Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation - Swim Story

31 Aug 2011Roger Allsopp

Roger Allsopp swam the Channel on the 31st August in 17 hours and 51 minutes.

Roger's Story

Even though the waters around the Channel Islands are a little on the cold side, the people of Guernsey are renowned for taking the plunge throughout the seasons. The island’s more mature sea swimmers are especially noted for their hardiness but this year one of them achieved something truly extraordinary by becoming the oldest person ever to swim the English Channel.

Aged 70 years and four months, retired surgeon Roger Allsopp completed his Guinness World Record feat over the final two days of August 2011. He swam the 21 nautical mile distance from England to France in 17 hours and 51 minutes, thereby overhauling the previous age record set in 2004 by American veteran distance swimmer George Brunstad, who just happens to be the uncle of Hollywood film star Matt Damon.

Following his superb personal achievement Roger was happy to bask in the inevitable media attention but that is not why he did it. When he set off from Dover’s Shakespeare Beach he was there because of his links with breast cancer research that go back more than 40 years. He was there because his greater goal was to raise £750,000 sterling (1,200,000 US Dollars) for state of the art equipment needed by a leading British research unit. In fact when Roger entered the Guinness World Record book this year it was his second successful fund-raising swim across the choppy Channel waters. He first completed the distance five years ago when he was a mere 65 years old, becoming the oldest British swimmer to do it - again in the name of cancer research.

“In 2006 the people who sponsored me were incredibly generous. We needed £15,000 and they provided a lot more than that. But last year when we invited the research team to present their results it was clear that they needed a new piece of kit to take their work on – a very expensive piece of equipment called a mass spectrometer that analyses blood in a very sophisticated way.”

With its half a million pounds price tag and a further £250,000 needed to cover the running costs over three years, Roger knew it would need an exceptional effort to secure the kit and get it up and running for the specialist research team at Southampton University.

“At first I thought this was hopeless – that this is way beyond anything we could possibly raise – but I remembered Nelson Mandela saying it often seems impossible until it’s done. We put a plan together and all I had to do was become the oldest person to swim the Channel.”

Central to the financial part of the plan was the support Roger received from his friend Derek Coates, the CEO and founder of the Guernsey based Healthspan mail order firm, which is the UK’s biggest direct supplier of vitamins and supplements.

“Derek came up with the incredible offer of £250,000 of his own money if I could do it, and he also offered to ask for an additional £100,000 in sponsorship from the company’s loyal customer base,” Roger explains.

With the support and encouragement of his fellow Guernsey swimmers, Roger set about preparing for the toughest swim of his life. But his world record bid got off to a highly stressful and uncertain start when he was forced to wait 11 days in Dover for the conditions to be right.

“It was like being on ‘death row’, thinking you’re going in morning, then being told you’re not. I was extremely anxious by this stage but when we did eventually get under way it was much better. The first hour is the worst, it seems to go on forever, but I didn’t feel unduly cold and I didn’t suffer from cramp, which I found extraordinary.”

He may not have felt the cold to begin with but as Roger got closer and closer to the French coast the day was turning into night and the conditions were beginning to take their toll. “I was on automatic pilot, I didn’t know where I was. Eventually someone pointed out the beach and in the dark it looked like a cloud to me.

“I managed to crawl onto the beach then I stood up and felt absolutely nothing. I was beyond shivering and beyond caring really and then I was very sick. They towed me back to my support boat and got me into bed. An hour and a half later I woke up and they said ‘Well done, you’ve just swum the Channel’.”

Looking back on his swim, Roger says it was Guernsey’s strong community spirit that gave him both the drive and the strength to complete his grueling challenge. “I was there because more than 40 years ago, 11,000 Guernsey women had volunteered to give samples of blood and urine for cancer research…. I was there because this year hundreds of Guernsey men have given blood samples to enable the research to extend to prostate cancer.”

As well as taking his inspiration from the people of Guernsey, Roger is clear that the island’s great natural features for open sea swimming were key to his preparations for conquering the Channel, both in 2006 and 2011.

“When you’re out swimming it seems to make the island much bigger - you don’t feel you’re in a small place any more. Also, there is great variety. The outdoor bathing pools are very special, there’s a huge amount of history there, and Cobo Bay I look on as as being a huge swimming pool with attitute. It’s just fantastic but you have to be careful at times. With a Spring tide and rough weather you do have to be cautious!”

Roger Allsopp

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27 Feb 2025
2025 Notice of CS&PF AGM & Motions
Notice of CS&PF AGMFor the year ended 31st December 2024To be held atThe Channel Suite, Leas Cliff HallThe Leas, FolkestoneCT20 2DZ1pm on the 15th March 2025 Officer and committee positions due for election in 2025 President: Mike Ball (nominated by the CS&PF committee)Vice-President: Michael Oram (nominated by the CS&PF committee) The ChairmanThe SecretaryTwo Committee member positionsNotices of Motion Motions:Motion 1) Proposed by Tony Kenyon; seconded by Eddie SpellingThe committee discussed the need to raise the swim administration fees to cover increasing costs. It was agreed to increase the administration fees by £30. A revised CS&PF rule is required to be ratified at the AGM.The following rule revision is proposed to reflect the increased administration fee.Revised RuleCS&PF fees:2026 Administration fees payable with all swim applications. Administration fees cover the costs of running the CS&PF Office and general CS&PF expenses. Applications submitted to the CS&PF Office before the deadline of 30 April will be charged a discounted administration fee of:Solo - £200Relay £240Applications received by the CS&PF Office after 30 April will be deemed to have exceeded the time allowed for postage and will be charged a full fee of:Solo £225Relay £265Motion 2) Proposed by Kevin Murphy; seconded by Tony KenyonThis AGM requests the committee to:i) Institute honorariums for the offices of CS&PF Secretary and CS&PF Treasurer;ii) Consider at what level these honorariums should be set.Motion 3) Proposed by Tony Kenyon, seconded by Kevin MurphyReplace the existing Clause “8 Management paragraph B” of the published CS&PF rules. The current wording was found to be unclear by the committee.Proposed wording:B. President and Vice PresidentThe positions of ‘President’ and ‘Vice President’ shall be nominated by the elected members of the CS&PF Committee. Only the committee nomination for the roles shall be put before the next AGM for ratification.Either or both positions can remain vacant if the committee does not make a nomination, or if a nomination is not ratified by the membership at the next AGM.The Vice President is expected to work in conjunction with the President. When the President completes their term, the Vice President is familiar with the role to step up. A former President is not permitted to be nominated for a future role as Vice President. If ratified at the AGM the appointment of these positions is for three years from the date of ratification. If they are not ratified, the committee will reconsider their nominations at the next committee meeting.The ‘President’ and the ‘Vice President’ shall be considered full members of the CS&PF Committee. They will receive notice and be invited to each committee meeting and be counted in the quorum with full voting rights.The maximum term for both of these positions is two consecutive appointments. Once this maximum term has been reached the incumbent must step aside from that role for at least three years, preferably six (equivalent to two consecutive terms). Eligibility to be considered for subsequent nomination for either role after the maximum term has been reached is at the discretion of the elected members of the CS&PF Committee.At the discretion of the elected members of the CS&PF Committee a retiring President may be given the honorary title of ‘President Emeritus’. This title is used to denote perpetual status of individuals who made significant contributions to the CS&PF.Motion 4) Proposed by Cliff Golding, seconded by Mike BallProposed amendments in red Assessment swims - (solos)All swimmers taking part in a solo swim must complete a self assessment swim of at least 6 hours in open water at a temperature of no more than 61F/16C. Such a swim should be carried out either as a training swim or as an organised event which the committee considers (in its discretion) to be a suitable alternative. In either case, the assessment swim should take place no more than 18 calendar months prior to the 1st June in the year of the application. Winter Swim Assessments. If a swim is registered to take place between 1 November and 30 April, the qualifying temperature for an assessment swim will be 12c or less, or as defined by the pilot.Assessment swims - (relays)All swimmers taking part in a relay swim must complete a self assessment swim of at least 1.5 hours then leave the water for a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 1.5 hours at a temperature of no more than 61°F / 16°C. They must then return to the water and swim for 1 more hour in open water also at a temperature of no more than 61°F / 16°C. These two swims should be carried out either as a training swim or as an organised event which the committee considers (in its discretion) to be a suitable alternative. In either case, the assessment swims should take place no more than 18 calendar months prior to the 1st June in the Year of application. If a relay swimmer carries out a training swim, or takes part in an event lasting 4 hours or more at a temperature of no more than 61°F / 61°C, the Committee will consider that a suitable assessment swim for a Channel relay swim.Winter Swim Assessments. If a swim is registered to take place between 1 November and 30 April, the qualifying temperature for an assessment swim will be 12c or less, or as defined by the pilot.Every application for a solo or relay swimmer must complete a Swim Assessment Form available for download from the CS&PF web site and submit this together with supporting proof/ratification of the self-assessment swim or (if an organised event wherein satisfactory participation is a matter of public online record) the website address at which such proof is evident. Voting will be by paper ballot for any contested positions or motions. Read more