BATTLING technical delays, jellyfish and capricious tides, a swimmer has joined a select group of Islanders to have successfully crossed the English Channel.
Phil Gaudin came ashore at Wissant in France on Monday afternoon, 13 hours and six minutes after setting off in the early hours from Samphire Hoe, three miles west of Dover.
The 50-year-old became the 34th person from Jersey to have made the crossing, adding his name to a roll of honour that includes Denise le Pennec, who was first on the list in 1966, as well as Sally Minty-Gravett and Wendy Trehiou, who have 14 crossings between them.
Mr Gaudin told the JEP that his stubborn attitude had helped him overcome a series of challenges that he faced in the build-up to the swim, and once he had set off at 2.27am.
An initial ten-day window had been booked for the swim in mid-June, only for technical issues with the pilot boat to scupper the plans.
“I had begun tapering my training schedule around 9 May, so I was ready to go and then I couldn’t, and it was very frustrating as I was then away on holiday, and looking to get a new slot which was confirmed in mid July,” he said.
Adrenalin and fuelling made for a restless evening on Sunday as Mr Gaudin tried unsuccessfully to sleep prior to setting off, and the first two hours of the swim saw torrential rain and a large number of jellyfish, which he mostly managed to avoid.
“It was difficult as my shoulders and hips were hurting, I had a stitch and cramp in my legs, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish, but I got some water and electrolytes and felt much better, so I was powering on after it got light,” he added.
The improved progress continued until the French coast was in sight, but then the tide turned – literally.
“I could see the Cap [Gris Nez, a common landing point for Channel swimmers] and I think I could have got to it if we’d left 20 minutes earlier, but the tide took me past it – it was like being in rapids,” he said.
In “missing” the Cap, Mr Gaudin had to swim for almost another two hours before coming ashore at Wissant, where he was greeted by French swimming enthusiast Patrice Chassery, who has met numerous swimmers at the end of their crossings, and a group of around 30 well-wishers and beachgoers.
The successful crossing came after Mr Gaudin took up long distance swimming during the Covid pandemic, completing a Channel relay swim in 2021 and subsequently swimming twice from Jersey to France and also achieving a round-Island “lap” last year.
Mr Gaudin paid tribute to the support he’d received from his wife Rachel and children Logan and Lola as he prepared for his swim, as well as from his friends and work colleagues from Aztec Group. He also expressed gratitude to his crew Alice Harvey and Mark Sheridan, his training partners and fellow members of the Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club.
