September the 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day, and to recognise the problem people (at least in Ireland), are asked to wear orange. As with many Republic of Ireland middle-aged men, orange tends not be strongly favoured in my clothing choices, all political persuasions recognised and discussions aside. If you don’t understand what this means, consider yourself fortunate. But…
The Hype Cycle is a new type of swimming stroke in development for triathletes that is likely to soon be adopted into the wider world of marathon swimming after FINA adopt it as the official sixth stroke. As developed by the University of Portsmouth’s famous open water safety research department, instead of standard arm-stroke the research…
Part 1. Part 2. That Sunday morning of late September was overcast and dull as Sylvain undulated away from Shakespeare beach almost parallel to the kilometre-long Admiralty Pier. There was a light Force Two breeze ruffling the water surface, which was a slightly cooler than hoped for 15.1 degrees Celsius. It is always important, vital even,…
Part 1. We arose in Varne Ridge early on Sunday morning, but much better than the more usual middle of the night for a typical Channel swim. Sylvain’s favourite breakfast is brioche, and he didn’t start the morning with a typical Channel swimmer’s huge breakfast, instead restraining himself and just having brioche and coffee, while…
This time of year I get more emails and PM’s asking about English Channel pilots, tides, Associations, Channel costs etc and all the related stuff. During a recent weathered-out trip to Dover in September for Sylvain Estadieu’s English Channel butterfly swim, which included yet another a trip out into the Channel, a tour of a…
Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. During the fifth hour, Trent and Damián had discussed when Damián would come in as support swimmer. Trent requested Damián for the last hour. Around this time Mike also told Trent to take a double-concentration feed for his next feed, “for a boost” but Trent didn’t want…
As some of you know, I was fortunate enough to be crewing aboard Mike Oram’s Gallivant for FINA Grand Prix 2012 Winner Trent Grimsey‘s English Channel Record. And I know you want the details. How did that happen and what did I (we, Owen O’Keefe, Ireland’s youngest English Channel Soloist, aka the Fermoy Fish was…
The Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation, one for the only two ratifying organisations for English Channel swimming launches its new website later today, at 6pm GMT (11 am EST, 2 am AUS). (If you follow the link before then, you won’t get the new website). CS&PF President Nick Adams, himself a multiple Channel soloist, two-way Solo…
Released by CS&PF Secretary (& King of the Channel) Kevin Murphy on email (I didn’t see that one first). There were swimmers out only two days ago on the last unbookable tide. Here’s the figures: Total swims: 124 Successful 87 Unsuccessful 37 Percentage of swims (solo and relay) that were successful = 70% Total solos:…
LoneSwimmer 