Channel @ 16...

Swim Statistics

2009-10-31T12:17:00.003Z

Today I did something that I know you're not supposed to do and everyone will think you're so full of yourself if you do; I Googled my own name... Gasp! However, I actually found out some good information I didn't know before, and it's the answers to a few questions that different people have been asking me and I couldn't honestly answer.

Qusetion 1: "How many people have swum the Channel?" Answer: To date there have been 1,499 succesful SOLO crossings of the English Channel, by 1,081 people. I don't have a figure for the total of succesful realy crossings, yet. Niall O'Crualaioch from Cork completed the 1,000th crossing. Ther have been 6 deaths on Channel swims.

Question 2: This is one that some of the younger members of Fermoy Swimming Club have been asking; "Were you one of the fastest to do it?" Answer: I swam it in a time of 10hrs 19mins. The record is 6hrs 57mins held by Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria. Many wsims take well over 24hrs. I have the 203rd fastest time, along with one other. That puts me in the top 13.5% in terms of speed. I also have the fastest time of anyone from the Republic of Ireland. This year threr were 75 succesful solo crossings and mine was the 5th fastest, that in the top 7%.

Question 3: "Are you the youngest person to have done it?" Answer: The straight answer is "No". However, since we started we had suspected that I would be the youngest Irish person, and I can now confirm that that is correct. In the past people under the age of 16 were allowed to swim but that has since been stopped as a child protection issue. So now you must be at least 16 to attempt the swim.

Question 4: This is another one kids often ask me, I suspect adults are too embarassed to ask; "How do you go to the toilet?" Answer: Any suggestions for an appropriate answer?

All of this and loads more, including photos can be found on www.dover.uk.com/channelswimming. This is an excellent source for all sorts of information about past Channel swims. Don't forget taht you can still sponsor me online at www.mycharity.ie/event/ec4cancer. So far we have over €13,000. That is a great result, but can we make it €15,000? Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far..!

Channel Swim 21st September 2009

2009-10-04T11:33:00.013+01:00

My apoligies again about the long delay with writing about the swim, everything has just been so hectic with school and all the rest! So that I don't start rambling and you end up reading a load of rubbish, I'm going to write the whole thing in five clear paragraphs; the lead up, the start of the swim, the middle, the end, and the afters! By the way, there won't be very many pictures on this post, so if you would like to see more click here.

We arrived in Dover all excited on Wednesday 9th September, thinking that it wouldn't be very long before the swim. However, day by day, the swim kept getting put off. Our original plan was to head home the following Wednesday, but by then there was still no sign of a swim so we had to start making plans for an extended stay. As you can imagine, the whole experience was very demoralising! It was very windy all week, which prevented any swims, but otherwise the weather was very nice. It wasn't until the following Friday that things were starting to look better. On Saturday 19th, we cheered Lisa off on her 2-way swim. The weather looked like it was still improving, so now all I had to do was wait for Lisa to finish (as we were both booked with the same pilot) and then it would be my turn. Really, that was all I had to do, and just hope that the weather held out...

Sunday evening, Lisa was on her way back to England, still going strong. The forecast for the following morning was excellent, if Lisa got back in time I would go at midnight and hit everything perfectly. It was a very tense few hours in the caravan park, and I definitely did not get the rest I should have. At 10:10pm Lisa finished her amazing swim at Dungeness. I got a call from Lance, our pilot, to be at the marina at 12:30pm to turn around as soon as possible to hit the tide. We met Lisa arriving back at the harbour and off we went at 1am. The journey out to the start on the boat was tough. I was never so nervous before. At 1:41am I entered the water at Samphire Hoe. It was a spring tide and I had missed the start so it was going to be very hard to hit the tide turning at the right time. The water felt warm, after about a half an hour I started to get into my rythm, and conditions were excellent. After 1hr, the crew gave me my first feed and my own Channel Swim was well under way.

As the swim progressed, everything looked perfect, the surface was flat calm, I was swimming well, feeling good, and the feeds were going down quickly and staying down. After about 4hrs it was just getting light when we were all brought to our senses by the loudest thing I've ever heard. An oil tanker was steaming down the South-West Shipping Lane right towards us giving loud blasts on its horn. Lance radioed it to change course, they said no, Lance called the Dover Coastguard and blew the whistle, the taker, still blasting the horn, went into reverse and began rotating anti-clockwise and coming towards us sideways. When it had turned enough it went into gear and passed between 100m and 150m infront of us. That was a very scary experience, luckily we survived only to be thrown all over the place by the turbulence caused. It turned out afterwards that the Coastguard had requested it to reduce speed further up the North Sea so that it would pass behind us, but it didn't want to hear it. Over the course of the next hour the Sun was rising and everyone's spirits wer lifted. When we were in full daylight I had a slightly extended feed stop to change over to dark goggles and fix all my gear. Now the we could see real progress being made.

At the 8hr mark Ned told me that if I picked up the pace I could make France in less than two hours, and then he kept repeating the words "sub-10hrs, I know you've been dreamin' about it, sub-10"... About a half an hour later during a feed, he told me that there was a buoy infront of us and that if we were able to get inside it as the tide pushed us West, then I could hit Cap-Gris-Nez, the ideal finish for Channel Swims. I kept sprinting, and believe me I was sprinting and we got inside the buoy. I needed to keep up the pace that I had been doing in order to make the Cap. With 3km to go the tide was slack and it looked like it was going to stay like that for an hour so I would have an easy swim into shore. That of course, wasn't to be! 30mins later the tide started to push me North and I had to really dig deep if I was going to make it. I kept swimming faster and faster, not realisinb the power of the tidal stream. Then Lance said something to me at the last feed, "You've got 800m to go but the tide is pushing you North past the Cap, anything you've got left in your tank, now'd be a good time to use it!" With that I sprinted like hell, right across a 2.5knot current and hit France at exactly 12noon after 10hrs 19mins in the water, 2hrs 40mins of which was at full pace! i eventually clambered over the rocks and cleared the water. Ned then got in and swam in to meet me and ended up 50m North after less than 50m swimming. It was impossible to believe that I was really there. The feeling can only be described as surreal...

After enjoying the view in France and picking up my stone, I swam back to the boat and climbed up the ladder onto the deck. What an amazing feeling! After more than ten and a half hours I was back on the boat with the people who kept the whole show running since 11:30pm the night before... We [sort of] "motored" back to England. I say motored, it took nearly 4hrs! Everyone was falling asleep on the way back. We were all completely exhausted. Everything was such a rush when we arrived back. We met Dad, David (from the caravan park), Sylvain and Dan at the marina. Said our goodbyes to Lance, Chris and Irene and went back up to the caravan park where the French and Irish tri-colours were flying side-by-side. I had a quick shower and then we headed down to the Royal Oak, our local pub for the two weeks, and we attempted to eat solid foods. You'll just have to trust me that your mouth is not suited to anything more than a banana after a Channel swim!

We hardly got a night's sleep because we had to leave for home at 6am the next morning. Just passed London I was woken up to make my first radio interiew after swimming the Channel. It was KC and Lennie from Cork's RedFM. Luckily my wit was sharp enough for them I think... It's a sort of a comedy breakfast show! On the ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare, I was able to catch up on all my e-mails. Arriving back into Ireland was another great feeling... Only a few days before I thought I would be returning empty handed. I was in for the shock of my life as we pulled into our driveway at home. There wer lots of banners and balloons up around the place and All of my familly, including my Grandad, aunt and lots of cousins, were all there, plus a freelance photographer who took loads of lovely pictures which can be seen at http://www.provision.ie/ for 22nd Sept. Then we wer rushed down to the Grand Hotel in Fermoy. I knew something was up when we were told to go through the main entrance. When we went in there were loads of friends and familly, swiimming club and school friends all cheering and clapping... We had a really great night.

That's it for the moment but this account is to be continued as that was by no means the end of the celebrations! Keep an eye out...

10hrs 19mins later........

2009-09-24T14:57:00.003+01:00

At last, it's done, on Monday 21st September 2009 at 1:41am, I left England in the dark of night, and at exactly 12noon, I clambered up the rocks at Cap-Gris-Nez, France. It's slowly but surely sinking in the I actually swam the English Channel! Oops...... sorry Sylvain, la Manche! It was a very tough two weeks at Varne Ridge, waiting to hera that the weather was improving, but it was worth every second in the end!

I'm sorry I can't write anything at the moment but by next week I will have the full stroy up for everyone to read!

IT'S SHOW TIME...............

2009-09-20T13:46:00.002+01:00

Finally there is a break in the weather. Lisa from Blackrock started her 2-way at 10:35am yesterday and is now well over half way back to England. Sylvain from Alsace/Cork started his swim at around 11am today and I am scheduled to go TONIGHT at around midnight. We are now 99.9% sure that this is it, for real!

There are plenty of ways of keeping up with the swim. You can call (or text) the boat on +353 87 2278242, this is my number but Dave will answer. You can keep an eye on my Twitter page www.twitter.com/owensbigswim where there will be very regular updates. By going to www.ais-doverstraits.co.uk and clicking on Sea Satin, you can track the boats progress across the Channel. It's amazing the technology involved in Channel swimming now... You can leave comments on facebook, twitter or by text if you want.

Don't forget that all this is in aid of the Irish Cancer Society and you can sponsor me at www.mycharity.ie/event/ec4cancer Thank You...!

The story so far...

2009-09-14T19:18:00.002+01:00

Just a very brief update to get you up to speed with the latest developments.

I am now sitting in Varne Ridge Holiday Park (which I would very highly recommend) waiting for this wind to die down. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and there was a stiff North Easterly wind blowing which was making the sea rough with lots of white horses. Its is still the same today and will be until at least Thursday.

Wednesday is the last official day of my tides but I will retain my 2nd Preference booking with the pilot until the 23rd when the next tides begin. This gives me a better chance of swimming but it means I could be swimming on a spring tide which makes the swim more difficult, but at least I can get in the water at some stage.

That's really all I can say for now. Keep an eye on the Twitter page www.twitter.com/owensbigswim for more frequent updates. Also, don't forget to keep those donations rolling in!

More later,
Owen.

It's finally September!

2009-09-05T16:19:00.005+01:00

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to start off by just saying thanks to all the great people who have helped me reach this point. Most of all, Riordan's SuperValu Fermoy, who were very generous in their sponsorship of this swim... And also, Fermoy Leisure Centre who kept me going through the winter, Fermoy Swimming Club who I just can't thank enough for the last 10yrs, Dave Pyne for all the help with physio all this year, and Cara Partners, my Dad's employers, who were also very generous in supporting the event. And of course all the individuals who donated towrds the Irish Cancer Society so far! You can still donate here: www.mycharity.ie/event/ec4cancer So far we have raised over €5,500 I would love to make it €7,500 before I walk on French soil, so lets keep donating and I know we'll get there...!

The last week has been so different from the entire year I have put behind me. On Monday, I started to taper so doing very little swimming. On Tuesday I went to SiverSprings to remind myself of some of the 20km+ Sessions I did there and to meet with Eilís Burns, Channel Coach Supreme... Wednesday was the dreaded "back to school", into 5th Yr, the beginning of the Leaving Cert. course, and it was a big shock to the system! At least it gives me something to take my mind off waiting while I'm in Dover. Thursday morning was back to Club Trainig with Fermoy SC, I have to say I had been looking forward to this all summer! Today was up to the City to get all the stuff for Dover, and to treat myself to a few things. Tomorrow is the send-off swim and barbeque at Sandycove for myself, Lisa Cummins and Sylvain Estadieu, all heading to Dover so that should be good fun...

I will post when I arrive in Dover and the day before the swim to let everyone know that I'm off. You can follow the swim online. There should be somebody doing hourly updates and Twitter here: www.twitter.com/owensbigswim and you can also see the boats progress by satellite on www.ais-doverstraits.co.uk, I think it will most likely be Sea Satin but will confirm later. Hopefully these will be kept up to date on the day of the swim...

Expect a new post as soon as we arrive in Dover on Wednesday evening,
Owen.

PS - There should also be a post very soon about the Blackwater Sprint Triathlon which took place last weekend...

Almost there........

2009-08-16T13:22:00.004+01:00

I can't believe that it's so close now. There is less than four weeks to the start of my tides! Since 1st January this year I have swam 940km, and will begin to taper in the next two weeks when I reach the 1,000km mark; that's One Million Metres... I am starting to cut down now to only doing one or two hour swims up in the resevoir. At this stage I am really itching to swim!

So far I have raised almost €4,000 for the Irsh Cancer Society. Please help me hit the €5,000 mark before we leave for England. You can donate online at www.mycharity.ie/event/ec4cancer or if you're living around Fermoy, call into The Bookshop in Pearse Square where they have a sponsorship card instore.

This year has been a great year for Channel swimming in Cork. So far six locals have made it and there are four more to go. This ties with 2005 which was the record year for successes from Cork. Also, out of the Distance Camp back in June, eight out of eight have made it so far, and there are more to come. I think all of us who are left to go are feeling the pressure not to break the 100% success rate so far this year.

That's it for the moment... I will do another post around the end of the month.

Irish 17km Championships 2009

2009-08-05T12:11:00.005+01:00

This was my first year taking part in the Irish 17km Championships, held in Lough Erne, Co. Fermanagh. Yes, Co. Fermanagh is over the border in Northern Ireland but swimming in Ireland is an "all island" afair so both the Republic and the North are included in Championships. The swim was run by Martin Cullen of The Irish Long Distance Swimming Association (ILDSA).

This was also my first proper swim after a two week holiday and a total journey of more than 10hrs to get to the start line! So, I really wasn'e expecting to do particularly well. The water was on ok temperature. It wasn't very comfortable but it could have been alot colder... I finished the swim in 4:10:36. I was hoping to do it in under 4hrs but that wasn't too bad for my first time doing it. I finished in third place overall. The winner was Lisa Broadfield of the USA and second was Simon Lee of Great Britain. Even though it was the Irish Championships, they gave the trophy to the English guy. He had been winning the event for the last 10yrs but they always awarded the trophy to the Irish Champion... It would have to be the one year that they decide to change it!

I did enjoy the event though. It felt very long and was very boring.....exactly as a swim should be. Maybe next year I will go back and do it slightly better! Sorry about the lack of pictures... My Dad wasn't there! Unfortunately I can't seem to get eny so we'll just have to imagine it.....

Lee Swim 18th July 2009

2009-08-05T12:05:00.005+01:00

This year proved to be another fantastic Lee Swim. The swim was first held in 1914 but was later relocated and eventually suspended due to the bad water quality in Cork City and the outer Harbour. It was resurected in 2005 when Cork celebrated it's year as the European Capital of Culture. Everybody was amazed at the great improvement in water quality since the City's new drainage system was put in place and now the swim has become the largest open-water event in the country, with people travelling from all over the world to participate. This year a record number of 279 people took part.

I first did the swim in 2006. It was my first big open-water event and I was only 13 years old. Myself and my friend Bryan Dillon had spent the first half of the summer training for this swim which we thought was very long and was going to be really scary. That year we placed reasonably well and got hooked on open-water swimming, doing the Sandycove Island Challenge that September. In 2007 I was taking swimming fairly seriously and set myself the challenge of beating Ned in the Lee. I did beat him then but lost out on the Island Challenge that year. That September Ned and Danny Coholan (EC Soloist) took me on my first Speckled Door to Sandycove 5km swim. Being the youngest to ever do it it got alot of attention and gave me great confidence. Within a month I had booked my English Channel Swim.

In 2008 I was determined to do as well as I could. I beat Ned in the Lee and finished 4th overall. I also did the Lizard Point swim, Loch Allua, Crosshaven to Blackrock and Blackorock to Cóbh in that year and came second in the Island Challenge. Oops, I started rambling... Let's get back to the Lee Swim!

This year was another fantastic Lee Swim, even if it was rainig for most of the day! After a bit of a slow start, I surprised myself and managed to climb back up to finish in second place. I never would have thought in 2006 that I would be coming 2nd in the Lee Swim. I finished in 23mins 17secs which I was absolutely delighted with, I was thinking that 25mins would have been very good. As usual everybody really enjoyed the day. There was a great surprise afterwards when there was a real game of proper water-polo played in the River infront of the Clarion Hotel. At least this kept us some way occupied while the results were being done manually due to a technical fault with the electronic timing!

Joe Donnelly has to be crongratulated for his excellent work for resurecting this swim and making it such a great success every year. It is not easy running an event like this with so many participants and spectators! Thanks Joe........!!! Also, well done to the overall winner, Shane Drumm of Aer Lingus SC and the winner of the women's race Maeve Linahen fo Mallow Swans SC, also well done to Harry Cohen, 12yo, who travelled from London and was the youngest participant in the swim.

I really can't wait for next year's Lee Swim!

Last weekend's races......mixed results!

2009-07-17T12:09:00.007+01:00

Last weekend we had our first ever event in Co. Waterford. It was a 2.2km swim in Baile na nGall which is in Gaeltacht na Rinne. The swim was organised by Maura Murphy and there were about 20 swimmers in attendence. I finished first in just over a half an hour and Chris Mintern from Sunday's Well wasn't far behind in second. Ned Denison was a bit later in third place, he was helped from the water by Chris and I... How embarassing!!! He proclaimed to be the real winner as he was the first "driver" home. Things are realing getting bad when you have to use your age as an excuse! This was a great first swim in Waterford and thanks to Maura for organising it.

On Saturday we had Nick Mulcahy's annual swim in Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry. Due to the bad weather we couldn't do the usual swim so we had to do a shorter course just around the beach. It was a very fun and exciting event. I would like to thank Ned for knocking my goggles off in a battle less than 100m from the finish! Due to me having no goggles I went way off course and finished further back in the race. The swim was really great fun and I had a great day on Sunday surk-kayaking off the beach. Thanks as usual to Nick for another great event.

Cork City to Myrtleville

2009-07-06T12:17:00.007+01:00

My longest swim in terms of distance to date... 26km or just over 16miles. Although this was my longest swim distance-wise, it was only my second longest in terms of time-in-the-water... 5hrs 47mins.

Ned and I started ours swim in the pitch dark at 4:09am underneath the Port of Cork sign in Cork City Centre. This was my first ever night swim and I have to say I found it very relaxing... Apart from a few bits of floatsome and jetsome, which is to be expected in the River Lee. For safety we had all our light-sticks on and the boat had their navigation lights on. On the boat was Dave Mulcahy and Kieran O'Sullivan, both did a fantastic job at keeping us on course in the difficult conditions.

As we swam past Blackrock Castle it was starting to get bright... It also however started to get a bit choppy and started to lash rain on Dave and Kieran on the boat. The water was warm and I was feeling very comfortable so actually felt sorry for the boat crew getting drenched, I'm not really sure how Ned was feeling. After a few feeds we had passed Glenbrook and Ned said that he was getting out at Monkstown... There was no arguing and he exited the water at 2hrs 54mins and then crewed for the rest of the swim.

Passing infront of Hawlbowline Island, the Irish Naval HQ, and Spike Island, former prison, it started lashing rain again. After that it got a bit calmer and a fog rolled in. On our way from Cóbh to the Mouth of the Harbour, we ran into some trouble with the Port Authorities which we won't mention. Apparently all of our names went on to some report! It wasn't really our fault though......out-dated technology.

The water was still warm as we exited Cork Harbour. Now instead of a choppy surface, I had a large rolling swell to contend with. Aside from sore shoulders from fighting the waves for the last 5hrs and one jellyfish sting, I was feeling very confident and upped the pace a bit because I knew the end wasn't too far away. For a while I kept looking up for some reason but Ned stepped in and corrected that!

After the boat ran out of orange flavoured High5 to give me they gave me an unflavoured one and mixed it with blackcurrant juice... It wasn't too bad. After that Ned said that it was the last feed and I had 1km to go (although I'm sure it was more than that). At 9:56am I walked up the beach in Myrtleville feeling very happy with myself. I had estimated that the swim would take about 7hrs but I beat that by over an hour so I was delighted.

Here is a picture of the swim course:

Sorry about the delay in posting it properly...!

Irish Age Groups Division 2, University of Limerick

2009-06-30T10:45:00.007+01:00

Since I have absolutely no intention of doing anything for the next few hours I might as well write about the gala at the weekend, which surprisingly enough wasn't actually that bad!

Ok so it's been a while since I have been able to perform well at galas... I've been doing pretty good in training, finishing every set and hitting nearly all of my 85% times and all that technical stuff, but it just doesn'e reflect itself at meets. I think it's probably a psycholigical thing as much as anything else, I mean, if I can do the work in trainig then surely I can do it in competetion. Well this weekend, it all finally paid off. By that I mean that I actually got good PBs and even got pleaced well...

All through the week I had been doing very little. Firstly because I didn't want to be too tired going into the meet and also because I kind of needed to recover after the alst weekend. It was just all easy short swims, the alst one was Thursday night in Knockanannig where it was 21degC! On Friday I was incrediblt bored so I got a spin up to Limerick so I could support the people who were swimming on that day.

Saturday morning I was entered for the 100m Butterfly, don't ask why I entered this, I think it was because you had to enter 200m Freestyle and 200m I.M. plus two other 100m events and I certainly didn't want to do Backstroke or Breaststroke! I swam well enough, I think I may have got a 1:12 or someting like that... It was a PB anyway and my previous time was a 1:16 so a reasonably good improvement there. I was just outside the finals so was a "reservist".

In the evening I had the 200m Freestyle, apparently this was going to be my event so my coach insisted that I should do a few at 85% before going to line up. This was to get me into the mindset of swimming fast. And you know what, it really worked.. I do infact swim better after doing some fast work before the race. I took nearly 3secs off my old time to get a 2:11.84 which put me in 3rd place.

The next morning was the really important one, 100m Freestyle. The three of us who train in the middle lane together were all in this event. I was going in on a 1:02.15, Rory on 1:01.97 (that was the only time he ever beat me and is always reminding me), and James was going in on something well below the minute. In the heats James got the fastest with 59.40 but unfortunately got a big DQ for breaking! I got 1:00.79 and Rory got 1:00.51 so he was still marginally ahead. It was going to be a great final, the seeded times were 1:00.49, 1:00.50, 1:00.51, 1:00.51, 1:00.79 ans so on.. I was going in 5th and Rory 3rd. Lining up on the blocks I had three goals, beat Rory No. 1, break the minute No. 2 and get in the medals No. 3...

It was a great race. I can't remember who the winner was but he won in 59.55. Myself and Dylan Ryan from Ennis were joint 2nd in 1:00.10, Rory was 4th in 1:00.50. So goals 1 and 3 acheived and almost No. 2. Now it's just a case of losing that extra few kilos I'm carrying for the Channel and that 10th of a second is history. It feels great to be so close to that minute which I have been chasing for so long!

My last event for this year was the 200m I.M., not exactly my favourite event but it is compulsory so there's no point complainig about it... I'm not interested in this event at all so I didn't even know my PB. I found out later that it was 2:38, I just lined up and did the best I could. I took 3secs off to get a 2:35 which put me in 4th place s I got a nice certificate. Not too bad for somebody who doesn't do I.M. though. I think it was my Backstroke which let me down. It used to be my #1 stroke, not anymore!

I really enjoyed the whole weekend and to be honest I'm a bit disappointed that it's over for another year. My friend Chris Mintern from Sunday's Well did brilliantly, winning the swimmer of the meet award. Fermoy did very well overall, I don't have the exact number of medals and certificates but there wer loads anyway. Karen Sheehan cleaned up winning practically everything she entered, and she entered everything! Last week she came 3rd in 100m Breaststroke in the Inter-Provincials in Dublin and next week she is going to the Division 1s. Karaen is only 11 years old. Stacey Hegarty is also going to the Division 1s next week. Good Luck Karen and Stacey! We will also be missing Danielle O'Flynn next year. Dan decided to leave this year so it was her last ever outing with the Club, Bye Dan...!

So that's it for the moment. This Saturday, I am swimming from Cork City Hall to the Ocean, should take about 6 or 7hrs. We are starting at 4am. That's all I know so far so will updae on that later...

Some good progress...

2009-06-23T12:28:00.002+01:00

The last week has been taken up with the International Long Distance Training Camp and a few other things... The camp started in Sandycove last Saturday 13th June. There were swimmers from the USA, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Sweden.

It is mostly two swims each day; a longer swim in the morning and a shorter swim in the evening. I wasn't able to make Monday morning but we did have the evening swim in the Blackwater. Tuesday I had Club Training in the morning and we went to Inishcarra for the evening swim. Inishcara was really nice, I can't believe I had never swam there before! Wednesday was a horrible 5am start in Sandycove. The tide was out and it was cold and stormy so we only did about 40mins. In the evening the river was too high to swim so we all did 2hrs in Knockanannig Resevoir in Fermoy and it was beautful.

I took Thursday and Friday off. Thursday I woke at 3:50am to be on the bus for 4:00am. This was for the Swimming Club trip to Oakwood in Pembrokeshire, Wales. We had a brilliant day. From the ferry in the middle of Saint George's Channel, it was easier to tell people what the English Channel would be like. I think that they were a little surprised at swimming in the open sea... It was very tiring though, two of the alds went back the next day with CBS Mitchelstown! I don't know how they did it. Friday I had a complete rest.

Saturday was very interesting... It was the 9mile Champion of Champions race in Sandycove. It consists of 5miles at 9am, 3miles at 2pm and a sprint mile at 5pm. The first leg from the Speckled Door was hard but I got there eventually. I finished third in both the second and third races. Overall I was 3hrs 48mins or something like that and in fourth place (first from outside the USA)...!The water was cold but I was looking forward to a slightly warmer day Sunday.

Saturday night I stayed at Ned's house, as did the Channel General/Queen Mother, Freda Streeter, who was brilliant to have around for the weekend. The next mornig we headed down to Sandycove for the 7hr swim. The tide was way out so there was no water to swim in, and what little water there was was freezing! But there was no point in complainig so we just had to grin and bare it... Our first feed was after 2hrs and God did I need it. I still hadn't managed to warm up at this point, it was only 11 or 12 Celsius. After that I fed every half our until5hrs 15mins... Then Ned said that we were going to only do 6hrs, that was welcome. So My last swim was a wide inside triangle and into the slipway at 6hrs 26secs. I had Qualified for the Channel! I would like to thank Noel (sorry don't know surname) who stayed with me for the last 90mins, I wouldn't have finished without you...

Also, today I went to Teach na Leanaí, a Montesorri school where I went before starting school. The children raised €200 for my swim through a charity walk we went on back in April sometime. Thanks a million everybody! I have now almost reached my fundraising target... Also, sorry for the lack of pictures, I don't think I want to remember my very cold 6hr. I will updae again next week after the Irish Age Groups Division 2 Gala in UL.

Martin Duggan Memorial Swim 2009

2009-06-15T12:13:00.006+01:00

Last Saturday 6th June, we had the second annual Martin Duggan Memorial Swim in the River Blackwater in Fermoy. This year the swim was held under Swim Ireland insurance, so we had a good incentive to make it a great event for everyone. Apart from the record turn-out of 45 swimmers, we had a fantastic effort from a large number of volunteers.

We had 5 main boats, with two crew members each and radios, so many kayaks I lost count, 5 river-siade marshals, about 10 people who were making sandwiches, cakes, tea, coffee and many more who were just willing to help. A special thanks fo course is owed to Fermoy Rowing Club for the full use of their facilities on the day.

All the swimmers and volunteers were early so we were able to have the safety briefing on-time and have all the swimmers in the water by 2pm. But of course, at 2 o'clock on the dot, in typical Irish fashion, it started raining and all the sheets were destroyed which made things even more difficult for our brave time-keepers.

The first swimmers home were Stephen Brooks and Conor O'Brien, both 12 from Mitchelstown, who did the 1km swim. Going over the results of previous swims, we discovered that Stephen was not only the youngest participant, but also the fastest swimmer over the 1km distance. Well done lads! Both Stephen and Conor train 7hrs per week with Fermoy SC.

After a long stint out in the wind and rain, our timekeepers were finally able to go and get warmed up inside when the last swimmer home, Finbarr Heddderman, finished up after 2hrs 46mins. Last year Fin swam the English Channel in 13 and a half hours at the same temerature... Yes it was only 13.5 Celsius!

Aswell as all the refreshments, the swimmers and volunteers were also treated to a selection of my Dad's photos of Fermoy and the Blackwater and some photos of the swim on the big screen upstairs in the Rowing Club. There were a few unexpected guests who walked in thinking that this was the venue for the count of votes for the Urban Council Elections. It had been here in previous years but was moved 100m down the quay to the Youth Centre...

I would just like to thank all of the following people for their help on the day: Danny Higgins and Ken Barry of Fermoy Rowing Club for the use of the Clubhouse and the piloting of the two launches, Blackwater Sub-Aqua Club S&R Unit for their presence in a safety capacity both in the RIB and on the bank, Tony Hally for giving up his day to bring his own boat out on the river, Dónal Clancy for rounding up all the kayakers from Pheonix Kayak Club who dod such a great job and for providing the car-park of Quinn-healthcare, my Mam and Brigid Noonan and everyone else who made sandwiches and cakes etc. and finally Pádraig Barry who took hundreds of excellent photographs. Appologies to anyone who I have forgotten to mention.

I would also like to thank the Duggan family for their presence and for donating a shield which will be awarded to a swimmer every year in future...

Lough Sheelin, Co. Cavan

2009-06-01T15:54:00.009+01:00

Well, home at last. I left for Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath on Saturday afternoon with my Mam, Dad and small brother. The drive up was fairly uneventful; we bypassed Mitchelstown (I won't make any smart comment just in-case) so it was motorway all the way to Cullahill, a few tailbacks in Abbeyleix and Portlaoise and we were there in three and a half hours.

Our hotel was very nice, the owner was a very funny woman. That night I had a nice 16oz T-bone steak with onions, mushrooms, pepper sauce and a bowl of chips followed by a good slice of hot chocolate fudge cake and a scoop of ice-cream. You need to eat lots the day before a swim! Dave, who was doing the 5km swim, and Brigid arrived with the two boys later.

Then on Sunday morning we headed out to the lake. It was a scorcher of a day and there was no wind so I was expecting to do a good time for the 10k. The 15k swimmers were just heading out as we arrived. It was a beautiful place and the water was quite warm. I caught up with a few more Channel aspirants, including Julieann Galloway (very fast), before eventually managing to register for the swim.

When we finally got into the water I was pleasantly surprised... It was quite warm and it was a beautiful clear lake, though it was a pity that everything was carpeted in those terrible zebra mussles that found there way in on the bottom of boats. After a bit of waiting around in the water, the clackson sounded and the race was on.

Right from the start Julieann was out in front and I was behind her in second. For the first lap I was able to navigate by watching her kayak. But by the second 2.5km lap, she was too far infront and I could see nothing. About half way through the second lap I stopped and took off my goggles. I had a look around and coul only see one boat in the distance, so I swam for that as I thought that was probably where the turn buoy was.

When I got to the turn buoy (which wasn't much bigger than a milk bottle) I decided that this was my last lap and found my way back by heading towards the hotel up on the hill. When I got out I was really annoyed that I hadn't been able to finish ust because the course was so poorly marked and I had no kayaker. I felt strong and not a bit cold. As you can imagine I was pretty pissed off so I just went over to the car for a while to calm down!

After I'd had a shower and got dressed I just relaxed at the side of the lake and tried to forget about the whole thing. I was thinking all sorts of things like "how hard can it be to find ten kayakers?" and "why were there only three gallon bottles marking a 2.5km lap on an open lake?". I know it sounds like I am trying to blame anything but myself, but I was genuinly annoyed about the whole thing, I really could have done the 10k.

Afterwards I found out that lots of people did the same thing as I did so I didn't feel like the only awkward customer... When Dave finished his 5k, we worked out that he had actually swam about 7k as a result of the course! When we got home I was finally bale to forget about it and move onto orgainising the Blackwater Swim on 6th June. The next day I did an 8k swim in Fermoy... pic above.

A Quick Update

2009-05-29T22:14:00.002+01:00

It might look like I don't have any news for you since I haven't posted anything for a while. Well, surprise, surprise, I do have news; I just haven't had enough time to tell you about it because I have been very busy organising this year's Martin Duggan Memorial Swim in the Blackwater. While I have a chance, here a few quick updates:

1) The open-water season is finally starting to properly get going. I did a 5km swim in the Blackwater at 6am with Ned on Monday and a 7.5km swim today. It is about 11 or 12 Celsius at the moment which is well below the average for this time of year. We have also had some new faces on the river, Stephen Brooks and Conor O'Brien, both 12 from Mitchelstown, did their first ever swim last week. They swam 700m in their skins and it was only 11 degrees. Well done Stephen and Conor!

2) Things are also going well on the sponsorship front. On Tuesday, we had our Transition Year Graduation ( yes, I am on summer holidays). Before receiving our Certs, I was presented with €570 from the TY Mini-Company for the Irish Cancer Society and over €300 from the College Staff. Fermoy Swimming Club also sent me a cheque for €100. I wouldn't expect this as it is I who owe them and the Club is not exactly loaded...

3) In other [competion] news, I am heading up to Cavan tomorrow for the Lough Sheelin 10k National Championships on Sunday. I have never done an official 10k race before so it will be very interesting to see how I get on... and if I get selected for the Irish Panel, although I doubt it somehow.

Well, that's it for the moment. I will post next week to let you know how I get on in Lough Sheelin. Hopefully I will Have a few nice pistures too.

Open-Water.......AT LAST

2009-04-22T20:17:00.002+01:00

Finally, the weather has started to get better and the water is warming up. For the last week or so I have been getting into the sea and the resevoir at every opportunity. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with my ability to swim in cold water after such a long winter...

It started with a short swim in the river back in March. It was 7 Celsius and my extra weight proved a big help in keeping out the cold. Then about two weeks ago I headed down to Sandycove with Dave for a lap of the Island. It was warmer than I was expecting but I had completely forgotten how to swim in waves, but I'm sure I will get used to it again quickly. Now we have a a few swims in the Resevoir and Sandycove. My next task is to do a double lap of Sandycove and an hour swim.

Now I am really looking forward to the Distance Camp in Cork for two weeks in June. It is sure to be a great experience with so many swimmers coming from around Ireland and overseas, also the Great Freda Streeter, a.k.a. The Channel General is coming for the Champion of Champions on the 20th and the 7hr swim on the 21st.

Nothing much else to say really only that everything is on track and it's only four or five weeks to the summer holidays... Just a reminder to say thanks to everyone who as sponsored me so far, there have been some really great donations on the website, keep them coming.

Click here to DONATE...

Also, check out Lisa Cummins' blog. Lisa is from Blackrock in Cork and is also swimming the same week as me. But she is swimming all the way to France and back again! It's certainly worth having a read...

Stepping up the training...

2009-02-17T18:51:00.002Z

In January, I knew that the training that I was doing wasn't enough, but I wasn't sure either how much or what type of training I should be doing. So when Ned, e-mailed me to see if I would like to do a 20km swim in Source Pool, I was delighted. I would get one big pool swim in and get to meet coach Eilís Burns. Eilís has coached 8 out of 8 successful Cork Channel Swimmers. She was the person to put me on the right track.

When I told her that I was only doing 25km a week, I'm sure she was appalled! I was a bit surprised when she said that I should be doing 45km every week and 60km a few weeks in March, but after a few more of the 20km pool swims, I thik it sounds alot more achievable. This week however I have no long swim in Source so I will have to slog it out in Fermoy. I have the free training, so I better make use of it.

The last two weeks I dis 48.5km and 47.2km so this week I am aiming for about the same. Will be updating again soon....

Oops... I almost forgot I had a blog!

2009-01-19T19:05:00.005Z

Ok, it has been a fairly long time since my last post. Firstly, on New Year's Eve there was a charity swim in Garryvoe in East Cork. One of my friends who goes to Coláiste an Phiarsaigh in Glanmire is going to Kolkata(formerly Clacutta) later in the year with the Hope Foundation. He and a few others decidi to run a charity swim in Garryvoe to raise funds for the trip.

There was a good crowd turned up. Even with all of the planning, one important detail was forgotten, the tide, wich if you get it wrong in Garryvoe means that you have a long trudge out to swimmable water. It was windy and rough, but the swim was very enjoyable. I say the "swim", for most people it was more of a splash and dash event. Except for Maria Sheehan who managed to stay in for a minute or two. I managed to do 11mins after the horrible twisting injury I did to my knee on entering the water. The beacjh is covered in little craters and it's easy to fall into them when they are submerged. Alltogether it was a nice event to pass away New Year's Eve and to raise money for charity.

Also, last weekend my family went to Dublin for my Dad's birthday. While we were there I decided that it might be a good idea to go to the National Aquatic Centre. I got to have a good swim in their 50m, 10-lane Olympic sized pool and later I went with my brother and sister to the leisure part of the Centre. The 50m pool was fantastic, and I didn't get stuck behnd lots of slow people and have to turn every 20secs! Since I am still a child I get to enjoy things like waterslides, and the NAC had really good ones! I also got to try out the "flow-rider", a kind of artificial wave for boarding on. It's a bit tricky at first but once you get the hang of it it's great fun.

The NAC is a truly magnificant faclilty, it's a sort of Croke Park of Irish swimming. I do hope that it survives long enough for everyone to enjoy it. And I promise, it won't be too long before my next post!

Some sponsorship...

2008-12-27T11:14:00.002Z

When I first decided that I was going to swim the Channel I realised that it was going to be a very expensive goal. I thought that it would be a good idea to get alot of the funds I needed from a corporate sponsor. I recently wrote a letter to Riordan's SuperValu, Fermoy, explaining what I was doing and that I would be very happy if they could help me out a bit. Two weeks later, I got a cheque for €1,000 in the post. Since then alot of people have said that they would like to sponsor both the charity and my own expenses. So with a few extra hours at work I should do fine.

So it's thanks a million to the Riordans and evryone who has helped me out so far... Also, I would like to wish everyone a [belated] Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

SAVE FERMOY WEIR...!

2008-12-11T19:35:00.005Z

Everyone, please help save the weir that makes the beautiful River Blackwater what it is! Without our weir, Fermoy would never be the same. No more swimming, no more rowing, no more diving, etc, etc, etc... We have to stop the Dept. Energy, Communications & Natural Resources before they take away our beautiful river.

The proposed plans for the weir will destroy everything that makes Fermoy special. For one, my training for the Channel Swim will be severly hamperred and many fond memories will be lost. There are far more practical, cheaper and above all, safer allternatives available. Check out the website: http://www.fermoyweir.wordpress.com/ for more information...

Don't make us say goodbye to this...!

November...

2008-11-15T13:50:00.005Z

With winter beginning to set in the time has come to start into some serious pool training. It is also time to start bringing all of the l;ogistics of making a Channel Swim together. One of the things that alot of people choose to combine their swim with is raising money for a chosen charity. I had always intended to do this but was having trouble picking out the charity that I wanted to support. Well, on the morning of Thursday 6th November 2008 my mind was made up for me.

On the 1st October my Grandmother was informed that she had cancer that had spread throughout her body and that there was no treatment available. The only thing to do now was to bring her home and make her as comfortable as possible. There were a few people who this would not have been possible without. My Grandfather, her husband of 44yrs who gave her 24hr attention, my mother, who was able to understand and administer all of the medication, our family doctor, Dr. O'Grady, who came at least twice every day, and the Irish Cancer Society, who's Night Nursing service proved to be invaluable.

The Irish Cancer Society is funded totally by voluntary donations and receive no government funding. They are committed to finding new ways of preventing and curing cancer and providing the best care possible for those who are terminally ill. By being in the house at night, the night nurse gives the family a chance to have some rest and are there to support everyone when death is near.

I am swimming the Channel in memory of my Grandmother, who was looking forward emmensly to the event, and to raise funds for this worthy organisation. You can see their website by following this link: Irish Cancer Society, and you can visit my fundraising page at http://www.mycharity.ie/event/ec4cancer. All donations made on the MyCharity.ie website are very secure and are very much appreciated.

Thanks for your support.

Party in Monkstown...

2008-10-26T15:22:00.002Z

Last week I went to a party in Ned's house for all of the Cork people who swam the Channel in 2008. Aside from all the previous Cork soloers, there were some very distinguished guests. I got to meet David Yudovin IMSHOF, I won't even go into all of the amazing swims that he has done, I'd be here all day, let's just say that it was amazing to meet him. Also Dave Whyte was there, he piloted all of the previous Cork swimmers but unfortunately he is retiring this year. He is also the newest inductee into IMSHOF. It was great to meet someone who had so much experience in Channel swimming. David and Evelyn of Varne Ridge Caravan Park were there also. They were very nice and I am looking forward to meeting them in Dover next year.

As part of the evening we also got to see all the inspirational photographs in Rob Bohane's swim from Sceilig Mhichíl and Ned's swim around Valentia Island. Eilís Burns, who coached all of the Cork soloers, gave a nice speech about all of her swimmers and gave them some amuzing presents that represented there character. Rob received a certificate form IMSHOF recognising his Sceilig swim and I also got one for my Crosshaven to Blackrock swim. Overall it was a fantastic evening, and needless to say, Anne's cooking was top notch!

Blackrock to Cobh Swim...

2008-10-07T17:19:00.009+01:00

Last Sunday saw the second annual Blackrock to Cobh Swim take place under beautiful sunshine. This year Fergus Galvin organised the swim. The course measures over 12km but due to a strong tidal push, the actual distance swam is much less. The swim starts from the slipway in Blackrock, quickly passing the Blackrock Castle Observatory and into Lough Mahon(boring), then it turns south into the Passage West channel(strong tidal assistance), around the Cork Dockyards and into the town of Cobh.

On the morning of the swim the sun was shining and the water was a balmy 14 Celsius. Due to some wind there was some chop on the Lough and out in the Harbour. However, as the swim progressed the conditions improved. The start of the swim was delayed by the late arrival of two large Japanese trawlers and a small cargo ship. Once the boat traffic was clear we got the go-ahead from the port authorities to proceed with the swim.

Mike Harris and Róisín Lewis started on go, followed by more swimmers on 10mins, more on 20mins and finally myself, Julianne Galloway and Colm O'Neill, North Channel Swimmer, on 30mins. From the beginning the assistance from both the river and the outgoing tide were noticeable. Almost immediately we passed the impressive Blackrock Castle jutting out into the river, then it opened up into the vast expanse of Lough Mahon. Here I managed to pull ahead of Colm but Julieanne was steaming ahead. This section of the swim was very long and drawn out, the monotony broken only by the occasional passing ship and one feed of High5.

Once the corner of Cobh Island appeared in front, I knew that we were getting close the Passage West. Once we rounded the corner we were flushed down the Channel passed Glenbrook, the Rushbrooke ferry and into Monkstown. I followed my tactics of keeping a wide corner around the Dockyards so as to avoid the eddies and avail of the current. However, a marauding tug-boat put that plan to bed and I was forced to take a tighter line around the final corner.

Once Cobh Cathedral was in sight I searched below for the line of blue barges and tugs where I knew the finish was. I sighted the entrance to the finish area and put my head down and swam hard. I could see that I was making good progress as the Cruise Terminal and train station flew by. Between the last two tugs we tuned in to the little alcove to finish. All that was there was very high walls and a long flight of steps to the top. After a long swim there is nothing more relieving than a good flight of steps to climb.

There were lots of people at the finish, as there always is in a seaside town on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Once I managed to haul myself to the top of the steps I got dressed, the sun made this a whole lot easier. Once dressed it was great to watch the other swimmers finish. Last in was Mike Harris, this was a big swim for him, he seemed quite disorientated at the finish. When I went to congratulate him on finishing his only words were, "Come back in another fifty years and you try it!"

Thinking back on the swim, I realise how important it is to know the course. Although I had Donal Clancy, an excellent kayaker, with me I still had to have my own ideas which made the swim alot easier. Last year I did crewing for this swim. I learnt alot that I was able to put into practise this time round. For example, I knew that it was not a good idea to stay in close to land when rounding the last corner just after the Dockyards, last year, lots of people got caught in a negative flow here and made very little progress. Also, I knew exactly where the finish was for the swim, most people would not have had a clue as it was a very unusual spot, I was able to make a good line for the finish from the last corner.

There was also a great gathering of swimmers at this event. Julieanne Galloway drove down from Dublin that morning and still managed to finish in under 2hrs 15mins, she is signed up for the English Channel next year. There were also two other Cork swimmers there who are signed up to swim the Channel on the same week as me, Lisa Cummins(who feels no cold) from Sunday's Well and Sylvain Estadieu. Colm O'Neill from Dublin was also there, he swam the North Channel a few years back and also Charles Harper, who one the Liffey Swim and is swimming the Channel next year.

News from the Pool...

2008-10-05T21:08:00.002+01:00

Well the summer is pretty much over now. It's time to start putting in some serious work in the pool. Since the beginning of September, I have been training with Fermoy Swimming Club, but it's not really enough hours, though it is very good quality training. With the help of my coach and the manager of the swimming pool, I have managed to secure free swimming until this time next year. So, anytime that there is a public session on, I can just swipe my card and swim... This is fantastic news as the cost of all of the pool sessions starts to mount up and it can get hard to finance when you're only fifteen!

Sandycove Island Challenge 2008

2008-10-05T20:09:00.007+01:00

At last, I have decided to write up about the race last week. The Island Challenge is an annual race around the island. This year, nearly 200 swimmers from all over the world competed. We were very lucky with the weather on the day, after the worst summer in recorded history, we got a beautiful day and the water was at it's warmest in over a year. Everyone was in a good mood and decided to turn up on time and the whole event ran very smoothly.

As the first group lined up along the slipway, the tension was high, everyone had set there eyes on a suitable rival and nobody could wait until the klaxon went. As I dived into the water, I got an enormous shock, I hadn't swam in more than 13 degrees in the last month. I immediately set about my strategy of taking the shortest course possible and swimming as if I were doing a 1500m in the pool.

Once we had rounded the first corner, there was nobody else in sight, Chris Bryan from Ennis was way up in front and everyone else was falling behind. It was my job to make sure that nobody passed me from here on. The whole lap seemed to just fly by. Of course I nearly cut myself to shreds going over the rocks on the far corner. When I saw the Pink House out of my right goggle, it was time to sprint.

I was lined up with the finish and sprinted like hell for 150m. By then I realised that I was slightly off course, but just a quick adjustment and I went in for the finish. Once again I nearly injured myself while trying to reach up to the touch pads. I was so paranoid that the timing chip didn't register, but they managed to convince me that it did. I took a look around and was delighted to see that I came in second.

My mentor and biggest rival, Ned Denison, was well behind me, mission accomplished. As usual the atmosphere afterwards was fantastic. This year the afters were held in the Trident Hotel in Kinsale. This was great because it meant that we could have a meal and then head up to the function room for the prize giving. I was very happy with my lovely Kinsale Crystal bowl and there was an added bonus, I received a nomination for the Mike Harris Trophy. This is awarded to a person who has made a valuable contribution to open-water swimming in Cork. I felt really honoured to be nominated for such a prize.

All in all, it was a fantastic day out. Hopefully all of the Island Challenges to come will be as good as this one!

Oysterhaven to Sandycove - Hell...

2008-09-16T20:32:00.002+01:00

On Sunday, a group of five started the first swim form Oysterhaven slipway to Sandycove. They were Imelda Lynch (EC Solo 2005), Ossie Schmidt, Lis Cummins (fellow aspirant), Sinéad Sheridan and myself. Sinéad started first with her husband Aidan in an inflatable, followed 15mins later by Imelda, Ossie and Lisa with Jim McGrath in his kayak, and finally I left after another 20mins accompanied by Ned in his motorboat.

At the start of the swim I felt good, the water felt about the same as my Crosshaven swim. Then I realised that I forgot to put in my earplugs, my ears quickly filled up with water (which I hate).Things were stil going good until we got out around the headland. There seemed to be alot of debris in the water.There was a small jelly near the surface but I forgot about it. Then I saw one huge jelly below, that freaked my out and I felt very wary in the water. I think that this made me slow down my stroke rate, then I started to get cold. Not only was the water really cold, but to make it worse there was a horrible swell and it was raining.

When I couldn't see myself making any progress I felt a bit crap, but I just aimed for the next feed. When Ned told me to pick up my stroke rate I tried it but I think I was still tired after my pool session. I started complaining and Ned told me to count 100 strokes, I motivated myself by only counting right arm strokes so I was going further without noticing. Then my fingers wouldn't close, I did the clenching fists thing and that got me another couple of hundred metres.

At the next feed Ned said "France in 1.5miles". I thought of I go hard for half a mile then it's just a lap of the Island left. When he said 1200m to go I counted another 100 right arm strokes and we were coming near the island. When we got to the island I tried to forget the rest of the swim and pretend I was just swimming around the island. Then came the pink house and I felt fantastic that I had finished it after feeling so bad earlier.

I found it hard to understand that I felt so good all through my 5hr swim and felt so terrible after less than an hour.But the feeling I got after finishing was worth all the pain. I could never have done it without the motivation from Ned though. Then, on the walk in my feet touched the ground and I said "finally that's it, no more pain". I spoke too soon. I tripped on a stone and tore open the side of my foot and my knee, Lisa's car was all blood.I am still limping in my shoes today. No fins in the pool for a while!

I never felt so glad to be finished a swim before. I was hell bent on getting in teh boat halfway through. I will try and remeber everything that motivated me and use them in future swims.

Crosshaven to Blackrock.....5hrs 37mins

2008-09-10T19:54:00.006+01:00

Sorry about the delay, a full two weeks after the swim I finally decide to put it up on the blog! On Thursday 28th August I became the second [and fastest] person ever to swim from Crosshaven to Blackrock in Cork Harbour. At a total distance of nearly 20km, it is my longest swim to date, and a great learning experience. Here's what happened:

On Sunday evening I got a call from Ned. He asked me if I would like to do a long swim in Cork Harbour on Thursday. I asked him how long, he replied "Oh 10 miles, actually 12, maybe 13". I reluctantly accepted his offer and at 09:06 on Thursday morning I was in the water at Crosshaven.

At the start of the swim the air was mild, there was a light breeze and the water was just over 15 degrees celcius. The water felt colder than it actually was, but the sea was very calm which allowed me to turn my arms over quickly to warm up. The first part of the swim exiting Crosshaven dragged alot. I was trying to pick out landmarks around the Harbour to judge my progress but it was difficult due to the vast area. At 09:50 I had my first feed, 350ml of High5 not heated. The boat crew of Ned, Dave and Sinéad looked happy, so I put my head down and carried on.

By 10:20 we had reached the lighthouse on stilts infront of the Port of Cork Offices. Five minutes later, I had my second feed (same as the first), by looking around I could see we were past Spike Island and approaching Cóbh. I had a mental image of the course so I knew that we were about one quarter of the way there. While having the feed, one of the Irish Navy's new ships steamed past us. I got a reassuring look from the crew then ploughed on. After this I really started to settle into my pace and become comfortable in the water.

After 2hrs in the water my stroke rate was still at a steady 64 with a strong pull. I was happy when we passed Cóbh Cathedral because the whole town seemed to go on for ever. Then a dregder passed at close range, we were rocked a bit by it's wake and it left a fairly cloudy trail in the water. I had another feed. The sun came out and I was feeling strong so kept going.

The wind started to pick up a bit but it didn't make much difference. It was nice passing the quay where the Titanic docked for the last time and the Irish Naval College on Hawlbowline. At 11:50 I had another feed, this time topped off with hot water. Ned told me that an e-mail went out from Rob Bohane that he was watching from his office window in Pfizer's. This gave me great encouragement. The sun was strong and the boat crew looked to be enjoying themselves, we couldn't have asked for a better day.

It was a long corner around to the Cork Dockyards. But it was worth the wait, at Monkstown I could see Dave waving our Munster flag to his Dad on the pier. At 12:20, I had another High5 topped hot, and a wine gum. Twenty minutes later, I had a banana while waiting for the Rushbrooke Ferry to pass. My stroke was starting to weaken a bit but there was a strong tide in our favour.

At 13:20, I had two sours washed down by another warm High5. I was feeling a bit cold but I could hear my family and Nick Mulcahy cheering from the shore and that kept me going. As we turned the corner after Passage West, the vast expanse of Lough Mahon opened up before us. My heart sunk when I saw all that water infront of me. The boat started to push ahead and that forced me to pick up the pace and warm up.

Then Ned got into the water and swam next to me for a while. It was good to have some company in the water. When Ned finished I had another hot feed, I needed it. Although the sun was warm, I was starting to get cold from tiredness. Blackrock Castle was clearly visible ahead. It was difficult getting to there because we had lost any assistance from the tide.

I finally reached the Castle at 14:20, the following 23 minutes would be pure mental and physical torture. I was totally drained, my hand was entering the water infront and coming out behind, but not acheiving much in between. The current was coming out from the river and I was in by the bank fighting to make progress. The finish looked close, but it never got any closer. The boat had docked and I just threw my arms infront of me and finall, after 5krd and 37mins in the water, I dragged myself up the public slipway at Blackrock.

Once I managed to stand up, three warm towels were wrapped around me and I lay down on the concrete and closed my eyes. I was exhausted, my tongue was swollen and I was bloated all over. It felt good to just lie there in the sun doing nothing. When I opened my eyes my family were there and a reporter and photographer from the Evening Echo. I answered a few questions for the repoerter and stood in for a photograph, then wolfed down as much food as possible and washed it down with a hot cup of tea.

When I eventually managed to get off most of the lanolin, I put on my clothes and sat into the car. We went back to Monkstown to get our stuff off the boat. When we got there I suddenly realised that my bladder was about to explode, luckily I had enough change for the upblic toilets on the pier and I managed to relieve myself of nearly a gallon of High5.

When we got home I had a nice sit down on the river bank while the others had their swim. The next morning, it was back to school as normal. I nearly fell asleep a couple of times but I managed to get through the day. The whole thing was finally over after a very easy 1500m swim in the Blackwater.

Lizard Point Swim

2008-08-18T14:22:00.006+01:00

Lizard Point is the southern-most point on mainland Britain. None of the official swimming bodies have any record of anyone swimming around the point. So we can assume that this swim has never been done before, there is a good reason for this. A rocky reef extends for one mile off the coast of the headland, with only one narrow channel just below the cliff. This is an very treachorous part of Cornwall's rugged coastline, there are countless shipwrecks litterd along the coast. On Saturday 26th July, I became the first person to attempt the five mile swim from Kynance Cove on the western side to Cadgwith on the more sheltered eastern side.

When I started the swim at 7:40 that morning, conditions were perfect. The sea was calm, there was only a light breeze, the sun was shining and the water was about fifteen degrees celcius. However, when we reached the rocks around Lizard Point, a thick fog began to drift in from the east. Because we had arranged to swim on a flowing tide, we quickly surged through the Vellan-Drang Channel near the old Lifeboat station at Polpeer. It was amazing to see the famous lighthouse above us as we rounded Bass Point, our half way mark. Then the fog became very thick and we could not sea the coast, luckily, we had arranged to meet a second boat. He then went between us and the cliff so we could get our bearings. Suddenly a fin appeared out of the fog, imaginations ran wild on the support boat but it turned out to be a sun-fish. When Ilooked at my watch I estimated that I had about a mile left to swim, so I began to pick up the pace a little. Just then, my Dad shouted, "half a mile", and I began to hug the cliff and sprint. When the cliff fell into the narrow entrance to Cadgwith Cove I knew I was finished. I left the water 1hr 59mins 24secs after starting. There were a few people at the finish, my Grandad, Mam, brother, sister and four local people who were friends. Chris Maunder ran down the beach and rapped me in three hot towels, gave me a cup of tea and a plate of fresh crab sandwiches. What a waay to start the morning.

Through the swim we raised just over GB£1,200 for the local RNLI who are trying to buy a new lifeboat. But, without the help of Coxswain Phillip Burgess and Crewman Nick Pryor, the swim would have been impossible. Because we raised so much money from the swim, Phil said in a broad Cornish accent, "Come down 'ere Kilcobben o' Tuesday n' we'll take you out on a launch". So on Tuesday myself, my Dad, my Uncle John and his friend Stefan went to the Lifeboat station and we took part in a full launch and training operation with the Lifeboat. It was an amazing expeirence. On the way back, it was quite stormy so we got the full treatment of bad weather and heavy seas. The crew on-board were very friendly and even explained to us everything that was going on during the excercise. When we got back from Cornwall I sent away the application forms for recognition of the swim to the BLDSA, so all going well, by the end of this year the course will be made official and my swim will be recognised.

Lee Swim 2008

2008-08-17T18:38:00.006+01:00

This year's Lee Swim was held on Saturday 19th July. There was the usual excitement on the boardwalk of the Clarion Hotel in Cork City before the race. After Ned had made his safety briefing, we started to walk towards the start area at the Old Distillery Yard. About halfway up the course a harbour seal was spotted in the river showing off his freshly caught salmon to the crowds on the bank. I was starting in the first group where there was the most competition. When the clakson sounded we dove in to the water and it was a mad dash to get into the leading pack. I eventually settled in next to Gerard Mangan, a fast pool swimmer from Sunday's Well. I knew that if I could stay with him, I would be in the early finishers.

It was neck and neck until we came to the Port of Cork sign where we turn for the upstream section. Ger was able to take a tighter turn around the corner and hug the bank where there would be less current. because I was further out into the centre of the river I was suffering more due to the current. From the last bridge it was an all out sprint to the finish. At the touch-pads I finished just eight seconds behind Ger. When we finished there was noone else around so we thought we finished first and second. But when we went through the showers there were two swimmers infront of us. They were; Chris Bryan of Ennis and Shane Drumm of ESB(Dublin). Still, I was relieved to have finished before Ned Denison. There is always great competition between us at races.

After the race the sun was shining and there was a great atmosphere on the quay-side. Everybody was enjoying themselves and it was a great opportunity to meet past Channel swimmers, most recently Finbarr Hedderman of Ballincollig, and other Channel aspirants, including three other swimmers from Cork who are signed up to swim on the same tides as myself. Then, it was up the the Pegasus Suite for the prize-giving. After a few not-so-long-winded speeches, it was time for the prizes. The overall winner was Chris Bryan, and the winner of the women's race was Jullie Ann Galloway from NAC Masters, who is signed up for an English Channel Solo next year.Two medals came home to Fermoy that night, the first was my gold medal for my category of Male Non-wetsiut 12-18yrs, and the second was Leo Bartley's bronze medal in his Male Non-wetsiut 60-64yrs. Overall times were faster than last year for everyone. But I was still surprised to see my time of 24mins 38secs, nearly 4mins faster than in 2007. All in all, it was a great day and I look forward to next year's.

Slathill Swimming

2008-06-03T19:09:00.005+01:00

My family decided to go to Galway for the bank holiday weekend. Just to the west of the city is the wonderful sea-side resort of Slathill. I was used to swimming there and we brought the kayak with us. So I decided to do a two-way Prom Swim, from the Blackrock Diving Boards to Grattan Road Beach and back. A total distance of 4,000m.

When we arrived, the sun was splitting the stones, the tide was full and the sea was calm. We quickly got ready and began the swim. The water was quite warm and there was a light breeze pushing us up towards the beach. It was a wonderful experience, the water was clean and clear. We swam past the Galway Bay Hotel, Lesiureland, Seapoint and the Galway Atlantiquaria. At the aquarium, the temperature suddenly dropped due to the output form the tanks...brrr! After 33mins we arrived at Grattan Road Beach, where the beachgoers seemed stunned at the idea of someone swimming all the way from Blackrock. They seemed even more suprised when, after a quick break, we turned and headed back. The whole swim took a total of 1hr 8mins.

Champion of Champions

2008-05-25T16:41:00.003+01:00

Yesterday the first Irish "Champion of Champions" was held in Sandycove. The plan was to swim 5 laps at 9am, 3 laps at 2pm and 1 lap at 5pm. A few people stuck to the plan, but because of the strong easterly gales I decided to just do 3 laps at 9am and 2 laps at 2pm.

Even with the bad weather it was a very enjoyable day, with the added bonus of Munster winning the Heineken Cup. There were lots of great swimmers at the event, including Kevin Murphy, the King of the Channel. Hopefully next time the weather will be better and I will be able to complete the challenge.

Close encounters...

2008-05-10T11:03:00.002+01:00

It was an unusual swim in the river last night. It was quite dark but it was very mild and dead calm. I was the only one in the water and my dad was kayaking. About 1200m upstream, I lifted my head to see where I was going. I could see something breaking the surface and swimming along infront of me. I presumed it was a small fish, as usual. A few strokes later, I was greeted by a huge splash on my left hand side. I stopped to take off my googles and watched a curious otter swim away from me. This was certainly a new experience. I had only ever seen otters from a distance and in the early mornings. I am looking forward to more close encounters with our furry friend.

River temperatures

2008-05-07T20:59:00.002+01:00

Since the weather has started to really improve, conditions for river swimming are perfect. Many hours of sunshine on the surface of the water has brought temperatures way up into the mid-teens. So far we have done two swims of over an hour and 5km are swims on the charts for the next couple of weeks. The inaugural Irish "Champion of Champions" in Sandycove is less than three weeks away. Hopefully this weather will keep up and we will be well prepared, if I can find a kayaker that is.

Training in full swing

2008-04-26T21:03:00.002+01:00

After a terrible few weeks of dropping temperatures and sicknesses, training is finally back to normal. Club training is continuing as normal and open-water training is finally starting to pick up. This week the temperatures in the river rose to 11 degrees, a good improvement on 8 a few weeks previous. Today we did 4km in the river. A good sign that we can start to swim as we would for the rest of the summer.

First swim in the Blackwater in 2008

2008-02-26T19:46:00.003Z

Last Saturday 23rd February was the first swim in the Blackwater this year. There were only two of us, myself and Dave Mulcahy. The water was 9.5°C, which is unusually warm for this time of year. At its coldest in January it's about 7°C. So it's well on the way to warming up for the summer. This is the earliest we have ever swam in the river. Last year we started in mid-April and continued until November. Hopefully we will be swimming twelve months a year from now on.

First Post

2008-01-26T12:02:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to my blog! I started this blog to keep everyone up-to-date on my attempt to swim the English Channel. I am signed up to make my swim somewhere between the 11th and 16th of September 2009, and if I am succesful, I will be the youngest Irish person to have swum the Channel.

I will keep you posted,
Owen.