Captain Matthew Webb was the first person to swim the English Channel. He began on the 24 August 1875 and finished on the 25th. His attempt took him 21 hours and 45 minutes. Since then a vast number if lunatics have set off wearing nothing more than a swimming costume, hat and goggles but only 806 have, officially, ever succeeded in crossing. Some have swam it many times. Alison Streeter "Queen of the Channel" has swum 43 crossings including one 3-way and three 2-way swims. The "King of the Channel" title is held by Kevin Murphy with 34 crossings, which includes three doubles. The fastest ever crossing was by Chad Hundbly who swam across in an amazing 7 hours and 17 minutes in 1994. Last year the comedian David Walliams helped to popularize the event by swimming across for Children In Need. David's swim took him 10 hrs 34 minutes.
The Rules:
The rules are simple: You can wear swimming costume hat and goggles only. Grease is also allowed to prevent chaffing. No wet suits, rubber or neoprene is allowed as they can aid body heat and/or buoyancy.
You must walk into the water, swim across and get out the other side totally unassisted. You are allowed a boat to guide you and even a pacer swimmer for up to an hour at time on hour intervals.
There are of course more rules but these are the crux of it.
The Swim:
The English Channel stretches from Dover to Calais. It is the busiest shipping lane in the world. It is 21 miles and it is very cold. The swimming season is from July to September when the water temperature is between 16 and 19 degrees. It is a grueling challenge of endurance both mentally and physically. There's not much chance of getting attacked by a shark but is possible to encounter the odd jellyfish or ten dozen. There's plenty of sewage too along the way. Probably the most exciting and challenging aspect of the swim is to be so exposed to the elements. Mother Nature is unpredictable and unreliable. It may be a nice day when you set out but that can all change. We all watch the weather forecast but it is an undeniable truth that no one can control Mother Nature. 21 miles is a very long way to swim. Swimming in cold water and unknown conditions is also a tough challenge, but put the two together and this is why the English Channel is considered by many to be one of the ultimate sporting challenges.
My name is Steve Bean and in September 2007 I am going to attempt to swim the English Channel. The purpose of this blog site is to help raise money for the Charity 'Scope', dedicated to helping people with Cerebral Palsy. 
