16 HOURS 6 MINUTES OF FUN!

I am home now after my swim with the ON PORPOISE DIABETES UK Channel swimming team.

The Channel crossing took 16 hours and 6 minutes in challenging conditions. The very high spring tide took the swimmers way north and at one point it was thought by the pilot that the landing would be in Holland! That would have been cool. Not many people have swum there!

Although the winds did not drop as predicted, the mighty currents eventually had all swimmers back on course and we all landed around the Calais/Sangette region. It was a great feeling to climb out on the rocks at the base of the cliff.

2 more stones down my swimmers for my collection. Hold on, that doesn't read well! You know what I mean.

I have had one day off, and now I am heading back to my beloved Nene today to swim out the shoulders for a couple of hours. Lovely smooth water.

Alderney to France is now 4 weeks away so upwards and onwards.

I listened to the golf and cricket on the way home from Dover yesterday and one commentator said that in a press conference in Liverpool that most of the American golfers couldn't name any of the Beatles.
Easy, Dung Beetle, VW Beetle, Beetlenut and Scarab Beetle.

THE CHANNEL IS ON!

Great news dear reader, the weather is starting to calm and I'm off to Dover to jump in the Channel tomorrow.

It may be a midnight start Tuesday so I expect all of you to stay awake all night tracking me. If it is not midnight it will be early Wednesday.

To follow the tracker the easiest way is to google Mike Oram CSPF and click on his tracker for GALLIVANT.

If the boat shows that it is still in Dover, then so am I! You will see the track once we are into the Channel.

Excited, and I still have the aurigny ALDERNEY to FRANCE SWIM to come in August.

Happy days. Keep rocking.

WIND PLAYING HAVOC AGAIN!

Well here I am sitting longingly at home waiting for the wind to drop.
I have reckoned that this is the third whole week of my life waiting for the wind to abate so I can get in the Channel.
The weather/wind forecast is for rubbish until Tuesday so my pilot has pencilled in Tuesday/Wednesday for the swim. I have fitted in 3 good swims in the river so I am the proverbial coiled spring.
Here's hoping!

If you have a spare 14 hours here is the tracking link.

www.cspf.co.uk/tracking.

You need to click onto GALLIVANT to follow the course.

More news as it happens! It really is a long way to the top.

AURIGNY ALDERNEY TO FRANCE SWIM

I have pleasure in announcing that I will be swimming the English Channel from Alderney to France on the 21st of August. Exciting times!

This is in association with AURIGNY the local airline and will raise money for DIABETES UK.

This is a very challenging swim as the Channel at this point has the infamous Race of Alderney which has it's own site on You Tube. ( link to follow, I can't work out how to do it on my I pad!)

I will be the first person ever to swim to France from 2 different Channel Islands.

I will include more details as they develop.

Met a great bunch of people at the river today, so G'day to
Chris, Louise, Paul C, Paul B, Alan and Derek.
I hope you didn't get too much of a shock as the monster Kiwi boy emerged from the deep!

Don' forget that Rock and Roll will save us all!

THE NORTH SEA IS STILL BROWN!

Lizzie and I went to Aldeburgh on the weekend. Great day to pick as it was festival day and there was not a single parking space closer than the Martello Tower end of the beach.

No matter, I jumped in and had a really good swim. I read last night that people in my home town of Auckland had a mid winter swim in the harbour and the water was a "numbing" 16C. Well I have news for you kids. The MID SUMMER temperature in the North Sea yesterday was 16C. Toughen up.

No Jellyfish at all, hurrah!

Swam today with William Owens in the river. He is 12 wants to swim the channel when he is 16. This was his first swim in open water and he did really well. One more of us, one less of them.

I am organising a record breaking swim in August. Still secret squirrel so details to follow.

Led Zep month continues on Planet Rock. It's like a stairway to heaven.

WELCOMED WELSH SUN

I am now home safe and sound from my week in West Wales with 36 children.
We had fantastic weather and we are all now a different colour from when we left Maidwell. Of course I have gone Kiwi brown whilst most of the children are now Pommy pink!

I managed to get 2 really long swims in at Whitesands beach, good to get back in the sea water. The water was 14C so getting more pleasant. My swim team was at Dover this weekend so I am pleased that they got better conditions than last month.

I am in the process of organising a unique, challenging swim for August but it needs to be secret squirrel at the moment as I don't want anyone else to don't before me. Details to follow!

One month now to the Channel. Feeling good and looking for a good crossing.
DIABETES raffle tickets still available!

Led Zep month in Planet Rock. Doesn't get better than that. Well perhaps Lynyrd Skynyrd.

OH WHEN THE SAINTS

Go marching in, oh when the Saints go marching in.......................... Championies, championies........
What a day at Twickenham, what a result. If you are going to win a Grand Final in front of 85,000 wait until the very last second, EASY! I have never heard a crowd as loud as the noise that went up when the ref signalled T R Y time.
Swimming this week has been indoors as the rain in Spain moved here permanently for the week. The river was MENTAL, totally unswimmable after 4 days of continuous rain. I had 5 big swims in the pool but not quite what I planned for half term.
With the countdown to the Channel in July I had planned 10 hours of cold water so I will need to get up to the river plenty of times in the coming weeks.
Don't forget my DIABETES raffle tickets, they are going fast. Contact me if you would like to buy one and have a chance to win a case of Champagne.
G'luck to the guys and gals doing CE this week.
Remember, meat should be thick, music should be loud.