The ‘Jersey Sea Amigos’ – made up of David Le Clercq, Senator Steve Pallett, Julia Aston, Neil Faudemer, Wendy Trehiou and Fred Maynard – are due to take to the water on Sunday (11 July), in aid of Maz’s Canine and Feline Sanctuary and Kim Halliwell Animal Rescue.
The team has an average age of 58, and has been training relentlessly through the winter – mostly in the sea due to Covid restrictions.
Ms Trehiou, who has six channel crossings under her belt, said the group would work on a rotational system, swimming for an hour each time.
She said: ‘The training has been very positive – as someone who swims all-year-round I have been massively impressed and very proud of the team for coming out through the winter months and putting in the effort.’
She added: ‘There was investment in wetsuits, getting up super early in the morning and no speed work because it’s hard to do speed work in the sea and you have tidal challenges.’
Depending on the weather conditions, the Sea Amigos will leave Dover in the early light of Sunday morning and aim to finish in Calais around 14 to 18 hours later.
Mr Faudemer, the team captain, said he hoped the swimmers could complete their task before the European Championships final kick-off at 8pm.
He said: ‘It is touch and go, and we are not getting any younger – so we are going to have to paddle a bit quick to make sure we get back in time for the England game.’
He added: ‘They are all very focused and there are a lot of experienced swimmers on the team, so we know what we need to do and we are confident that we are going to do it. We are not coming back until we have hit the French coast.’
Senator Pallett said he was ‘really looking forward to it’.
‘We’ve trained together and we know each other really well, so we know we are capable of swimming together in a relay,’ he said.
The team has already raised over £1,300 on its JustGiving page, and Islanders can donate by visiting justgiving.com and searching ‘support animal rescue’.
