The Day after….” The Big Swim”

 I open my eyes, it is still Friday August 10th, yip a few hours with my eyes closed and I awake to the same challenges that I drifted off to sleep with…..healing my body and digesting the ” Big Swim”.

 I haul myself upright and gaze around the caravan, Jeff is still twisted up in an uncomfortable heap on the other side of the small living room, Cynthia and Deborah are in the two bedrooms and all my swim gear from ” The Big Swim” is strewn around the floor.

 My stomach twists and contorts as I sit up, I manage to stand, granted a little wobbly but all things considered I am feeling pretty good, there is no muscle soreness in my shoulders, my abdominal muscles are a bit tender from all the vomiting and my legs are achy from the continuous cramping, but it is all minor compared to how I am feeling mentally, ” I didn’t land it”, I say to myself, referring to the French Coast, a million thoughts scamper around my head, and a million feelings to keep the thoughts company, I bounce from feeling to feeling, I am angry at myself for not trying harder, then I give it a bit of logical thinking, ” Hold on you swam your heart out, Never Give Up, you went to the end, can’t ask more than that”,  I bat around many other scenarios in my head, analysing my swim blow by blow, finally I come to the conclusion that even though it was not the result I trained for I still  LOVED it out there in the Channel, yip the thrill of leaping into that water with the intention of destination France was one of the most exhilarating things in my life.

I look out the window, it is a stunning day, Day One after my channel swim and it is shaping up to be a pearl-er, Jeff is now awake and heading out the door to pick up Paula, she has spent all of yesterday afternoon and night with  my 12 year daughter old Heidi and my 14 year old Soeren, means the world to me knowing that they were tucked up safe and comforted allowing me to be out on a date with ” The Channel” last night.

 Jeff is soon back from picking up Heidi and Soeren, my mood is fluctuating from glum, to very glum, to not knowing quite what to do with myself, I have managed to come to the realization that regardless on the destination last night I loved my swim, ” so why am I having such a hard time living with this right now?” I ask myself. At the perfect time Heidi my daughter arrives, ” Hi Mom, you did great”, she says as she gives me a hug, ” You were flying out there, we were watching you”, she adds, ” thanks so much Heidi”, I reply, ” You OK Mom?”, she asks with big deer eyes, ” I’ll be OK Heidi, I’m just a bit sad that I did not make the crossing”, I tell her in a crackly voice, my throat is swollen from the salt water and vomiting, making me sound like a croaky old frog when I speak. ” Mom you know that 99.9% of people couldn’t and wouldn’t even put their big toe in the Channel, you’ve gotta be thrilled with your BIG SWIM it was amazing”, and then she hugs me and is off out the door. I look over towards Cynthia, ” Well there we have it a priceless pep talk to lift my spirits and the kicker it is from my 12 year old daughter”, I smile.

 Next up is my son Soeren, from him a hug and this ” You know Mom, it takes the darkest of nights to experience the brightest of days”. What can I say here  starts my recovery thanks with family and friends close by.

 So that is how the day after my big swim takes shape, after a bit more of a rest it is time to tackle a shower, let me tell you I smell horrible, a mixture of sea water, Channel trash, vomit and my Maxim feed over me and my matted hair, a long shower takes care of the smell and gives me a chance to discover some raw chaff marks from my suit, a circle on my back where my suit sat and at the top of my thighs, finally a raw mark on one shoulder.

Now I am all cleaned up we head off to Dover Harbor, where Cynthia and Paula take a well deserved Channel swim themselves, I watch from the beach……..

 I watch the girls swim, the beach is filled with families and couples enjoying the day, the sun is shining bright and the Channel is looking inviting, all the same I stay on the beach, I am looking forward to swimming tomorrow, but  today is for resting on the beach, I am deep in thought as the others swim, pondering while I gaze out towards France.

 ” Well played English Channel, enjoy your victory, I’ll be back tomorrow to salute you, I can see I shall leave your waters not in defeat but wiser and stronger”

Will I lift myself up and enter Channel Waters tomorrow?

I’ll keep you posted

Closing Thought:

                 There will be many obstacles to overcome, persevere with unshakable courage

                                                                                                – Charlotte J Brynn

 

Feed Time

 My first 30 minutes flies by, time for my pickup signal, my crew circle their arms meaning it is time for me to pick up my pace even further, I do and add in a 6 beat kick, ” weird, I don’t usually kick hard like this, I am more of a puller”, I think, as my feet flutter boiling the water behind me, my few minutes of pick up is soon over and I swim towards the boat, down comes a big long pole, duct taped on the end of this long white plastic pole are two cups, they look like something you would buy a pot plant in, my favourite feed cup is jammed inside one of them, I wrestle it out, pop the top and tip down the maxim, (my carbo loader drink), then I am off again. ” Darn I forgot to pee”, I think to myself, I know it is vital to pee regularly, firstly to make sure I am not swimming with a full bladder, in cold waters the priority of the body is to keep the vital organs warm, it shunts blood to the core of the body rather than to the extremities,” I don’t want to waste valuable energy heating up a full bladder”, the second reason, kidney failure, good to avoid.

I have taught myself to pee while swimming, now don’t laugh it is harder than it sounds, you have to be able to relax both your mind and the muscles from the waist down, no easy task when you are swimming in the water, I have trained myself to pee every 30 minutes open water swimming, along with taking in 300mls of liquid feeds. It has become automatic, but today I have missed my first 30 minutes already, ” come on relax”, I do…..success, I swim on.

 The White Cliffs of Dover are starting to get smaller as stroke by stroke I move closer to France, I have a very simple list of instructions playing over in my head, ” don’t look back at the White Cliffs of Dover, they will never disappear, don’t look forwards to the shore of France they will never appear to get closer”, these wise words I have heard from many a Channel swimmer and read from Freda Streeter, ” The Channel General”, she has been training Channel swimmers in Dover Harbor for over 20 years….so I never look back, all I see is the boat, the water, I turn my attention to what is before me.

 

Calm Waters

 The water is calm, silky calm,”  ideal conditions”, I think,” I feel the sun on my back, the crew are warm too, Jeff is in a T Shirt, Ned is shirtless, must be really warm out, that is good news”, I continue to evaluate my status, ” the water a cool 60 degrees is feeling very manageable, my hands are not clawing up, my feet are a bit achy, but the good news is that I can feel both of them, a very good sign, and the best is my midsection feels toasty warm, excellent”, I think, I swim on, I am pleased, I see the ” you’re doing great signal” and smile back at the crew, ” I wonder if they can see that I am happy?”, I think to myself.

On the boat I can see “Big Ned”, beside him is Jeff, Cynthia is up front and Deb is up top,  the crew have a signal for when I am doing well, they lift there arms up to the sky and point their hands down to the crown of their heads, it looks like a heart made out of the shape of their arms. I am finding myself LOVING the ” You’re doing great” signal, every time I see it I smile and dig a little deeper, ” ohhh goodie, I think”, when I see it, I feel like a dog who is rewarded when he sits or rolls over, instead of a treat, I get the ” Good stuff” signal.

Feeds Come and Go

 Feed, after feed comes and goes, ” I must drink all my feed”, I firmly tell myself as the feed cup gets lowered down, the crew have a new feed set up, they have somehow turned the pole into a fishing pole type contraption, this time they lower down my feed cup to me on a string, ” very innovative”, I think, the water is not as calm as it was when we started, it was getting increasingly difficult to get me my cup without a wave washing salt water over it. I reach up to grab my cup, it is a long reach up to the boat, we are feeding off the front of the boat to minimise the amount of boat fumes I breath while I swim and eat, I drop my cup and swim on, the boat chugs away beside me, I see the black fumes pump out the back, I am starting to notice more and more ships as I swim, we have reached the shipping lane on the English side, I am pleased, ” how lucky am I to be in the English Channel swimming amongst all these massive ships and ferries”, I feel grateful indeed.

 Shipping Zone Traffic

 Onwards I forge through the waters of the south west shipping lane, it is on the English side of the Channel and is for vessels travelling ” down channel” to the Atlantic, it is 4 nautical miles wide and starts 5 nautical miles from British shoreline, right now I am being navigated across this shipping zone, and also being pushed down it by the strong Channel tide. The ships are like big apartment buildings, the closer they get the more massive they appear from the waters surface, I feel tiny compared to them.

 They get closer and more frequent in the shipping lane…

 

 

Wave Action

Where there is a boat there’s a wake, I am swimming along watching the SUVA, my pilot boat  like a hawk for any sign of contact or communication from my crew, I know it is not quite time for a feed, but your never know they may throwme a bone and toss me a few jelly babies or some slippery peaches for good behaviour, I watch and watch, no sign of extra credit yum yums, then I see Ned doing a dolphin like action with his body, ” what the heck is that?”, I ponder, Ned continues to do a whale tail like movement, making his body move like a wave, I am so busy wondering what he is doing I barely notice the massive wave from the cargo ship pick me up like a cork in a barrel of water and toss me about, the boat tips way to the side and I surf up and down the wave, ” WAHOO, brilliant how fun was that?” I think and swim on. ” Note to self, that means big wave coming”, I giggle underwater.

 

 

Things Get Dark

 I knew it would happen eventually the sun begins to lower in the sky, I hear word from the crew that we have reached the middle separation zone, this is the area between the English shipping zone and French shipping zone side, I am elated to be in this ship free area, also a bench mark that I am out of English Waters, I now have a new mantra and repeat it over and over:

 ” the water is warmer on the French side, every stroke you take gets you closer to warmer waters”

I have noticed that I am hungry, a while back I asked the crew for stronger feeds, they feel too weak, I need more juice, I look at the boat, it is getting harder to see, darkness closes in minute by minute, the crew add layers of clothing, the night air is cooling and so is my core body temperature.

 

 

Pain is Temporary

 I can’t remember how long my legs have been in pain, one hour blends into another, ” forwards is the only option”, I command, my mind feels iron strong, my lower body is screaming at me, I swim anyway, I pull in for my next feed, ” your stroke count is down to 60 from 64, can you stay warm at 60?”, shouts Ned, I am determined not to speak, I don’t want to risk slurred speech spurting out of my mouth and me getting pulled form the water, I give the two thumbs up and swim on, ” Right, have to lift my stroke rate”, I think, I spin my arms faster, the crew gives me the , ” you’re doing great sign”, I feel relived, I am well aware that my head is ice block cold, it is the thing that hurts the most, ” check in on your hands”, I command my mind, I do and they feel great, no clawing up, when you get really crippled by the cold water your hands curl up like claws, right now mine are in good shape. Before I know it I am in to the boat for another feed, ” Are you peeing?”, shouts Ned, ” peeing…..not so good”, I think, I recall peeing 3 times, once in the first hour, once during hour two and one other time, in fact I have been trying to pee so hard, that I haven’t been able to pee and it has been frustrating and worrying me”, I look at Ned and give him the two thumbs up, then swim away trying to pee, I do not have success. The night air continues to close in around me, I find myself subconsciously pulling my face and chest out of the water, ” lean down, you have to press into the water and pull hard”, I firmly instruct my mind to snap my body back into gear.

The Night surrounds us

 Pitch black darkness falls, I can no longer see where the crew are on SUVA , I am no longer sure where the boat is, I swim on, time slips through my fingers, the feeling of cold seems to have washed away completely, one arm strokes after the other, one stroke after the other, thoughts drift away in my head, my mind goes quiet, the lights go out,  I no longer feel pain. I am aware of a sudden force behind me hurling me upwards, I am on the boat, my swim is over.

Return to Dover

  It seems like I have just woken up, I peer out from under my hat and find that  I am in the cabin of the boat, wrapped in blankets and a sleeping bag, a hat firmly pulled over my eyes, it is my Channel Solo hat, a gift from Imelda, ” don’t wear this until you’ve completed your channel swim”, she had said when she gave it to me, now it is on my head and I feel like shrinking away under it for the penny has just dropped that I am back on the boat, I don’t remember exactly the events leading up to me getting here but now I am painfully aware that I didn’t hit French Soil,  I don’t know how long I swam but I know one thing for sure I didn’t make the crossing, as I am coming to this conclusion, I double over and throw up into a bucket on my lap, it looks pretty full, ” I guess I’ve been throwing up for a while”, I think.

 I brave a look up once more and see Cynthia, Deb and Jeff, ” Hi”, I say with a hoarse croaky voice and throw up again, I heave and heave into the bucket, eventually someone takes it up on deck and hurls it overboard, I go about filling it up again, I hunch over like an old woman, my body hurts from the vomiting, but worse is the anguish I feel inside, my swim is over, Check Mate.

Hours later the boat arrives at the Dover Marina, time to get off, I go to stand and discover I am not going to be getting off this boat alone,  with Jeff’s help I shuffle towards the captains chair, ” thank you Neil, sorry about throwing up”, I croak out, ” not the first”, replies the boat captain, then it is a shuffle off the boat, along the dock and into the car. Someone helps me up the steps of the caravan and I sit on the couch with my bucket throwing up, I learn that I was in the water nine hours and 30 minutes and swam in to French waters, 6 miles from the coast of France, I swam a total distance of 17 miles, I continue to vomit, but there is no longer anything there, just dry reaching.

 By 2:30am sleep comes, I sleep on the couch in the caravan covered in blankets, when I open my eyes it is 5:30am, the night sky is starting to give way to daybreak, I look around at all the swim supplies scattered around the caravan, at my puke bucket and at Jeff all twisited up the couch on the other sidde of the caravan, he looks exhausted.

 Today is the first day after my Channel Swim, Day one of  not reaching French soil, ” I have much to process”, I think and I close my eyes.

What will I learn from my crew of the final stages of my swim and how will I feel mentally and physically after riding the tiger?

I’ll keep you posted

Closing Thought:

” Shoot for the moon, even is you miss, you’ll end up amongst the stars”

                                                                                                                                                 – Les Brown

                                                  

 

Swim to Shore

 My body plunges beneath the surface, I kick to the surface, the water feels refreshing cool, I set my sights on the beach and swim in, I clumsily walk out of the water, the irregularly shaped round Dover Beach stones are painful to walk on, I walk over them like they are silky smooth sand, for my attention is on the stretch of water before me, The English Channel, finally I am here standing in front of her, ready to fight with all my might, it is a surreal moment, something that two and a half years ago was inconceivable and now is not only believable but right before my very eyes, I am thrilled.

 When I started this journey in 2010 the thought of swimming 6 hours in 60 degree water to qualify to swim the English Channel was daunting, I did it.  One year ago the thought of swimming 25 miles was daunting,  I did it.  Swimming for 15.5 hours, including swimming through the night a mere 10 months ago seemed a task that only a sub human could pull off,  but last year I did it, I am ready to play this game of ” Channel Chess”, it is going to come down to navigating what she tosses at me. I inhale deeply and then excitedly lunge forward into here waters, game on….

 In the water I go, I don’t do my usual dawdle into the water, usually I wade in waist deep, piddle about and after a bit dive under, not today I am right on it, I can’t wait to get going, once in the water I stick to my plan, I ” fang it”, in Kiwi that means attack with a vengeance, I know the English waters are the coldest, I have been told by many a Channel swimmer that this is the case, a Channel Observer gave me the low down just a few days ago, ” well you know the waters are colder on the English side, there are deep holes in the bottom of the Channel on the English side, the tidal waters surge into the deep holes and drive all the cold water up to the surface, you will feel it bone chillingly cold for 50 meters or more, but keep swimming, you will come out of it and hit a warm patch that is 1 degree warmer”, he told me with a wide and knowing grin, the warm patch he was talking about a balmy 61 degrees. Knowing I have a tall lanky lean frame I know I will have to swim hard to generate heat,  into the cold Channel waters I go in attack mode, I swim hard and it feels great, this is what I have trained for, I make good progress and soon pull away from the White Cliffs of Dover, I am having the time of my life, ” Take it in Vermont Kiwi, you are swimming in the English Channel, enjoy the moment’, I tell myself and I do, this is  fantastic, what a dream come true…..

Early Days in my swim, but still my impression is ” I LOVE the Channel, this is the best”, my speed is 2.71 miles per hour, progress is excellent and I feel like the luckiest Vermont Kiwi in the world

How lucky?

I’ll keep you posted

Closing Thought:  If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it

                                                                  – Andy Rooney

 

Thursday Morning  brings grim news

5:30am rolls around and I peer out the caravan window, it has started to get light amongst the thick  fog, ” I wonder if Maria, has heard word of Colm”, I think as I peer out from under the covers, Maria is Colm’s wife, we met for the first time on Sunday and I instantly liked her, bright, bubbly and upbeat, I creep out my bedroom door, so as not to wake Cynthia, then peek out the kitchen window  to see if she is awake, I see the living room light on in her caravan, and go about  making my way over , I  timidly knock on the door, Maria greets me with a warm smile, ” do you have news of Colm, I am not able to see the tracker?”, I ask, ” No”,  I am about to call the boat, she replies,  ” if you feel up to it come tell me when you hear news”, Maria is soon back to share what she has learned, ” the fog was too thick for him to land, he was 300 meters from shore, he is back on SUVA and will arrive at 7;30am”, Maria says, we give each other a tight hug,  I feel sad, Colm, along with two other swimmers out there this morning  did not land for safety reasons, the fog was so thick they were not permitted to leave the boat to swim to French shores, one so close she was only 100 meters away from land, ” The Channel shows no mercy”, I think.

Thursday Morning 9am

 The fog remains thick, time to call Neil, ” Hi Neil, this is Charlotte, how do things look?”, I ask, ” awww right then Charlotte, you can swim at 12:30pm, or 3;30pm today, what do you want to do?”, he replies, I am thrown off I had not expected a choice, ” What do you think of the fog Neil, is it lifting?”, I ask Neil,  “well maybe, maybe not, it is meant to breakup, but it may not”, Neil replies, ” can I call you back?”, I ask Neil, ” Yes”, he says. I hang up the phone and look around the trailer, what to do, I place a call to Jeff, ” I really don’t know Jeff, Neil is noncommittal, I don’t want to chance swimming in thick fog”, I fill Jeff in on the situation, ” I’ll be over in a few minutes”, he replies.

 Jeff arrives, and is joined by Ned and Cynthia, none of us have a feel for what should be done, time continues to tick by, we are no further towards a decision, there is umming and arrring, some people around the caravan park think it looks good others think the weather looks bad, finally I bump into another swimmer due to swim today also, ” I am swimming at 12:00 she says”, shortly afterwards, after 2.5 hours of thick fog and indecision I hear that the fog is breaking up at the  Dover Marina, it is looking good, I reach for the phone and call Neil, ” 12:30pm it is”, I tell him, ” Good meet me at the Marina at 12:15am “, he replies, suddenly we are scrambling, there is barely enough time to get my suit on, sun lotion applied and the gear loaded up. The gear is tossed in the car and we make our way down towards  Dover Marina, as we drive down from the top of the White Cliffs of Dover towards the Harbor the fogs breaks up and there is brilliant sunshine, it is turning out to be a stunning day, I am thrilled, the water is calm and the sunshine is streaming through the clouds.

SUVA here we come….

 

 Jeff, Cynthia, Ned and Deb unload the car, I am under strict instructions not to lift  any thing, it feels weird not to be helping, I follow the others towards the boat drinking my pre swim Maxim carbo drink, there is no wind and the sun is streaming warm rays on us, what a day…

On the Boat we go…..

 

 We are all ready to load, Neil and his first mate Jack get the boat ready, Jack is shirtless and is laden with elaborate tattoos, he has a massive toothy smile and jokes as we all climb aboard and head up the stairs to sit down, it is a wonderful view of the harbor, ” we leave from Shaky”, shouts Neil, ” that is Shakespeare’s Beach”, I think a 5 minute trip, we are close. I sit bundled up as we head out of the harbor.

 Deb has the grease ready to apply, Ned is captaining the crew he will be the only one to communicate with me,  Jeff, Cynthia and Deb are the crew on board, I feel fortunate to have them all there,  they bring much to the team, Deb is tough, she knows me and what I can do, I love her presence when I swim,  Cynthia makes even the grimmest of conditions seem beautiful and Jeff is my rock. Ned brings to the boat an intimate knowledge of ” The Channel”, he has been in her waters two times before, he has crossed her water and since then many other treacherous waters, but more than that he has given much to helping novice swimmers like me, get prepared to take on the Channel, from Ned I have learned lessons like:

 don’t stop between feeds, if you do the pilot will pull you

if your stroke rate drops it is a bad sign, you are not doing well the pilot will pull you

if you slur your speech or have difficulty answering questions, the pilot will pull you

if you swim away from the boat repeatedly you will be pulled

Don’t stop @$&***ing  swimming or the pilot will pull you

 All these lessons for me have not been ones  read and remembered, they have all been learnt first hand and the wrath of them felt  during many a training swim, some in the icy waters of Ireland, and some in my home waters of Vermont. I have stopped between feeds before ( it did not end well), I have had a stroke rate that has dropped due to mild hypothermia on many an occasion and I have learnt  to spin my arms fast to warm up, if it has been cold I have trained myself to ignore it, I have fed and vomitted and trained to keep swimming, I have swum by large ships and through masses of Jelly Fish, in filthy Harbor waters with excrement floating in it and clear sparking waters with beautiful fish.

 What will I need to draw from my training during this Channel swim……… I am about to find out, ” Time for grease”, shouts Ned, I start stripping off, Deb pulls on the rubber gloves and we start the final tasks.

Greased Up and ready to go…

 Deb smears the globs of grease around my neck, she plasters it under both my armpits, then under the shoulder straps of my suit, next she lathers it on my thighs and suit line on my back, I pull on my cap, place my goggles on my head and put in my ear plugs, ” remember not to touch your goggles”, shouts Ned, ” time to swim in, careful getting down the steps”, he adds, it is a good reminder, the steps are rusty and slippery, I look back towards Jeff, Deb and Cynthia, suddenly all the support of so many flashes through my mind, so many back home keeping me company during long swims, those who have spent hours and hours in a kayak by my side while I train, the wonderful messages wishing me good luck,  those contributing to help get me to Dover and my family living through the day to day life of living with someone training for an English Channel swim.

Time to Jump…..

 It is time to go,  time for me to take the final step in this English Channel Adventure, and that step is to jump off this boat and swim into shore, I let go of the bottom rung of the steps and for a brief moment  I am neither on the boat or in the icy waters Channel waters, ” This is it”, I think and with that my body plunges under the surface….

How will I feel when I surface and what will it feel like to walk out of the water  to  Shakespeare Beach where I am to start my swim?

I’ll keep you posted

Closing Thought:  Notice this moment and it is yours to treasure forever

                                                            Charlotte J Brynn

 

Pre “Channel Swim ”  Waiting & Uncertainty…..

 The Weather has been unpredictable, the winds  have been  forecast to diminish but are still  defiantly howling, and me, I am have become glued to the windsurfer guru website, watching the ever changing weather unfold and learning that there is nothing predictable about ” The Channel”, just what happens minute by minute, hour by hour for the Channel is like a fiery dragon, tamable by some and fierce to others and I am about to find out first hand.

Time to Swim Colm……

Colm, gets the call on Tuesday evening that he is on for a 3am start Wednesday morning, he is set ready to go, I am excited for him and me, I feel my heart beating in my throat, it is all happening very fast, I can’t believe that the time is so close, I feel excited and nervous all rolled into one, but mostly I feel the massive uncertainty of the situation at hand, nothing is certain, in fact the air has a dense heavy feel of uncertainty about it and it is weighing heavily on my shoulders, I find it difficult to concentrate on the smallest of tasks for at this moment there is only  ” The Channel”, life after that at this time does not exist, people nearby are going about their daily lives, but for me there is only the heartbeat of ” The Channel”.

A stand down for Colm…

Tuesday evening 9pm the winds are still fiery, Colm gets the call from our pilot to stand down, no swim for him,  the winds have not let up, his 3am start is cancelled, I feel for Colm he is all packed up, he rested this afternoon, now he is wide awake faced with yet another ” night before the Channel” sleep, and I am finding that those sort of sleeps are not very restful. We say our good nights, Colm and his family head off the their caravan, me to mine, I crawl into bed wearing a woolly hat, a fleece and sweat pants, I curl up under the covers wondering what tomorrow will bring, I wonder if Colm is wondering the same, finally in the wee hours of the morning sleep comes.

Colm gets the Thumbs Up…..

Wednesday morning dawns a new day, I am up early, 9:00am soon rolls around, Colm gets the thumbs up from the pilot, he is swimming this afternoon and is to meet at Dover Marina at 2:30pm, I get busy packing up, after Colm swims it is my turn. I pull out my lists for my feed bin, equipment bag and after swim gear bag, time to get all the final details in place, the task at hand feels over whelming, we have no shortage of gear, I pack it as Cynthia checks off the list.

 It seems to take a very long time, in between packing  I receive an email from Ned, he is diverting to Dover, if Colm indeed swims today and I swim Thursday Ned will be on the boat, I am so happy that he will be there with his first hand Channel knowledge and experience, meanwhile Colm comes in to say goodbye, final good luck hugs and he leaves, I watch him walk down the path to his car with his family, I linger on the view wondering what he must be feeling, so stoic and composed he strides away with a lifted chest and confident stride, if he is nervous he doesn’t show it, what  steel like composure, then he is gone and I wait to hear news…  I am up next but as darkness falls in the evening I am not only thinking of my swim, I am thinking of Colm swimming out there in the Channel in the night, the winds have dropped and now a thick layer of fog has rolled in, I can’t see the caravans beyond mine, it feels damp and cold, once more I slide under the covers with my warm hat firmly pulled down, ” this is may be my final sleep pre channel” I think, ” Rest, Rest, Rest”, I command my mind, but sleep does not come, I find myself tossing, turning and wondering, finally I get up, I have not been able to get a connection to follow his tracker most of the night, but luckily at 3:30am I catch a glimpse, he has made great progress and is close to the French Coast, what great news, I  snuggle back under the covers, happy that he is looking so good,  at 4:30m I get up and take another look, he is now so close the boat looks like it is on land, but it’s not and it seems to be sitting a very long time, something feels off…..

Did Colm arrive in France?

Will I head to the  base of the White Cliffs of Dover today to start my Channel swim? 

I’ll Keep you posted

Closing Thought:                 With Patience all will become clear in time

                                                                                                            – Charlotte J Brynn

 

 

Swim Day: Thursday August 9th, 2012

Spot Tracker Link:

 

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08Y2j0NKq4qcKx6eSEbDvpC1RlkscPugG

 

Swim Vermont Kiwi Swim

Time for me to swim, there will be no website update during the swim, I will fill you in on details of the adventure post swim, if you want to follow me while I swim click on the spot tracker link above, it will show you a map with my updated location every 10 minutes.

 To all of you who have supported me during my training and preparation over the last two and a half years, thanks a million, I couldn’t have come this far without you and your support.

Closing Thought:

                                    Never Give Up

                                                 – Charlotte. J. Brynn

 

 

Wind Wars

 Here we go, the roller coaster ride of changeable conditions is here, the weather forecast states one thing, ” The Channel” defiantly does another, the winds were forecast to ease Tuesday evening, they did not, I could feel my trailer jostling about in the wind, a reminder of how volatile the Channel is. My trailer is perched up on the top of the White Cliffs of Dover in the Varne Ridge Caravan park, David and Evelyn host me and my fellow Channel swimmers, they are wonderful hosts, I feel fortunate to be staying here.

Colm Swims slot Number 1….

 Colm was due to go at 1:30am this morning ( Wednesday August 8th), last night he was all packed ready, the wind was not dropping as predicted so our pilot Neil pulled the pin at 8:30pm, no swim for Colm last night, he has left for Dover Marina, his load the boat time is 2:30pm.

Swim Brynnswim Swim

  And news of my swim….I am poised ready to go, my equipment bag is packed, my feed box is packed, my after swim bag is packed and my black TYR suit, TYR goggles and favourite swim cap are laid out on my bed ready to go, along with my big blue towel with “The Swimming Hole” written on it, I love that towel and take it to all my swims.

Two and a half years of training with tremendous highs and gut wrenching lows, now we wait for the nod from the pilot, once received I will post my UK departure time here and a link to the GPS spot tracker which will be updating my location every 10 minutes….

Closing Thought:

                       Passion (Giving it everything you’ve got)

                                                                – author unknown

 

The time is near…..

 Another swim complete yesterday in Dover Harbor, this time a 2 hour, again I feel fortunate to have the company of some fellow Cork Distance week swimmers today, Jennifer Zwijen and Helen Gibbs welcome me with warm smiles, I check in with Freda the ” General”, and then line up for grease application, fantastic, Barry is there smearing grease under armpits and on necks, no greasy hands for me, what a  luxury.

  Then it is down to the water, the tide is out, we walk a long way out in the sand, there are supporters collecting our flip flops in bags so they do not wash away when the tide comes back in, these guys have this dialed in, what a treat. The swim is over quick, I  head back to the trailer to shower, eat and rest, Jenny is swimming a 6 hour, I scurry back to the beach by 3:30 to say goodbye to her…….

Colm arrives………

 

 Later this evening Colm arrives, my Irish swimming pal, it is fun to meet his family and we set up a plan to go see our pilot in the morning followed by a 1 hour swim in Dover Harbor, I turn in for the night withthoughts of meeting our pilot and seeing SUVA tomorrow, SUVA is the escort boat for both Colm and I, he is number 1 slot, I am follow him in slot number 2.

 Time to meet our Pilot and boat SUVA…..

 

 9:30am rolls around, Colm, his wife Maria, their 2 boys and I head off to Dover Marina, before you know it we are there, meet Neil Streeter and SUVA….

 On to the boat I climb, followed by Colm, it is much tighter than I had anticipated, the deck is small, I look down into the cabin  and step down, there is a galley, somewhere to heat water and a sink, being in the boat makes things seem very ” right now”, after 2 and a half years of preparation it is close and I am about to find out, closer than I think.

 Neil starts talking about tides, ” Colm, you should be prepared, there is a possibility that you go between 1:00 and 3:00am on Wednesday morning, I look at Colm and he looks at me, I sense we are both doing the math…..” that is tomorrow night”, I think, ” that puts me Thursday, game on”, my mind clicks into gear, “time to get ready Vermont Kiwi”.  We listen to Neil some more and figure out we are not going to know for sure today, we say goodbye and head off the boat and make our way to Dover Harbor.

Dover  Harbor

 

 The beach is deserted, but for a few hardy souls, we change ready to swim, ” we will not be as long as you”, says Maria, Colm’s wife, I am super impressed that Maria and the boys are taking a dip too.

 Our swim feels great, I am amazed at the volatility of the weather here, all within an hour we experience torrential squally wind, but we finish up the swim happy and stop by the Whippy truck for a creamy.

 Next up shower, food, nap and off to the grocery store to collect my final provisions, all the gear is ready to be packed up tomorrow, but not until later in the day, for in the morning I drive to London to pick up Jeff, Heidi and Soeren from the airport, I am excited to see them, Cynthia arrives around in around 1:00am Wednesday morning along with Deb and Paula, not all are coming on the boat, but all are supporting.

 Finally there is another who may make it on the boat, I’ll keep tight lipped on that one until I have confirmation but a wise Channel swimmer who I hold in the highest regard just may be able to make the earth shake and appear for my swim.

 When will I get the nod to swim? 70% chance it is Thursday August 9th

What time?  I will keep you posted.

Closing Thought:

                   Conviction ( believe in what you’re about to do)

                                                                        – author unknown

 

 The White Cliffs of Dover….

 My first view of the White Cliffs of Dover, it takes my breath away, they blast upwards from the sea, I am amazed by how high they are, they dominant the landscape and can be seen from miles away, that is why the swimmers who have gone before me pass down the same advice time and time again, ” don’t look back, the white cliffs of Dover will never disappear”, sound advice indeed.

 I stop by the Battle of Britain Memorial which is nearby, it over looks the Channel, in 1940 Hitler was launching massive attacks to gain the airborne superiority it needed, it is said that he and his highest ranking officers would stand on the French coast and look towards the White Cliffs of Dover, what he didn’t anticipate was that fewer than 3000 Englishmen, including 600 from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Ireland and many other countries would stand firm day after day protecting England and eventually force Germany to abandon plans of invasion, those White Cliffs must have been taunting Hitler as England prevailed.

 Back at my trailer, my home for the next 14 days I go about unpacking my gear and the groceries I have picked up from the store, I landed at 7:30am this morning and am forcing myself to stay up until 9:30pm tonight, a guarantee of a good night’s sleep and slotting into my new time zone. My plan is to join the Dover Channel swimmers at 9am tomorrow morning for my first Dover Harbor swim.

 I awake at 7:00am, the rain is teaming on the roof of the trailer, I pull the covers up, for a brief moment I think about staying in bed, ” after all you have just arrived”, I say to myself and quickly add, ” what are you new around here? You never bag out of a swim”, and with that I jump up, pull on my suit, warm clothes and my rain jacket, I down some porridge and am out the door, I am excited to see Dover Harbor, a 10 minute drive and there it is, just as I imagined….

 The sky looks grim, as I pull up to park I notice two familiar faces, Bryn and Sarah who were at Cork Distance week in Ireland are parked in front of me, suddenly the skies brighten, I am happy….

 Dover Harbor Swim

 Bryn introduces me to Freda, “the General”, she clasps my hand tightly and welcomes me, we get our caps, goggles and air plugs situated and head down to the water, Sarah gives me tips on where to swim, ” stay near the red hats”, she says, I nod and busy myself with finding out what and where the red hats are.

 In we go, I am anxious to feel the water, ” will this feel like the jaw clenching cold Irish waters, or the silky smooth tempid summer Vermont waters I have just left?”, I ponder the question as I dive under and swim, the water feels somewhere in between, it feels good. I swim 2 hours and get out, I say farewell and thankyou to the Dover beach crew, then head off to shower.

 Dover Marina

 On the way back to my trailer I stop by Dover Marina, this is where the boat SUVA, is docked and near where my pilot Neil Streeter will pick me and the crew up, I take a few moments to look around…..

 Then off rest up, tomorrow another trip to swim in Dover Harbor with Freda and the Dover training group, the water temperature was 62 degrees today, it was very windy, good practice for me being jostled about.

 Closing Thought:       Never look back 

 

 

Me, Paula Yankauskas, Cynthia Needham, Margaret Haskins, Jennifer Kimmick

Farewell Vermont…….. 

 You guessed it time to wrap up my final training week in Vermont, a 3 hour swim this morning and my goal for the week is complete, 38 miles , lucky for me I have some company today to clock up those final miles, as I swim the final laps in my home waters of the Green River Reservoir, I reflect on how familiar every shoreline, every tree and hill top has become, the taste of the water  and the smell in the air have become like a comfortable old pair of slippers,  through so many hours of swimming my senses have heightened throughout the course of this journey, I know exactly where I am in the lake just by the feel of the water, silky smooth around picnic island, a cool pocket of water where the cold springs are approaching Blueberry Island and finally there are the smells, not an odor, more like a presence in the air that I have become very in tuned too, a mossy earthy smell in Italy, a light playful smell around one tree, I savor these today, farewell Vermont lake, I linger the picture of my favorite spots in my mind…….

 The cat and the duck take it in too……….

Here is One Tree, one of my favourites, Deb usually grabs plant life from the shallow waters as we go around one tree island, she thinks I don’t see her, but I do, then she throws it at me from the kayak, it usually hits me my back, or smack in my face, I always try to hide, but she always hits me and I always laugh.

 Time for Goodbyes…..

 You think next on the list would be a rest, not yet, my mind is in top gear, much to prepare in the way of final packing and logistics. Out comes my equipment list, feed list and crew supplies lists, I start ticking things off as they go into the bag, only thing left now is too muscle the bags shut and zip her up, there done.

 That’s me, the one looking beat…….

Next up it is off to say goodbye to my some of fellow swimmers at The Swimming Hole, many of these swimmers helped keep me company through the long snowy Vermont Winter months when I was training indoors at The Swimming Hole…..

 

Time to head to the Airport

That’s me and my sister Robbin, we give each other an extra big hug……..

 

Then final goodbyes at the airport, I am thrilled to have family to send me off….

Wells Up time for this Vermont Kiwi to fly

 

  The plane door closes, I can feel my heart thumping, I am closing in on the Channel, a mere overnight flight to the United Kingdom, a few hours driving after that and I will be in Dover and take my first ever look at English Channel, I am heading to Dover 5 days early to allow plenty of time to recover from the trip and to have a chance to size up the Channel before we meet I meet the Channel and the Channel meets me.

Will I see the White Cliffs of Dover tomorrow? I’ll keep you posted

 Closing Thought: To reach your destination you have to keep moving

                                      – Charlotte. J.Brynn