05 Sep 2013“Father’s & Son’s Quartet”
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Two fathers and their sons nail the Channel
WORLD’S FIRST
“Father’s & Son’s Quartet” English Channel Relay swim 2013
After 16 months of hard training in the pool and Dover harbour in all weathers and conditions, the world’s first “Father’s & Son’s Quartet” relay team was ready to take on the challenge of the English Channel.
On the 5th September 2013 at 07:47, the “Father’s & Son’s Quartet” team entered the water on a spring tide from Shakespeare beach (Dover), to start their 19 nautical mile swim to France. Each swimmer, Bradley Harvey, Lee Wakeham, Jason Harvey and Jake Wakeham will swim one hour each in the same rotation until one of the swimmers is able to clear the water either on a beach or by climbing over rocks onto French land.
The tide will ebb taking the swimmer in a South Westerly direction down the channel until 10:00 when there will be approximately 30 minutes of slack tide and a chance to make good head way towards France before being taken back up the channel in a North Easterly direction on the flood tide for 5.5 hours when there will be another 30 minutes of slack water when the tide will ebb again for the full 6.5 hours. This cycle of tides, which can run as fast as 4.6 miles per hour and with the team average swim speed of 2.5 miles per hour will prove to provide a very challenging swim that will take the team up and down the English Channel, parallel to the coast lines and allowing very slow forward progress across both SW and NE shipping lanes that have plenty of traffic to navigate.
We were expecting brilliant sunshine with temperatures of up to 27 degrees, a wind force 2 and a sea temperature of 18.5 degrees, which were perfect conditions. The sea state was almost flat and for the first 11 hours the team enjoyed almost perfect swim conditions, although spirits and moral were now seriously plummeting due to the strong spring tide preventing any substantial progress after three very strong and fast swims by all. France was still approximately 6 miles away as we left the North East shipping lane and entered the French inshore waters when out of nowhere a South Easterly breeze blew a low fog up the channel blocking out the setting sun, reducing our visibility and now preventing us from seeing the French coast. Darkness fell and the team now had to swim in the dark and with no perception of distance to land. After 2 more hours of darkness and low spirits, the fog blew through to unveil the most welcome, uplifting light of Cap Griz Nez light house. This massive light and the twinkling lights stretching down the French coast gave a massive lift to team spirits and well earned relief now it was obvious that victory was in reach.
At 21:34 and after 13 hours 47 minutes of swimming, Father’s & Son’s Quartet team successfully completed their swim and finished on the rocks directly under the light house of Cap Griz Nez (the closest point to England).
PHOTO: Left to right: Jake Wakeham, Jason Harvey, Lee Wakeham, Bradley Harvey
Lee & Jake Wakeham have raised over £800 for Cystic Fibrosis
Jason & Bradley Harvey have raised over £800 for Kent Air Ambulance
- 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
Sandettie Lightship Observations
8pm, 23rd February 2025
Water: 46.4 °F (8 °C)
Air: 52.5 °F (11.4 °C)
Wind Speed: 29.9 kn (55.4 km/h)
Wind Direction: SSW (200°)
The CS&PF President, Mike Ball and all the committee are deeply saddened by the passing of Ady Brown.… https://t.co/E17pLxZwgw
2 years ago