“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly”

— Theodore Roosevelt

Week 6 in review

After the highs of solo and relay qualifiers last week, this weekend was a combination of recovery week for some and the first big back to back weekend of the season for others. The consistent NE wind direction has meant that the water temperature has held, but has also meant a chilly breeze cooling the backs of swimmers.

Note: Water temperature taken during the swim session in the harbour. Air temperature, wind direction & wind speed taken from the Port of Dover app.

Saturday:

Swimmers: 35
Water temperature: 14.5C
Air temperature: 18C
Conditions: F3 NE. Mostly sunny with occasional cloud. Fresh breeze.

Sunday:

Swimmers: 27
Water temperature: 14.3C
Air temperature: 18C
Conditions: NE F5. Mostly sunny with occasional cloud. Intermittent swell.

Shout outs to …..

You’re a talented bunch

9 relay qualifiers, notably from the Mencap Marvels teams
Dani for your 5 hour swim
Lucy AP & Kevin M, Marion C for your 6 hour swims
Andie A; Chris R ; Jacqueline K for your 7 hours swims
Drew F for your back to back 7 & 6 - the first of the season in the group

If I missed you, I apologies, please shout about it. As well as the achievements that are measured in hours or badges, there are also those more important personal victories, I’d love to hear about those as well.

Thank you!

Thank you to the following volunteers who were on the rota for the weekend:

Level 1: Dirk G, Mandi B (shadow)
Level 2: Vikki C

Thank you to all Level 3 volunteers who helped out a little or a lot.

I’d like to say a personal thank you to everyone who is helping out when I am not able to this year and to those who have asked after me. Thank you. I may not always be able to be there. I do always care.

We are looking to expand our Level 2 volunteer team, if you are interested, visit our volunteers page or contact our volunteers lead.

Paddlefish Ponderings

A moment of great vulnerability lay ahead at this moment. When I jump off the boat at the start of a swim, I am consciously aware that the next time I step back on the boat that the swim is over whether that is after success or failure. In that moment you are vulnerable, just in the way that you are when you stand on that beach with an arm raised. There is no courage without vulnerability.

Courage and vulnerability

I’ve recently read a book by researcher and author ‘Brene Brown’. She’s a swimmer by background, but that’s not why I took an interest. The reason why is a whole different story, which maybe I’ll share another time. However, in reading this book I stumbled across something that spoke to me in my role with DCT. One of her areas of research is about how courage and vulnerability are intrinsically linked. She explains that you can’t show true courage without vulnerability and that showing vulnerability is a true sign of courage.

What did I learn that I thought was worth sharing with you?

I have seen thousands of swimmers. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I have also witnessed all manner of self-doubt and self-shaming. People who have conceived this great big hairy audacious goal and somewhere along the way they have picked up fears and worries about whether they could do it. They know in their heart of hearts that other people have done the thing that they want to do, or at least something similar. Chances are we can also find examples of people like them (age, shape, swimming background, professional background etc) that have successfully completed the goal that they want. So why why not them?

Of course it’s not quite that simple. I’m not suggesting that by simply ‘putting it out there’ and asking the universe to make it so will actually ensure your success, you do also need to take massive action. If you are prepared to do what others who have been before you have done, then why not you?

You will probably have also heard the saying that ‘Channel swimming is 80% mental, and 20% everything else’. I think that’s about right. So as well as taking care of the physical aspects of training, you also need to do the training required on the mental side. In many cases, by embracing the process of training, you also stack the deck when it comes to the mental training required. Why do I say this? Well, we tend to go through plenty of challenging times in training, this in itself helps provide the toolkit that you need to deal with any demons on the day.

So, I applaud those swimmers who demonstrate bravery by being vulnerable and accepting help in training. It isn’t always easy to admit how you’re feeling, it’s almost as if admitting to it makes it more real. It’s also the way to the solution.

Brene talks about the myths of vulnerability:

Vulnerability is weakness
I don’t do vulnerability
I can go it alone
You can engineer the uncertainty and discomfort out of vulnerability
Trust comes before vulnerability
Vulnerability is disclosure

All myths and none of it is true.

Brene defines vulnerability as the feeling that we get when we experience uncertainty, risk or emotional exposure. If you don’t have vulnerability, you don’t need courage. There is no courage without vulnerability.

You might now be starting to see where vulnerability and courage have a role to play in channel swimming.

Will you choose courage over comfort? Will you choose to be brave? Will you choose to show up, when you can’t control the outcome?

Do you have critics in your life who are projecting their fears and issues on you when it comes to your swim? Are they being brave in their lives? Chances are they are not daring greatly You are and I applaud you for this.

I’d encourage you to choose to thank them for their comments and then put them to one side. What you are hearing are their issues, not yours. Maybe when your swim is done you can use your experience to help them to dare bravely, just like you have.

I would encourage you to solicit feedback from those who are able to help you achieve your goal. Your trusted advisors. In this context, feedback is the breakfast of champions.

Brene talks about her daughter’s way of creating picture memories. When she is in a moment that she wants to remember forever, she closes her eyes and takes a moment to commit it to memory. What would your picture memories be along this journey? I can name quite a few for me, both in the water and from my view from the beach. A good friend of mine talks about her ‘care home box’. A small box of her most precious things that she will want to take into her care home when she is older. I have a few boxes of precious items, and in all cases they trigger highly charged emotional memories of my family, my friends and good times. With a picture memory you can capture every moment of your life.

If you had a care home box for your journey in this sport, what would be in it? What picture memories would you create? You don’t need to land in France (other destinations are available) in order to have an amazing memory box.

And why save it until your care home days? Take a peek any time that you need a lift. Bring back those precious memories of human connection and personal achievement. They can help you navigate the days when things aren’t quite going to plan.

So back to the Theodore Roosevelt quote at the top of this blog. These words remind us that we should not fear failure or the opinions of others when we try to achieve something great. Instead, we should be proud of our efforts and our willingness to take risks, even if it means we may stumble or fail along the way. The credit belongs to those who are willing to step into the arena and face challenges head-on, rather than those who choose to criticise from the sidelines. So let us all dare greatly and strive to achieve our goals with courage and vulnerability.

If you want to find out more, you’ll find her on Netflix, YouTube, in written books and on Audible.

Looking ahead

Changed / cancelled sessions

Dover will be holding it’s town regatta on 1st July 2023 and the swim zone and parking will be suspended. We’ll make plans for alternative arrangements in due course.

On Tour

Once a month we will be On Tour on on a Saturday:

Saturday 17th June
Saturday 15th July
Saturday 19th August
Saturday 16th September

The location will either be Hythe or Ramsgate, depending on the weather forecast. The final decision will be made on the Thursday evening before this swim. These sessions are shown as ‘On Tour’ in the booking system, they are considered ‘standard’ training sessions and are included in training packages.

Night swims

Early start on Saturday 10th June: this is an opportunity for a long swim (maximum of 6 hours) swimming from the dark into daylight. Bookings close 02:30 on Thursday.

On both of these swims you’ll need to wear two green adventure lights.

Please note, as we are not able to assess new swimmers in the dark, we do not accept new (to us) swimmers on these swims.

On these swims, during the hours of darkness, we will have additional safety measures in place with a restricted swim zone. This will be explained during the mandatory briefing.

Spotlight in the shop

The shop is available online for postal delivery or collection from the beach. Please give enough notice to ensure that Emma is able to get the products ready for beach collection as she may not be on the beach each weekend. Products can also be purchased from the beach when Emma is present.

With such an over achieving group, you may be interested in our extensive collection of swim badges. No one to date has managed to collect all of them. Will you be the first?

Photos

A few photos from the weekend….

Key Contact methods

On the beach after training. Our Level 1 volunteers will be happy to chat whilst not engaged in core safety processes.
Weekly community call. This runs on a Monday evening from January to September and is hosted by a member of the leadership team. We've set this time aside for you. You can find details of these call within the membership area and within the booking system.
Membership queries can be directed to our Membership lead
Safeguarding concerns should be directed to our Safeguarding Lead
Other queries that can’t be answered at the community call should be directed to the Swimmer Liaison lead.

Other more informal routes to support:

WhatsApp groups these are open to all members and you’ll find details of how to join one or more of the groups within the membership area
Social media channels. You’ll find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Current Vacancies

Leadership team

We’re expanding our team with a few new roles:

Marketing & Communications Lead
Website Manager
Retail / Procurement Lead

If you’re interested in joining the team, please contact Emma or another member of the leadership team to find out more.

Reminders

Remember to book your sessions online. Bookings close 48 hours ahead. Any bookings after that will need support and that comes with a £5 admin fee.

Bookings can be cancelled or rescheduled up to 48 hours ahead. 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.

Those of you with training subscriptions, enter your email address and click in the discount code box and your automatic voucher should appear. Let me know if you have any trouble with this.

Please remember to cancel your membership when you no longer want it.

Week 6- Daring greatly