You heard from Helen last week, and when she said ‘I’ she meant ‘we’ - with the other part of ‘we’ being her sister ‘Hayley’. Well, it only seems right and proper to now hear from Hayley, also known as ‘The Comet’.

The Night Shift

It’s late on Friday and my husband Richard and I are just coming over the brink of the hill… Dover harbour comes into view in all its glory. Even though it’s getting dark, the lights shine across the water making it twinkle and my tummy does a massive flip. Every time I visit Dover it happens, just at that precise moment.

This is one of the few times in the training season when we switch from the usual daytime slot to a 3am night swim in order to accommodate a regatta or town event.

We arrive at the Purple Palace (aka Premier Inn), check in and hit the pillow ready for the 2am alarm – what can I say, I am a big fan of the snooze button  I eventually rise, pour myself into my onesie and we head out.

Although the early morning air seems warm, I hear it’s going to rain later, so I make sure I have my waterproof bag and my dryrobe to hand. We meet a couple of other swimmers in reception and wander down to the beach together. It’s busy! There must be around 50 swimmers here this morning. Everyone seems to be going about their business quietly and then it dawns on me… I’VE FORGOTTEN MY LIGHTS! I know from the posts that Emma put out that I can’t swim without them (obvs!) and she won’t be selling any either! I need 2 – one for the back of my hat and one for the back of my costume! I discreetly ask around to see if anyone has spares…thankfully my sister Helen has ample supply – she’s a big sister for a reason, right?

Even though it’s early morning, nothing changes. We still sign in, we still have a number written on our hand and we still have someone to apply the Vaseline. The very important briefing starts, and everyone listens intently. This is completely different to what most of us are used to and I am really nervous about how this will even work. Emma explains that we will swim in a much shorter loop – out to the yellow ducks, red buoy, green buoy, first yellow buoy and back to shore. She points out the various rows and clusters of lights that they have put out to help guide us, including the new DCT buoys – they’re huge! She also explains that when turning at the last yellow buoy to swim back to shore we will meet Paul in his Canoe at around the halfway point. Ahhhh, I was wondering what that was – he is lit up like a Christmas tree!! We must stop, tell him our number and swim on. She also lets us know that rather than swimming for 2 hours before our first feed, we will feed on the hour, every hour today.

Everyone is ready. We all chat nervously as we make our way down to the waters edge. We have to be out of the water well ahead of the town event start time, so nobody will be swimming for more than 6 hours today. I have been given 4 hours. As I step into the water and look out, it suddenly dawns on me just how dark it is, really dark. Momentary panic is quickly replaced when I am nudged by another swimmer, it’s my sister, ‘stop looking at it and swim’ she says. The water feels strangely warm and I slowly edge myself in and throw my Crocs back to shore – I hope someone noticed where they went.

I lurch forward into the water and all I can hear are the squeals and laughter of swimmers ahead of me. It feels like I am all alone in a big black hole. I start to swim – one arm in front of the other. All of a sudden, I collide with a shark…well, ok a small yellow duck (buoy)…but it may as well have been a shark considering my (over)reaction. I decide to follow the little green flashing lights ahead of me. As I approach a red static light, I realise it is Mandi with her camera taking photos as the swimmers pass by. I make sure I display the most perfect technique, hoping she catches me at just the right moment, and I spend the rest of the swim looking forward to seeing that photo! The loops continue with ‘number 18’ being hollered as I approach Paul and hearing him relay ‘number 18’ as I swim on.

After 1 hour, it is time for the first feed. Perhaps it’s because it’s dark, but it doesn’t seem very busy. We form a very orderly queue, give our number, take our feed and swim on. The 2-hour mark however is very different. We can see each other for a start and the amount of chatter increases tenfold. We shout our numbers, gulp a nice warm cup of CNP and devour a jelly baby. I am standing next to a chap who is shaking so much that I wonder if he needs help. ‘Hi, I’m Hayley’… he smiles and mumbles something along the lines of ‘Ian, my face doesn’t work anymore’. With that, he takes off. ‘Come on you lot, these are meant to be quick feeds’ shouts Mandi. A quick hello and hug with Helen and I follow Ian’s path.

Whilst feeding, Emma let us know that as the sun is rising and the weather is set to be calmer than expected, the usual swim zone is now fully open. Boom! We are off! Lights still flash everywhere you look but the levels of concentration are soon diluted as we spread out to different corners of the harbour.

Hour 3 took on a different feeling. I dodge the sharks beautifully and soon discover that what I thought was Mandi taking photos is in fact nothing more than the green buoy with a red light on it. I spend the rest of my swim feeling somewhat cheated…but mostly laughing at myself for being such a doofus! Feed number 3 is much like feed number 2 – lots of bodies, lots of shouting of numbers and lots of asking for extra pieces of flapjack!

The first half of my final hour consists mostly of looking at my watch and hearing the words ‘stop bobbing’ – jeez, that Murch has some lungs on him! With 30 minutes to go I decide to set a target of touching every buoy on the way down to the wall and then trying to catch whoever is ahead of me on the return. Touching the buoys, no problemo. Catching someone (anyone!!) ahead of me, nada! It sure makes those final 30 minutes fly by though!

As I head in, I am met by Mandi who delights in telling me that I still owe her ‘Mandi Minutes’ from last season. A trip out to the yellow ducks, red buoy, green buoy and back to shore should just about settle it. Not wanting to add to my total, I comply. Feeling like you’re done, only to find you’re not is a small taste of one of the DCT sayings - expect the unexpected. I exit the water a short time after my expected finish time to a hot cup of tea from Richard and the promise of a bacon sarnie once the training session has ended. We stay on the beach to help with the final feed and then to welcome and congratulate the 6-hour swimmers! Gosh, I wonder how they are feeling…will I ever be able to do a 6-hour swim...?

There are lots of takeaways from this training session. Firstly, safety is a huge consideration when deciding to put on training that starts at 3am - at no point did I feel in any danger. I have used this as an opportunity to practise swimming in the dark and into daylight, something I am told I could experience on the actual day. I am also reminded of the other pieces of kit I will need – lights for a start!! Happy swimming DCT’ers!

Hayley went from strength to strength and is now a successful channel soloist and most definitely a DCT regular. A great person to chat to if this is all new to you.

Guest Blog: Hayley Brant

The Night Shift