Having completed the gruelling crossing from Dover to Calais in exactly 11 hours, Alex Begg (29) is asking for help to raise the last £2,000 of a £20,000 target for the Brain Tumour Research charity. It is believed that the time means that his crossing was the second fastest by an Islander.
Mr Begg, who lives and works in Norfolk with his wife, said he made the decision to take on the challenge of swimming the Channel around two years ago.
Originally from St Brelade and a former pupil of Islander and prolific Channel swimmer Sally Minty-Gravett, Mr Begg said he felt that open-water swimming had always been in his blood.
‘I started open-water swimming when I was younger with my dad and I always do the Bouley Bay swim at Christmas with my mum. We all love sea swimming.’
Mr Begg said that he chose Brain Tumour Research as his charity of choice because his wife’s father died of a tumour 14 years ago.
‘Many people don’t know that brain tumours are the biggest cancer killers in children and people aged under 40, so I wanted to be able to do my bit for such a great charity while raising awareness,’ Mr Begg said.
After months of training and covering distances of up to 30km a week, Mr Begg set off on his swim last Tuesday.
‘Once you leave the shoreline the rules are that you can’t touch the boat or anyone on the boat, but every 30 minutes someone throws you some water, flat coke or energy gel,’ he said. ‘Without that it would be impossible to do it. On reflection, while I know that I physically prepared and followed all the advice given to me by my swimming coach, the mental aspect of the swim is very difficult.
‘The unique thing about swimming the Channel is that there is very little to look at, which is hard, and when you do spot
the French coast it can give you a false sense of progress. Aside from the cold currents, there are also hundreds of jellyfish. I think I got stung once every 30 minutes.’
Upon reaching the French coast, Mr Begg said the feeling was one of satisfaction and relief.
‘When you clamber onto the beach and turn around to see the people on the boat cheering for you, it felt like a very iconic moment and is a memory I will cherish for a long time.’
To celebrate, Mr Begg said that he got the boat back to Dover and had a ‘burger and a few pints’.
To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/alexander-begg.
