Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation - Swim Story

03 Aug 2019Paul Harris swims the Channel

So I called the Pilot Wednesday 31st July to see if I would be attempting a Channel Swim that week, He said "possibly Saturday, if not then I would be going Sunday/Monday" Great I thought it's going to be happening. I called the Pilot back Thursday & he said, good news you can go tomorrow (Friday 2nd August), meet in Dover at 11am - I had a split second thought of Oh God, then a relief settled in to know I was going.

After speaking with my Crew to confirm they were all available I called the Pilot back to confirm I would be making my attempt.

We arrived in Dover at 11am, turned up called the pilot woke him up from being a sleep as he had just returned from a previous swimmer, I waited an hour, phoned him again & woke him up for the 2nd time, I was hoping to have already started my swim by this time.

We met with the Channel Swimming Observer who was their to make sure that I stick to the rules of Channel Swimming, we met the Pilots, loaded everything on to the boat, as we sailed out we had another 45 minute wait for the boat to leave Dover and go to Samphire Hoe.

We had a 10 minute warning, shortly after we arrived at the shore, I jumped in swam to the beach & cleared the water, waited for the claxon to sound (Which I had heard so many times watching Youtube videos) which indicated the start of my English Channel Swim.

My plan was to be focused try to not swim to near the boat as I did not want to get involved in to much conversation as I know that every second counts when it comes to reaching Cap Griz Nais, if you get your timings wrong it can add an extra couple of hours to your swim, which could in some cases mean completing the swim & not, I had also planned to feed on the hour every hour & keep the feeds to 30 seconds maximum, on the 5th hour I then had crew member Sean Collins in to join me which helped keep me motivated especially as I thought I would be entering the Separation Zone (This is where a lot of the Jelly Fishes tend to be), as Sean finished his hour swim & I was entering the French Shipping lane I started to see the odd jelly, about 5 minutes later it felt as though they were everywhere, I got the odd sting on the leg, arm & then I felt a stinging going from my face, down my left side of the body, down past my waist all the way down my right leg, a split second later I had the same going down my right hand side, at this point I think my whole body was tingling, it was a case of welcome to Swimming the English Channel.

Around 7 hours I started to feel the odd chill running through my body, at this point I asked Dan Harlott to prepare me a hot water to try to warm my core up, at 9pm I had Steve Henigan join me for an hour which was nice as I had joined Steve on his successful solo swim 2 weeks earlier, as the sun went down & the night kicked in the Chill feeling was still their until I was informed by the pilot that I had reached the inshore waters (3 miles to France), immediately I felt as though the water went up by a couple of degrees & at this point I knew that I had to give it everything if I wanted to land on the Cap & believe me this was the aim!! 3 Miles takes me roughly 1 hour 27 on a good day, I had hoped to try to achieve this within 1 hour & 30 minutes, as I approached my feed I asked how far I had to go hoping that I would be near, unfortunately the tide had turned & that was it I had missed it. I must admit that I felt as though the wind was taken out of my sales as I swam as hard as I could for 90 minutes but made very little ground.

Just as I started to feel a bit down I was joined again by Steve for another hour which helped me pick the pace up, I started seeing lights in the distance and thought that I would hopefully be coming in to land, just as I saw this the pilot starting to get the rib ready which I knew was a good sign as I would soon be reaching land, but as soon as he got the rib ready he disappeared again below deck. Steve finished his swim, I had another feed and asking the crew how far? I heard Ross Garnett saying he could see people on the beach, I didn't know if that was his polite way of saying shut up & keep swimming or if I was closer than I thought, the next minute, the pilot launched the rib and was accompanying me in to shore, 3 minutes later that was it, I was guided to a random set of steps as I climbed up the steps their was 4 locals waiting to greet me, they asked what I was doing & I replied I had just swum from Dover, England to France - Yes, my name is Paul Harris & I am an English Channel Swimmer!!!!!!

So now to the Thank yous!!

Their is absolutely no way I would of achieved this without my support crew in Dan Harlott who was amazing & regimented with my feeds, I tried to be strict to 30 seconds but did occasionally go over, when I did Dan & Sean did remind me!

Sean Collins, Sean was great not only accompanying me on my Channel Swim but also as a training partner, also updating Sharna Harris Was Murray of my progress when I was near the end.

Ross Garnett, Ross captured my moments taking pictures, offering constructive support via the white board & his constant supportive enthusiasm

Steve Henigan, Steve also accompanied me on my swims in the Channel, but also got to meet Steve throughout my training down in Dover since the 2nd weekend in May.

Kim Brown my physio, thank you for keeping me injury free.

The Dover Channel Training Team, It was amazing meeting so many people down in Dover all who are training for their own mammoth swim challenges.

The public, Whilst taking on this Challenge I wanted to help make a difference to the local Sick, Disabled & terminally-ill Children, but also Chris Mepham who is going through a whole load of rubbish (I don't know how) dealing with Cancer (Chris sadly passed away 6^th January 2019, leaving behind 2 girls, 3 & 6 along with his wife Sarah) thank you for supporting me by generously donating what you can afford, every penny has made me so grateful & from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Finally my wife & amazing Girls,
Thank you will never be enough for the constant support you have given me on every challenge I do, but this really had taken over my life, Thank you & I love you all.

Mum & Dad, Sorry to put you through the worry of the English Channel but in needed to be done.

I have completed 3 Relay Channel Swims, 1 unofficial and 1 SOLO, not sure what to do next? Perhaps a 2-way SOLO???

Paul Harris swims the Channel

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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