Dover, finally! 8 hours in choppy water (in 3 days, though...)

When I arrived in Dover in the late afternoon of Friday, July 4th, for a 3 day training visit, it felt like coming back to meet an old friend. I hadn't had this feeling on the few other occasions I had come through Dover since 1985.

I had taken the train from Heidelberg and the ferry from Calais to Dover, just to get a real feeling of the Channel and the distance. And I felt it embraced me like a friend. The sun was out all the way, also next day, the water was not too choppy during the crossing (windforce 1-2?), it looked clear and beautifully turquoise or greenish, only the huge patches of seawead or grass didn't look so inviting - but good to know they can be there in order to try to avoid them, e.g. with the help of infos on the white board by the crew.



The famous White Cliffs

The White Cliffs of Dover were already very visible from Calais - as the French coast would be clearly visible from Dover harbour beach in the evening. Very encouraging again! Of course I am very much aware that what looks so close is not necessarily easily accessible - not only the extremely busy shipping lanes present a challenge (how on earth do the pilots manage to get the swimmers safely past these huge tankers and container ships that are continuously travelling the shipping lanes, I was asking myself) - but especially the currents off the French coast past the 10th hour into the swim can turn the last few hundred meters into half an eternity. And often the weather is changing, with the wind picking up!

After I had checked into Westbank Guest House, a very cosy and friendly bed & breakfast in Folkestone Road with a nice terrace, I went down to the harbour full of anticipation. I didn't dare to get in at that time of the day all by myself, so I just walked around in the shallow cold water for quite some time, thinking "this is bearable". Then I sat down quietly on the beach to absorb the atmosphere and to let everything sink in a bit. France was clearly visible in the distance - I couldn't believe it! I also met a few swimmers from India who were training for a relay - they immediately recognised my t-shirt from the Lake Zurich marathon swim. "We have been there!"

Saturday, July 5th

Next morning I arrived shortly after 9 o'clock at swimmers beach, while about 30 or so swimmers from all around the world were getting ready to get into the water. Divided into short distances (yellow cap, mostly relay team members) and long distances (red cap, 4-6 hours or so). After saying "hi" to a few swimmers I knew and briefly chatting with Alison, my pilot, I introduced myself to Freda. Since it was my first visit to Dover I was free to do what I wanted. My only goal was to see how long I could stay in the cold water. So I got a yellow cap and in I went, to the left against the wind.



Meeting Alison Streeter, my pilot, and "Queen of the Channel" with 43 crossings! She knows many of our swimmers from the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team and was honoured by Sri Chinmoy personally with the "Lifting up the World"-Award for her inspiration a few years ago



Walking to France?

The water was biting my face, but this feeling soon disappeared. I felt happy and comfortable in the choppy water, the sun was out most of the time. I remembered my successful 7 hour swim of 1985 in a rainy and choppy harbour - only I was 10 lbs heavier then. When I arrived at the PofW pier, my fingers had gone numb and were kind of fluttering in the water, creating a funny sensation, so I thought I should better get out and warm up a bit, even though the body still felt fine.

So after the first lap I got out, changed into a dry bathing suit and jogged up and down the harbour in the sun, taking pictures and chatting with Margit Bohnhoff (swam in 2007) and Miyuki from Japan after they finished their two hour swim. Both looked absolutely frozen - and Miyuki is due this tide! And has already 5 successful crossings to her credit!



Miyuki from Tokyo (5 crossings!) and Margit from Berlin before their 2 hour swim
Margit only came to Dover to meet Miyuki, who she had become friends with last year - Channel swimming creates friendships around the world!



Margit and Vasanti after their "dip"



Water in India is much warmer!

Back in for another lap, same story as above. When my fingers got numb towards the end, I got out again to warm up and get changed - I thought it better to acclimatise slowly. After some more chatting and taking pictures I turned to Freda and jokingly said: "I am a whimp!" Her very stern answer: "You have ten minutes to get back in and do another lap." (Before everybody else would be finished.) 5 minutes later I was back in the water, enjoying again the roughness, and the fact I had no pressure whatsover. Freda's goodbye words: "Tomorrow at 9 o'clock on the beach!"



Shakespeare Beach - where most of the Channel swims start (France is visible in the distance!)

After the swimming, some socialising, food shopping (btw great discovery: Heinz Weight Watchers canned spaghetti - really spicy! (I am not sponsored by WW, unfortunately)), shower and meal, I went on a two hour hike around Dover and over to Shakespeare Beach - where most of the swims start - and later up the cliff. Sat down on the beach for some silent moments, again the French coast visible in the distance, as well as an endless line of huge ships, visualising reaching the coast. Back via a trail through green pastures, with the sun out until past 9:30!

Sunday morning



Freda (the "General") and another seasoned and selfless helper ("There is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing," my father likes to say.)

Rain and wind. Down to the beach again. Freda asks me what my goal is for today. I just say: stay in as long as I can, that is until my fingers go numb. She says: everybody's fingers go numb. Red or yellow cap? Red! But I "warn" her that I may come in after an hour for a feed. Off again against the wind to the left, only today we are not allowed to swim all the way to the Docks - too choppy. So short circuit, but stronger effort. Punching the waves feels great again, I only come in for a feed after two hours. Bit of warm maxim and off again. I am amazed that I hardly meet any swimmers with so many people out there, but the waves are quite high and you don't see far. Suddenly I get a punch into my face from the right, right on the goggles - that hurts! Someone is crossing my way diagonally, swimming up from behind. He barely apologizes and just swims on. At the PofW pier some swimmers are swimming/sprinting along the pier. Otherwise I am by myself.

Feed 3 is warm maxim and a chocolate bar - and back in again. My fingers, which had started to get numb after the first hour like yesterday, are less numb now - progress! Only, at the end of the 4th hour, coming in for the next feed, my body starts feeling cold - probably also due to too few carbohydrates for a non-acclimatised warm water swimmer. The feeding helper asks me suggestively: "Coming in?" And I offer no resistance. In my mind I am telling myself: just to change into a dry suit, warm up again and go back in for 2 more hours. But! When I get out, it starts raining, wind picks up to gale force - and nobody is pushing me to get back in. So there I am - dry suit, cuddled up in warm clothes. Success or failure? Happy or not? 4 hours compared to yesterday is good - compared to 1985, well.... I know I would have been much more satisfied with 5 our 6 hours, but I had no set goal. I might have lasted for 6 hours, but then I would have needed more fuel.

What I also missed was someone to swim along with - in 1985 I had enjoyed it a lot to swim together with others.

To compensate for only four hours of cold water training and to give the poor lady in this horrible weather some business, I got some ice cream - and later went for a one hour jog again to the beach and lighthouse.



Braving the rain and the cold

Monday



Choppy water!

I had hoped to make some progress over Sunday today and had hoped for some sun, but the weather was horrible and rainy again. Maybe even windier. We wanted to meet with Margit, Miyuki and Ichi, her coach, as usual around 9 for a 2 hour swim, but they were late and not inclined to go in or stay longer. One brave Australien did a short lap supervised by his wife or girlfriend, otherwise no souls around. We agreed to meet again at 3 p.m., since the forecast was for sun in the afternoon.

Time went fast with eating, resting and some shopping (the famous 3 triathlon disciplines: eat, train, sleep). By mistake I went back to the harbour, not aware I was 1 hour early (German time on my watch), and sat there, watching the waves breaking more and more powerful on the beach with the incoming tide. When my three new friends finally arrived, I managed to convince Miyuki it would be good for her to get in at least for half an hour. The sun had actually come out, but the wind remained. As soon as we were in the water, we really enjoyed it. We were about the same speed, swimming alongside or close to each other, which gave a nice sense of confidence and security. We swam three short laps to the PofW pier, the safer side, but after 45 minutes it seemed the wind was picking up even more and the waves were breaking higher, so I felt it was better to get out. The two sailing boats that are usually anchored in the harbour, had already been taken out for safety reasons. We left the water at the boats' house, where the waves were breaking less fiercely. Miyuki was nicely dumped into the pebbles by a huge wave anyway. I was grateful to have swum - but somehow felt I could have done more, had I dared to get in in the morning.

Later I took the bus to Folkestone and got off at Varne Ridge Holiday Park, where we would stay with my helpers from the 7th until my swim. The view from the cliffs up there was simply breathtakingly beautiful. I was already so much looking forward to coming back in 2 weeks. I jogged back to Dover on the biking trail in the evening sun, and when I reached my B&B, it just started raining again. Next morning, on the ferry, a sunny goodbye, but huge waves - the Channel had shown me all his faces!



All in all it was a great and valuable, worthwhile trip. True, I did not get overtrained, but I "touched base" and got the confidence that I am on the right track.

This weekend hopefully again two longer back to back swims in the lake, next weekend long swim and long bike, and then it's Dover again, this time very seriously - 7 and 6 hours back to back and then getting ready for the big day.



"Ecstasy-Bird..." (from a song dedicated to Channel swimming)

Here are more photos from this trip:

Dover July 4-8 2008, first Channel training