17 Sep 2014Sri Chinmoy Golden Jubilee-Relay
The Sri Chinmoy Golden Jubilee Relay swam to France in 16 hours and 34 minutes
Sri Chinmoy Golden Jubilee-Relay
4-person relay, September 17th, 2014, time 16hrs, 34 mins, Swimmers: Abhejali Bernardova (CZ), Jayalata Dadkovikova (CZ), Harita Davies (NZ), Ritadyumna Tobolka (CZ)
by Harita Davies, New Zealand
I felt extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of a 4-person New Zealand/Czech relay swim of the English Channel. We wanted to swim in honour of our team founder Sri Chinmoy’s 50 years of inspiration and peace service after his coming to the West in 1964, and so we called our swim the “Sri Chinmoy Golden Jubilee Relay”.
In the Dover swimming community the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team is quite well known since the 80ies for our solo and multiple Channel swimmers like Vasanti, Vedika, Vijaya, Karteek and others. It was a great honour to be connected to these champions and to the big international open water swimming community in some small way.
Being in Dover was a thrilling experience! We had many opportunities to look out over the famous white cliffs offsetting the beautiful, powerful, inviting yet dauntingly intimidating stretch of water known as ‘The English Channel” or “La Manche” in France.
As we trained in the harbour we met many channel swimmers from all over the world - some retired and many preparing for their own challenging journey. It is a wonderful experience that sport gives us, linking together individuals from vastly different worlds with the common goal of challenging themselves – of selftranscendence in all its shapes and forms. And as Sri Chinmoy showed us in many ways, this one commonality gives life to a beautifully rich and heartfelt community spirit, where every person’s role and goal is given great value, respect and encouragement.
As the date of our swim window was upon us, the weather was not looking agreeable. Our pilot was hesitant due to an entire season of almost constantly unrelenting wind and waves. We decided to wait, but looking at the forecast, it seemed like there might be a window around noon the next day. And sure enough, we were woken by a text at 1am in the morning saying conditions had changed and he was willing to take us. We unanimously agreed to go for it, which meant being at the boat at 12pm…knowing this made it pretty hard to go back to sleep!
After boarding Gallivant we headed straight to Shakespeare beach to drop off our first swimmer, Abhejali, the fastest and most experienced member of our team (EC relay 2009, solo 2011, as well as MIMS 2012 and several Zurich lake marathon solos) . She swam to shore, meditated for a moment, and the official timing began!
The water was calm, the sun was shining, and leaving the harbour the conditions seemed idyllic. We were all swimming for one hour at a stretch. The CSPF had an official observer on board, and we had 3 experienced pilots, so we knew we were in good hands. Our head pilot, Mike Oram, has guided quite a few Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team swimmers to France.
We also had two wonderful helpers, Haribala from Czech Republic, and Bahula from New York. Bahula immortalised herself in the Dover swimming community some years back when she was helping Vijaya. As a super enthusiastic helper, she lent a little too far over the side during a feed and actually fell into the water! It was Mike who reached over and pulled her back in.
After Abhejali, Jayalata swam second, then it was my turn… I stood on the edge of the boat for the countdown..30 seconds, 20, 10, go!! I leapt off the edge into the great stretch of Ocean, and started swimming.
I had not noticed that the waves had risen in size and also become considerably more uneven as a cross wind picked up the surface chop. I felt increasingly grateful for a lifetime of swimming in the Ocean, as pool training is of little value in these conditions. I wondered if I was actually moving forward at all, and staying next to the boat is harder than you would think in the swells, but all you can do is keep swimming! The hour went surprisingly fast and I was signalled to head to the ladder as our forth swimmer, Ritadyumna, jumped in.
Back in the boat my main tasks were getting warm, trying not to get seasick, eating and drinking. Fortunately for me I largely escaped seasickness - the other girls were not so lucky, in spite of ear patches and sea sickness pills!
By my second swim the sun was already beginning to set. A glow stick was attached to my swimsuit and there was a big spotlight from the boat, so I felt pretty safe. Now I also felt more confident. I knew I could stay in for an hour without freezing, and I knew what I had to do - swim as fast as possible towards France!
This experience really encapsulated the goal of living spirituality for me. There was no time for self doubt, no time to worry what anyone else was thinking, I just had to jump into a seemingly beginningless and endless expanse of water and do my very best - focus only on the boat and have unquestioning faith that the pilot was leading us to the destination.
I also got a lot of joy and strength from being part of a team. There was no option to consider quitting - I could not let the team down, and I knew all of us felt the same way!
After about 15 hours the lights of France came really close - what a thrill! There was no stopping us now! We were expertly guided towards the shore and Abhejali, our great champion who stayed so strong and cheerful despite unrelenting seasickness throughout the journey, swam the final stretch, making our official time 16 hours and 34 minutes!
We are all so grateful for the experience, to our incredible helpers Bahula and Haribala, to all our friends and supporters around the world who watched and encouraged us, to the great boat crew and our pilots James Willi and Mike Oram, and most of all to Sri Chinmoy for giving us the inspiration and courage to do something so special in honour of his 50 years of dedication to humanity’s loftiest goals of individual and collective self-transcendence, happiness and peace. “If we believe in our own self-transcendence-task, Then there can be no unreachable goal.”
“A self-transcendence-mind
Has peace.
A oneness-heart
Is peace.”
“Our philosophy
Is progress.
In our self-transcendence
Is our tremendous joy.”
“Individual self-transcendence
Collectively inspires
Humanity at large.”
Link to a 10 min. video slide show
- 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
