Kidney Research UK

"When I was twelve years old, I changed swimming clubs from Barking to Starfish. I had peaked as a swimmer, although I still trained and competed, but enjoyed playing waterpolo, which was to become my new interest. The new Club trained at Balaam Street Baths in Plaistow, East London. There were two pools and in between the two, in the reception area, was a bust of an English Channel swimmer. I knew nothing of this person, but did tell myself “I will do that one day”. I only recently discovered the bust was of Edward Temme, the first person to swim the English Channel from each direction. He was a coach at another swimming club which also trained at this pool, and in fact he died only recently. The Baths have subsequently been replaced by a Leisure Centre, and when I swam there several years ago I could not find the bust.

"I eventually stopped swimming and playing waterpolo by the time I was fourteen, and lazed through my teenage years. I took up squash when I was about 25, and played until I was 40, when I had an injury and decided it was appropriate to then stop playing. Coincidentally at this time I had started taking my eldest daughter swimming, and to my dismay realised I could only swim a couple of lengths. Our Sunday morning swims soon became an excuse for me to sneak off to the big pool to do a few lengths, and those few lengths increased as I got back into swimming. Very soon I was swimming three mornings each week before work, doing about seven miles every week and thoroughly enjoying it. There were about twelve or fourteen other swimmers who I used to train with at the same pool, Loughton Leisure Centre, although not all were there at the same time, and we had a very nice swimming/social circle together. Eventually the pool closed, to be rebuilt as a new Leisure Centre, and in the meantime my fellow swimmers and I had grouped together at pools more local to each other. I swam regularly with two or three of them, but we nevertheless all regularly met up and kept in contact. One of these swimmers had completed a Channel swim in a relay a number of years ago when she was 16 years old, and several others regularly competed in triathlons and ironman events. Most of them knew I harboured a desire to swim the English Channel. Tim occasionally nudged me, and whilst I got out of joining him I did watch him swim eight miles of Chesil Beach, which was part of an ironman event several years ago. My interest in open water swimming was raised, and I soon joined him for a swim at Canvey Island. After that I confess to buying a wetsuit and going back to Canvey Island at the start of the next season.

"Whilst uncertain quite where this was leading I allowed myself to train at Dover Harbour numerous times later that summer, four years ago, often with Tim and now without a wetsuit. I went back there at the start of the next season and it was later this season, Janine, wife of another friend, called my bluff. In a couple of weeks we had a six person relay team assembled and we swam the following year. Chatting to fellow swimmers at the swimming club one friend, Stephen, was becoming quite intrigued about all this, and each week was asking me well researched questions. Stephen was himself interested in open water swimming and soon joined us on trips down to Dover. He quietly announced several weeks later that he had booked a pilot for a relay swim next year. So in 2005 I joined a four person relay, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, all trepidation and nervousness now gone. I continued training hard and towards the end of the season did my qualifying six hour swim in the Harbour. I was now faced with a dilemma. Why have I done this? What do I do now? When I turned my phone on, on my way for a late lunch, I discovered a friends’ partner had died overnight. It seemed I have now just qualified and also justified my reasons for swimming the English Channel solo as I offered to swim for a charity nominated by my friend. Later that week I booked my solo swim and was second on the tide starting 16th August 2006. That was my last swim in Dover for that season but I continued pool training. Jerry was my coach and gave me sprints and drills through the winter. On Saturday 29th April I swam at Dover, along with Stephen, and all the other swimmers, and enjoyed the training as the season went on. Whilst not the quickest swimmer I did all the training, including numerous six hour swims and eventually a long back to back swim of seven hours on a Saturday followed by six hours the next day. This was towards the end of July, after which I left for a two week holiday, although I still continued to swim but for shorter distances. I did not yet know that I was to have four false starts before I actually properly undertook the swim.

"On 17th August the conditions were rough and Neil, my pilot, asked me to try it, in the hope they may improve. This was in force 4 to 5, blustering up to a force 6. After 90 minutes Neil called me towards the boat to call the swim off. I was dealing with the conditions, and not hurting, and got another 30 minutes out of Neil, in the hope it may improve and the swim could continue. After only 18 minutes I swam over to the boat, and when advised there was no evidence of the conditions improving and that the two other solo swimmers had got out 30 minutes earlier I decided to get back on the boat. There were three other calls over the next three weeks, all called off, and one of those only 30 minutes before I was due to leave home.

"On Tuesday 12th September at approximately 2am I started my attempt to swim the English Channel. The sea was very calm, there was a forecast of a small swell later up to force 3, and it was expected to be a warm dry day. Obviously I first had to swim for 4-5 hours in the dark. From the start I felt cold, which I never did in the Harbour, and I put this down to the fact it was night time and the air temperature was colder. I never did warm up throughout the swim. I swam for two hours before being called in for a feed of Maxim and blackcurrant. I had planned my feed routine thereafter to be feeds every hour, with the occasional treat of banana, or chocolate mini roll. After eight hours this feed was to rotate to tea, in fear of Maxim overload. During the swim I was told there was a U-boat sighted nearby and also a group of three dolphins, although I saw neither. The water was clear and calm throughout, and I did not see any jelly fish, which was unusual. At 13 hours I was about six miles away from France but could not get across the tide. Another solo swimmer was alongside for most of the day, although I never saw him or the boat after we set off. I was to eventually be carried to Calais and some way back again, always making some progress forwards. I had a very hard period between 13 hours and 21 hours, when it seemed I was not getting anywhere. Neil, my pilot, and my crew kept faith with me and refused to call the swim off. They also refused to tell me where I was, what the time was, or how long I had been swimming. Clearly something they might say to me now could be seriously changed with the turn of the tide, so it was not a good idea to tell me too much. I found it very difficult to stay near the boat, especially as the tide was pushing us hard along the coast.

"It was when Jerry told me during a feed that if I could swim hard for what would be 40 lengths of his pool I would be a Channel swimmer that I really dug deep into my reserves. I knew Jerry was lying to me about the distance and the effort needed but I was committed to make the effort. I swam very hard for the next hour and I could see the outline of the sand dunes getting bigger in the dark as I swam. Eventually I noticed the boat turn off and while I was wondering what was happening suddenly in front of me was Adrian, Neil’s crewman, rowing a kayak, and then I knew I had very nearly made it to France. I still had to swim another 200 metres, and got a bit cut up on the rocks, but after 22 hours and 14 minutes I had made it to the sand dunes of Cap Blanc Nez.

"It was a wonderful experience, and fulfilled a promise I made to myself some 45 years ago. It proved to me that if you want something badly enough you can indeed go out and get it. In doing so I also raised a nice sum of money for Kidney Research."

Alan Macleay

19th September 2006