so kudos for that. :-)

    loneswimmerHelbeChrisgreenessthomasevmoJenA
  • firebahfirebah Charter Member
    edited May 2015

    I agree 100% with Suzie. I am fed up with swimmers who exaggerate the truth for sensationalism or simply by error because they did not check the facts. If one is going to make statements in their 'media coverage' then they should really make sure they have the facts straight. Philip's data trashes the notion this was unseasonably cold. The statement about the crew member being the oldest woman to have swum the English Channel in 2009 was completely false. Carol Sing at 57 swam the EC in 1999. Not picking on Simone as this same issue can be found with so many swimmers today, especially in their pre-swim media hype. Why can't we have more swimmers like Liz Fry, Forrest Nelson, Tina Neil (just to name a few) who go out there and do amazing swims and we only find out about the swim because someone else breaks the news about his/her accomplishment? I am beginning to feel as if open water swimming has a new record category - the swimmer who can get the most media hype before, during and after a swim.

    MvGAnthonyMcCarleyloneswimmer
  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member

    Personally, I feel that if someone is going to get lots of media coverage over a swim, it would be an opportunity to shift the focus of that coverage to something like preventing pollution and slowing climate change. Pollution is ultimately destroying our seas and none of us want to swim in a polluted dead-zone, let alone watch all of the lovely sea creatures disappear around us. The average person doesn't give it much thought, nor do they understand why a person would jump into chilly water and swim all day, so it's an opportunity to generate interest, awareness and action. There are plenty of other good causes that a swimmer might bring attention to, but keeping the purple sea stars in Puget Sound healthy is a cause that's important to me. My $.02.

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    I guess this goes back to the fundraising bit. How much of what was raised actually went to the charity? As a UK charity is there something similar to "Charity Navigator" which monitors how much of what is raised goes back to the actual charity. I realize too, that press can take one's words and twist them so that needs to be taken into account.
    BUT.. there are some patent untruths on his site. Fiona Southwell, was not and has not been the "oldest female ". Not only was Carol Sing the oldest at 57 in 1999 but Liz Fry did a two way in 2013(?) at age 54. So at 51.. while commendable, she is not the oldest. That gives weight where it is not due, and how much of that 'weight ' drove fundraising? ( to be honest, not much but still, you shouldn't say you did something or are something when you are not) * see DN thread:)
    There are then two threads here.. fundraising as well as press. We have also addressed how to "handle press" on this forum so the errors can and should be corrected.
    I wish Mr Cooke all the success but, please, for the sake of the sport and your health, please be prepared and speak the truth,( see Sarah Thomas's famous post)If you aren't prepared... don't sully an attempt with platitudes.

  • phodgeszohophodgeszoho UKSenior Member

    Regarding the statement mentioned by @suziedods about "Fiona Southwell, who’s completed the Channel herself (the oldest woman, at the time, to have swum the English Channel and a wonderful person)".

    Once again I don't know the individual involved but I was curious to check the data and I have a suspicion I know where the basis of this claim comes from.

    Fiona swam in 2009 with the CSA. She was 51 and at that time appears to have been the oldest female solo swimmer ratafied by the CSA.

    I believe the CSA do not recognise any non CSA swims?

    I guess you can see where this is going... :-/

    suziedods
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    Oh.. Sorry, I forgot to cross check. My bad. Thank you for that clarification.

  • firebahfirebah Charter Member
    edited May 2015

    Carol Sing swam the EC on August 20, 1999 at the age of 57 and it was noted at that time that she was the oldest woman. Carol swam under CSA (I do not believe CS&PF existed at that time). Regardless of what one believes in regards to CSA vs CS&PF and what is or isn't a a record because of which federation one swam with Carol was the oldest at 57. I am friends with Carol who is now in her 70's and I guarantee you in 1999 she was older than Fiona was in 2009 and she held the record which Fiona never held for being the oldest woman. If you have your doubts go to the CSA website and you will find Carol's swim ratified by that federation. I have also included it on my next posting to save any doubters from having to actually do the research themselves.

    phodgeszohossthomas
  • firebahfirebah Charter Member

    Screen Shot 2015-05-27 at 1.20.35 PM

    phodgeszoholoneswimmer
  • phodgeszohophodgeszoho UKSenior Member

    @firebah very sorry, I was reviewing the CS&PF database downloaded on my little phone screen and totally missed Carol Sing's swim. You are totally correct, she swam in 1999 at the age of 57.

    So I have no idea what Fiona's claim is based on... :-/

  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member

    My understanding is that Fiona was the oldest BRITISH woman to have swum the Channel at the time. To be fair to her, I'm not aware that she claims to have been the oldest woman to have swum the Channel at that time.
    The word "British" appears to have been dropped in the reporting of Simon's attempt. I don't think it's fair to blame that on Fiona.

    phodgeszoholoneswimmer
  • firebahfirebah Charter Member

    Zoe, no one is blaming Fiona or even Simon for that matter. We were discussing the inaccuracies presented by far too many swimmers these days. Hopefully it is being done from ignorance and not simply to beef up their resumes for media attention. The question is why are 'facts' to being verified before being placed on charity pages, blogs, websites, etc? So much media attention prior to a swim - the question is are people attempting their swims even when it would be best to wait for a better day because of all of the hype.

    Philip, I know that problem! I make so many more errors when I use my phone rather than the computer. My eyes are far too old for reading things on the phone but it is so darn convenient!

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited May 2015

    Let that be a lesson to any who might dare to suggest a crew member was the oldest woman to swim the English Channel rather than the oldest.... British woman to swim the English Channel!!!!

  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    @evmo, I think the issue is again, one of saying someone is or did , something that is in fact not true. And while the press may twist one's words, to put something on one's fundraising website that is clearly false or at the very least misrepresented and clearly easily searchable is not just disingenuous, it goes back to giving the sport a bad name. We do not want to be the Lance Armstrong of OWS.( or FIFA for that matter)
    MSF rules were made to shed light and create a format so that swims could be in some way standardized and quantifiable and qualifiable, right? I believe that goes to creating a standard for how one presents oneself.
    Not to pick on Simon, but .. recently there has been a 2 way Farrallones relay, set out in questionable conditions( with the accompanying press and astounding photos) another Farrallones relay, where it appeared the team appeared to be rather unprepared and then this attempt , also aborted at what I would call a rather short time. All three had a fair amount of press and Mr Cooke presented his coach as something that she clearly is not , with ample time to not only correct his website but to clarify that what Ms Southwell is, which is, the oldest British female. It is a commendable "first" no doubt but it is untrue to call her the oldest female. A small mistake but I believe magnified by other questionable comments and the odd statements about why he did not complete his swim.

    evmo
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited May 2015

    suziedods said:
    MSF rules were made to shed light and create a format so that swims could be in some way standardized and quantifiable and qualifiable, right? I believe that goes to creating a standard for how one presents oneself.

    To my understanding of MSF Rules, their aims do not include preventing slight exaggerations of the credentials of crew members, or preventing people from attempting Farallon relays they were ill-prepared for.

    Of the many things I learned from the experience of publicly picking apart questionable swim claims (in this case, far, far bigger fish than Mr Cooke), one of them is choosing one's battles. e.g., fraud.

    suziedods
  • phodgeszohophodgeszoho UKSenior Member

    I feel this thread has got a little off the original topic. It was, after all, originally posted in the "cheering" section. My fault as much as anyone's. :-/

    I realise there are potentially some valid issues that have been raised around these sort of record attempts but to be honest I would prefer it if they where split off into other threads where they can be discussed in more general terms.

    When Simon's attempt popped up the other day it seemed worthy of posting here. To my knowledge no one I knew seemed to know anything about it. I was certainly excited by it and looking forward to tracking it.

    Yes, it would appear that he was under prepared for the challenge he had set himself but he will not be the first or the last swimmer to make that mistake.

    I generally hope that at some point in the future, with lessons learned, and better prepared he comes back and tries again.

    suziedodsevmoHelbeloneswimmer
  • phodgeszohophodgeszoho UKSenior Member

    Wondering if this should be renamed to "EC 2015 Cheering Section". Just a thought.

    evmo
  • mpfmarkmpfmark Teesside England Charter Member

    Wendy Trehiou from Jersey swam AGAIN (5th EC) yesterday Thursday 25th June '15 with Neil Streeter/ Suva 14h24minutes

    phodgeszohoIronMikesuziedods
  • HelbeHelbe Senior Member

    Congratulations to the Arch Academy Zombie Patrol A and B relay teams, coached by Dan Simonelli, who all successfully reached France yesterday. Great team work :)

    phodgeszohoIronMikeksmithChrisgreeneTheoDanSimonelli
  • HelbeHelbe Senior Member

    phodgeszoho said:
    Wondering if this should be renamed to "EC 2015 Cheering Section". Just a thought.

    Perhaps... but so far there is only reference to those who have already succeeded...

    ...Until now - Go GO Swim Well @phodgeszoho !!! When is your tide? Soon right?

  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member

    The awesome @phodgeszoho is in the water now. His Channel swim started at 7:04am. Escort boat is Suva. Top bloke, and he has trained really hard for this. Pink boat on http://cspf.co.uk/tracking

    OnceaRunnerLeonard_JansenNoelFigart
  • HelbeHelbe Senior Member

    Swim strong @phodgeszoho. Tracking all the way!

  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member

    Also found out that Chloe McCardel is also out there today with Viking Princess! I believe this will be her 8th English Channel solo. Go Chloe!

    IronMikeJustSwimOnceaRunnerLeonard_JansenNoelFigart
  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member

    Word is that Chloe finished in a new PB of 8 hrs 52 mins. That must have seemed a warm up compared to her exploits in the Bahamas last year. Fantastic swim!

    NoelFigartJustSwimIronMikeevmo
  • Leonard_JansenLeonard_Jansen Charter Member

    Question for the people who have done/are familiar with Channel logisitcs.

    Go to: cspf.co.uk/tracking and look at the TRACK of the boat called the "Sea Satin". It is the track of someone currently in the channel. The track covers from 10 am to 10 pm. Given that the tide is apparently turning and the person is now being pushed to the north-east and given the distance/shape of the track over the last 12 hours, what is the opinion of the best strategy to try and make it?
    1) Is it to angle directly towards the coast and try to make it on this phase of the tide?
    2) Is it to angle towards the coast with the idea that you won't make it on this phase of the tide, but when it turns later, you will end up being pushed south enough to make it - i.e. another 6-8 hours in the water?
    3) Something else?
    My gut feeling is #2, but that's just a guess.

    -LBJ

    “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde

  • JimBoucherJimBoucher Senior Member

    You can point whatever way you like LBJ but the tide is going to beat you every time. The swimmer has a long shift ahead maybe 6-8 hours as the tide has to turn before they will move towards Calais. Good luck to them.

  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    The other cool thing about the tracking is that it shows wind speed, wave height and frequency, thus giving you a much better picture of what the weather is. In this fashion it is better than a "spot me" which only shows 10 min blips of movement w no data as to weather.

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    edited June 2015

    Leonard_Jansen said:
    Question for the people who have done/are familiar with Channel logisitcs what is the opinion of the best strategy to try and make it?

    -LBJ

    Shut up and swim.... Don't give the crew or pilot a reason to believe you are defeated. Steady progress.... Quick feeds.... And a big smile.

    HelbeKNicholasevmoDanSimonelliJenA

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • HelbeHelbe Senior Member

    Congratulations to @phodgeszoho who completed his channel solo in 15hrs 22mins. Strong swim and awesome to track.

    NoelFigartevmompfmarkOnceaRunner
  • JimBoucherJimBoucher Senior Member
    edited June 2015

    david_barra said:

    Leonard_Jansen said:
    Question for the people who have done/are familiar with Channel logisitcs what is the opinion of the best strategy to try and make it?

    -LBJ

    Shut up and swim.... Don't give the crew or pilot a reason to believe you are defeated. Steady progress.... Quick feeds.... And a big smile.

    Certainly the message to someone in that position would be that there is swimming to do and getting on with it for next three hours is the best tactic. On the other hand not all swimmers are able to switch into a mindless automaton node and respond to orders. Having found myself what seemed miles SW of Cap Gris Nez the idea of "swimming straight in to the French coast "really did seem attractive,but a decent understanding of the tide timing meant I knew I was about to get a 3kt boost back to the Cap. Those miles disappeared in no time. Same goes for swimmers who find themselves out of sight of the ferries way up the NE end of the Straits. It won't be long till you're flying SW. First, abortive, attempt for me my mind went to pieces with the tide and geography contributing to this state of mind. Afterwards it became so much clearer and ultimately successful.

    mpfmarkcaburke
  • HelbeHelbe Senior Member
    edited July 2015

    Second successful crossing this year for Chloe McCardel and only four days since her last crossing!!!! Her ninth crossing in total I believe. Time 9hrs 56. Awesome swimming.

    DanSimonellidpm50
  • HelbeHelbe Senior Member
    edited July 2015

    And a third successful solo crossing in 9hrs 48 by Chloe McCardel today - on a big tide - all three swims under 10 hours. That's three fast crossings in 7 days. Incredible.

    slknightlakesprayIronMikecaburkeDanSimonellidpm50
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