Week 18 - Channel Swimmer on the beach!
Marcy Macdonald - After her world first Ramsgate to Belgium solo
Weekly Review
NB Please scroll to the bottom for a selection of the photos taken
Channel Swimmer on the beach!
I don’t think I’ve ever blown my whistle to celebrate as many swims as I have this weekend. Most people who came on the beach had trained with us and there were also some visiting swimmers who allowed us to celebrate with them.
Community is at the heart of what we do and it’s wonderful to see.
The buzz on the beach was tangible. Relay teams, soloists and Marcy setting a whole new standard for a soloist.
It was such a busy beach it was almost like everyone returning at the end of the season, but yet, in the midst of all the celebrations, there are still those in the final approaches to their big day and keeping focused with the job of training.
And my sister and brother-in-law also came to visit. That’s very special for me as it was a first. They live in Canada and it was wonderful to see them.
We live in the past, the present and the future.
When we talk about the past, this weekend saw the airing of ‘Britain by Beach’ the episode where they spent time with us earlier in the season. Did you see it? Did you see anyone that you know? When we think of the past, at the time this was filmed Halani was a channel aspirant, and now she’s a channel swimmer. The past goes even further back though, right to the early days of our sport with Julian talking about Gertrude Ederle - a female trailblazer. See further down for further photos & videos that I took on the day.
Coming back to the present, and talking about female trailblazers we have this week’s extraordinary achievement by Marcy Macdonald who swam from Ramsgate to Belgium - a world first. It took a staggering 38hrs 20mins. Chatting with Marcy was a delight and a privilege, I really hope she writes up this story so that we can all hear about all of it.
The present is also the time that others who have also recently successfully completed their swims are adjusting to their new reality, doubts removed, replaced by success. It’s the time where every stroke counts (Marcy’s advice to all swimmers) whether you’re in training or on the big day.
And then there’s the future, the dreams yet to come true, the swims that are about to unfold, the new dreams that are being planned.
Just remember, that in this community, your dreams are safe with us.
Shout outs
Training
Congratulations to:
Yoel for your 10 hour swim
Brett for your 6 hour swim
A different type of shout out - well done to Kev who managed to creep up on Mandi with a super soaker. That’s not something you see every day! Shame you turned your back long enough to allow Mandi to climb over the railings with a jug of water and get you back!! The video is after that when she also managed to take your supersoaker and finish the job! One all on this occasion!
Channel swimmer on the beach
What an amazing week. We saw some of you on the beach but not all yet. If you’ve not had your moment back on the beach yet, please come along and let us celebrate with you.
This week’s shout outs, here’s what I saw (in no particular order):
Amy Mellor for her Windermere solo on 20th August in a time of 6hrs 40mins
Tony Ross for his successful channel solo on 22nd August in a time of11hrs 11mins (a very special time, a very special story)
Lucy Ashdown-Parkes for her second English Channel solo on 22nd August in a time of 11hrs 48mins
Julia Maguire and the Ocean’s six channel relay on 24th August in a time of 13hrs 33mins
Amanda Bowden for her successful Jersey to France solo on 24th August in a time of 10hrs 59mins
Joshua Ackerman for his successful channel solo on 24th August in a time of 12hrs 46mins
Anton Carstens for his successful channel solo on 25th August in a time of 17hrs 1min
Laura Decker (the quiet one) for her successful channel solo on 25th August in a time of 14hrs 3mins. Laura was one who had not been successful last week on a day that was just plain weird. I’m delighted that she went again and got the success that she’d worked so very hard for.
Aspire Rhinos for their successful channel relay on 25th August in a time of 17hrs 26mins
Andrew George for his successful 20 Bridges solo in 7hrs 46mins
Steve Henigan for his successful Round Jersey solo in a time of 10hrs 34mins
SwimTayka Mozambique for their successful channel relay in a time of 13hrs 52mins
What a list!!
Tony Ross - Channel Swimmer
Natalie Rose Lang - Channel Swimmer
Drew George - 20 Bridges Solo
Lucy Ashdown-Parkes - Channel Swimmer (2nd solo)
Joanne Pullman - Channel Swimmer
Laura Decker - Channel Swimmer
Marcy Macdonald - Ramsgate to Belgium - WORLD FIRST
Swim stats
Note: Water temperature taken during the swim session in the harbour. Air temperature, wind direction & wind speed taken from the Port of Dover app. Please remember that we get a lot of shelter in the harbour thanks to the walls.
Saturday:
Swimmers: 11
Water temperature: 20.6C
Air temperature: 19.1C
Conditions: F4 NE. Few spots of rain. Sunny with cloudy moments. Calm to start, bit choppy later.
Sunday:
Swimmers: 14
Water temperature: 20.5C
Air temperature: 18.7C
Conditions: F5 E. Partly cloudy. Breeze not according to the forecast! White horses throughout the harbour at points. Worse towards the beach, but still waves crashing on the beach by the ferry wall.
Volunteers & beach crew
Thank you to everyone who helped out this weekend - either a little or a lot. Thank you to Mandi, Dirk & Keith in particular.
If you want to join the fun, why not pick a date and book your space through the booking system. You’ll see things from a whole new perspective.
The adventures of Dover Dave
Dover Dave continues to live his best life. This week he spend time with me, he’s become a lot cheekier since last time he spent time with me. There were a few hairy moments!
This week he’s with Peter. Good luck Peter, you’re going to need it!
Paddlefish Ponderings - adjusting our narrative
“No, this is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life; this is the beginning of a new book! That first book is already closed, ended, and tossed into the seas; this new book is newly opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!”
We run a narrative about what we believe about ourselves. This happens in every part of our lives, our family life, our working life, our sporting lives and what we think about ourselves.
These beliefs about ourselves are often deep rooted and from our very early years.
I work with clients where these patterns are getting in the way of achieving what they want to achieve. I say patterns because the same things that they don’t want to happen often repeat cyclically without intervention. This is not a coincidence.
Intervention with many clients is in the form of a breakthrough session where we look for what is the lynch pin, the limiting belief that if we remove it then everything else that’s not quite right also crumbles away.
Even when you have that life changing experience, I’ve found that clients repeat the phrases that they’ve used throughout their lives even if they no longer believe it to be true. Just because that’s what they’ve always said. The difference is, it often comes with a bit of a furrowed brow or shake of the head as subconsciously they know that it’s no longer true and they’re not sure why they’re saying it, or where that old issue has gone.
Why am I sharing this?
I see the same in swimmers.
How many swimmers have you heard repeat the same negative mantras:
‘I’m too slow’
‘I’m too old’
‘I’m a rubbish swimmer’
The list goes on.
Then despite repeating these unhelpful mantras, they still do the work needed to be successful and they are.
The confusion is the same. Suddenly, all the lies that they’ve been saying about themselves have been proved to be untrue - the swim was successful.
This can be a very confusing time for the swimmer. Can they embrace the life changing success? Not just acknowledging a successful swim, but also what it means about them.
Can this successful swim actually help them turn around their whole life? This also happens, more than you realise.
I hope that you have an experience like this. It’s not for the feint hearted though. Be prepared for some pretty strong emotions and a real physical change.
I’ve mentioned before about watching swimmers at the start of the season look a little nervous and watch them grow through training and then go on to a successful swim and come back a different person. This is what I’m talking about. The shift in some is small. For other’s it’s massive.
If you come back from your swim a little confused, you may be processing this shift in your reality. Come and chat with us, we can help you make sense of it all.
It’s definitely worth it!
Reminders
Bookings can be made up to 48 hours ahead and be cancelled or rescheduled up to 48 hours ahead also. The system doesn’t arrange automatic refunds, so if you would like a refund, please check out our refund policy and get in touch if you would like a refund.
If you miss this deadline then I’ll book you in if I have the available time and I have your disclaimer. There is an admin fee if you don’t use the self-service option.
Arrive on time and attend the mandatory briefing. The briefing is generally at 09:50
Wear the right colour hat - red for soloists, yellow for relay swimmers
Those of you who are members, please remember to cancel your membership when you no longer want it. You can do that within a membership period and still have all the benefits of it, this will prevent it from auto renewing next year. You can do this within your account, by following the link in the confirmation email when you took out your membership, or by asking me to do it for you.
Looking ahead
On Tour
Dover Harbour Board have recently announced some additional piling works in the harbour. Initially, they were planned for outside of our training hours, but then changed to shorter periods of piling over a longer time period and now partially within our training time frame.
I have been assured that I will be advised, in advance, whether there will be piling on the Saturday. Once I hear I will confirm the training location. I’ll post any changes of location in our Facebook group and within the Dates & Altered sessions section of our website. I’ll also email anyone booked in for the session at the point I hear.
We do still have one formal ‘On Tour date left though.
Saturday 17th September
In all cases, the location will be either Ramsgate or Hythe and the location will be decided on the Thursday before the swim.
End of season celebration
It’s become a bit of a tradition that, rather than fade away as the season progresses that we get together for an end of season celebration on the last weekend of training. So mark the date in your calendar - Saturday 24th September - bring a picnic. We’ll bring inflatables!!
The theme is Grease - make of that what you want! We’re looking forward to some fun & creative outfits.
Chilli Dips
We’ll be starting up our monthly Chilli Dips again from October. Like last year, we’ll aim to visit a number of locations. We’re also toying with the idea of having an inland option too - a river near me in Surrey - who’s up for that?
Halloween(ish) Fright Night
We’re planning on doing a night swim / bob in October - those who don’t like swimming in the dark need not apply!!
This won’t be a training session, just a bit of fun. We’ll do our very best to make you jump in the water - definitely one where you should expect the unexpected.
Watch this space for a date in October.
Spotlight in the shop
Swimming hats
We all know that red or yellow are the colours we need in Dover, but there are a host of colours in our swimming caps, each with its own motivational message. Why not work out which ones are good for you. We had a run on these this weekend, so get in quick whilst your favourite one is still in stock!
A selection of silicone swim caps with the Dover Channel Training logo on one side and a quote on the other. Each colour has a different quote. Why not collect the complete set?
NB for training in the harbour soloists are required to wear red hats and relay swimmers yellow hats.
Red: I can and I will. Watch me.
Yellow: Dangerous when wet
Purple: Don’t look forward, don’t look back, just keep swimming until your bits hit the sand! Freda Streeter
Mid Green: There are so many people out there who will tell you that you can’t. What you’ve got to do is turn around and say “watch me”!
Pink: Don’t wait for the perfect moment, take the moment and make it perfect.
Electric Blue: The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.
Gold: I’m going to succeed because I’m crazy enough to think I can.
Silver: From the outside looking in you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out you can’t explain it. Cliff Golding
Dark Blue: The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. Chinese proverb
Orange: 80% of what’s required is found under this hat!
White: If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough
Jade: I don’t stop when I’m tired, I stop when I’m done
Sea Blue: What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when we bring what is within us out into the world, miracles happen. Henry Stanley Haskins
Photos
A few photos from the weekend….
Britain by Beach
I hope you enjoyed the episode of Britain by Beach that we all featured in. Here are some of the photos & videos that I took at the time of filming (didn’t want to do a spoiler at the time!)
If you’d consider leaving a review of your training experience, it would help those who are deciding on where to do their training for future years. Nothing means more than the voice of someone who’s used the service.