27 Jul 2013Adriano Passini swims the Channel

Adriano swam the Channel in 11 hours and 10 minutes; accompanied by EC legend Karteek Clarke
Story by Adriano Passini (32), aviation engineer from Sao Paulo, Brazil, who swam the English Channel on a spring tide on July 27th, 2013, in 11 hours 10 min.
July 27th of 2013 was a great day, probably one of the best days of my life. Conquering the “Mount Everest” of the swimming world is something unbelievable for a person who some years ago would never even think of running a marathon. In addition, 2 years before my successful swim of the English Channel, I had never swum more than 4 km in the sea.
How was it possible? How did I conquer all the difficulties? What made this dream a reality? Eight years ago I started to study meditation under my teacher Sri Chinmoy and started to be part of the most successful team in the English Channel, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. This fact changed my life, because I developed the capacity to bring forward some qualities that are necessary not only to swim the English Channel, but also to be a better person.
This process made me more disciplined, determined, patient and even more eager for self-transcendence. Two years ago I got the inspiration to swim the English Channel, inspired by an aphorism of Sri Chinmoy: “We all truly unlimited, if we only dare to try and have faith.” I dived deep in this challenge.
Training for the English Channel is not easy, but it is not impossible. I had to face a number of challenges, for example, working all day long as an engineer and going to the pool at night to swim in cold water, not having enough time for training,plus cold showers every day even in the winter. Long distance training on the weekends and fighting against the mind in the last weeks before my attempt of the English Channel. The last weeks of training are not an easy task. Keeping the discipline was the hardest part in this challenge.
The days before my attempt were amazing. Staying in Dover is somethingvery special. When the swimmer feels the English Channel, the cold water, everything, he just wants to jump into the water and reach France. When the greatday comes, I just wanted to remember all the dificulties that I had to transcend, all the efforts involved.
The moment I started my swim I put together all the pieces of discipline and determination that I had collected over the last two years and I had just one thought in my mind: “I will never give up, never! I will swim until France right now with all my determination!”
I had a very good crew, my pilot was Chris Osmond, a very experienced English Channel pilot. My helpers were Ashirvad Zaiantchick, a friend of mine from Brazil, and my teammate Karteek Clarke from Edinburgh, one of the most experienced English Channel swimmers who has already swum the Channel 10 times.
During my attempt there were a number of challenges. For example, I started swimming at 2:30 a.m. at night. In the first 5 hours it rained a lot, with a very intense fog, I was caught by some jellyfish, there was even lightning, it was cold outside the water and a huge ship almost collided with our boat in the fog. The water temperature was 16°C, and I had to keep a good cadence of strokes per minute to keep my body warm.
In addition, I swam on a spring tide, which pushed me quite some distance to the north and took me back to the south. We decided to swim on the spring tide because there was no wind in the channel (as is so often the case, swimmers had been waiting for days for the weather to be swimmable and there were a few more boats out that night). After 11 hours and 10 minutes I landed in France at Wissant Bay with a lot of joy and the feeling that I completed my mission. Even the sun came out at the end!
These were some of the physical difficulties, but to fight against the mind is more important than this. The swimmer has to develop the capacity to keep the mind calm during the crossing, which can be done with proper training - through meditation and long distance trainings, where the swimmer starts to become more confident. I really recommend that swimmers who want to swim the English Channel develop a calm mind for swimming and remain confident from the time they register for the English Channel until the moment they reach the French coast.
Swimming the English Channel is not easy, it is very hard, but every person with the eagerness for self-transcendence and the determination to face all the difficulties for sure can cross the English Channel. All the swimmers have their own stories, but all of them are similar in one respect. They feel: “Nothing is impossible with determination”.
More about his swim and his preparation in this video-interview: http://vimeo.com/71583193
PS: Adriano's swim is the 44th non-wetsuit solo swim of the English Channel by a member of the International Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, whose founder, Sri Chinmoy, was inducted as an honour administrator into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2013. One day after his swim, Adriano joined the dedication of a Sri Chinmoy Peace Statue in Ipswich – he had actually concentrated on being able to swim by the 27th to make it to Ipswhich on the 28th.
More details on:
http://www.channel-triathlon.com/2013/08/07/adriano-passini-from-brazil-our-teams-new-english-channel-swimmer/
http://www.karteekclarke.com/open-water-swims/determination-wins-the-dayadriano-completes-channel-swim-in-11-hours-and-10-minutes/#more-510
- 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