Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation "Nothing great is easy", Captain Matthew Webb

01 Sep 2013Robert Fisher swims the Channel

Robert Fisher swims the Channel

It took Robert Fish 14 hours 23 minutes to become a Channel Swimmer, and one of his crew members writes a fabulous account here.

I could see that he was putting on weight. Every morning he would stop by the fridge and knock back a pint of full fat milk before starting his rounds. By January, his lean, muscular frame lay beneath a discernible layer of blubber.

I had to ask. “You okay, Robert? You’re starting to look like a seal.” He chuckled as he wiped away his white moustache. “I have to protect my kidneys” he said, clearly wondering whether to say more. “The English Channel can get very cold. The kidneys are the most exposed. I need another five millimetres of fat for protection before I make my crossing”. The way he drained his glass said that he wasn’t joking. And on 1 September 2013, Dr Robert Fisher, Consultant Psychiatrist in City and Hackney, swam the English Channel.

Germans are famous for removing their clothes and doing outdoorsy things. “Ever since I was a child I was the first person into the cold lake” he said. Two decades later he found himself not in a freezing lake but a 30 mile stretch of wide open sea, crossed by two of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, a stretch of restless grey water crammed with supertankers, jellyfish, lost Somali pirates, curious dolphins, grumpy seals and the occasional shark.

After a year’s preparation, he had the right crew, the right tides, right route, wind and weather. He set off from Shakespeare beach before dawn, a bobbing boatload of psychiatrists chugging and cheering alongside him as his firm, buoyant body sliced stroke after stroke through the water. Pacing himself carefully, “otherwise you pay in the end”, he swam beneath a crimson sunrise. Strong cross currents carried him from Dover to Folkestone, but he held his stroke at a calm fifty five. On and on he went. Every 30 minutes or so the crew, in awe of his daring, lowered warm liquid food. He downed it in seconds, like milk, before surging on.

He had his darker moments. “I had a dip after six hours, but a friend swam with me for an hour.” At launch plus nine, a pod of porpoises took over escort duty then abruptly disappeared. The boat captain frowned. The weather was turning. Force five winds lifted the granite seas into a roiling foam. Robert pressed on against ten foot waves, not over them but through them. “I was buried a couple of times. It makes me a member of the force five club”.

By twelve hours, he was starting to tire. At thirteen hours, he hit Cap Gris Nez where the wind and waves joined forces with fierce head currents rounding the cape. Forcing down dark thoughts of defeat he pushed harder, straining every nerve and sinew for a final sprint that took him ahead of the boat. But Nature had more in store; thousands of jelly fish clogged and stung at his aching limbs “the last two hundred meters was like hitting jelly”. And then he felt it. French gravel. Half delirious with joy and exhaustion, he pulled himself up onto a Gallic rock and raised his leaden arms towards the beaten sea.

But the French take a dim view of Anglo-Saxon eccentricity. Within minutes, the good Doctor Fisher was hustled back into La Manche, a safety swimmer seeing him carefully back to the boat – those final metres are among the most treacherous.

Robert will tell you that he has changed since his adventure. More sensitive to the good and bad in the world around him, he thoughtfully admits. But also so much more in touch with the secret of what it means to be alive. And he no longer looks like a seal.

Dr Mark Salter
Consultant Psychiatrist

  • 27 Feb 2025RSS Feed

    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

CS&PF NEWS

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°)

Channel Weather 

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