The English Channel is the 21 mile stretch of water that separates England and France. The Channel has played its part in history over the past thousand years, and has now become the most iconic swim to tackle in the world.
One of the first questions people ask when they meet an open water swimmer is "Have you swum the Channel?".
Swimmers come from all over the world to attempt this 'Everest of Swimming'.
Welcome to our world.
- 08 Apr 2025
Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation Annual Dinner 2025
I would like to thank everyone who supported the 2025 Annual Dinner. This was the easiestdinner for me to organise and for that I thank you all!I am delighted that you raised a whopping £1565 this year which the CS&PF will match up to£1500 resulting in a total donation of £3065 to the Dover RNLI.I get a lot of recognition at the dinner, most notably this year I was asked “are you the lady thatthreatens to murder people?”, yes, that is me, oops! That said I could not do it alone and Iwanted to take a moment to thank a few others that make the dinner the success it is:Cliff Golding – Need I say more? Cliff is the lunatic that keeps us all in check and ensures that itis a special night personalised for everyone who has worked so hard to be there. You should bewarned, if he goes, I go too so we best keep reminding him how wonderful he is!Sarah Philpott – Thanks for being the technical genius that puts together the photo presentationensuring memories of spectacular days at sea become part of the room to celebrate them somany months later. Emma France was a hard act to follow so well done for making it your own.Jade Matos Carew – Another genius who has produced a menu that becomes a treasuredmemory each year. This year was a particular favourite of mine and the perfect way to celebrateCaptain Webb.Kathy Batts – You will never know how many calls and emails it takes, with a little help from ourcrystal ball to guess where a few payments have come from, but we’ve got this.While Dover Town Hall has been closed for renovation we have celebrated at the Leas Cliff HallChannel Suite. The team there have worked so hard to look after us and it is a wonder to methat they manage to feed so many of us when, I’m sure Cliff will agree, for the most part gettingyou lot sat down is like herding cats.The Team at the Leas is headed by the wonderful Hue. Hue is an absolute delight to dealwith and for me personally it will be a wrench to leave him behind should we return toDover. Hue’s infectious happiness and enthusiasm shines through and his team follow hislead with nothing being too much trouble.Finally, a massive thank you to Dave Chisholm. For those of you who do not know Dave he isthe local cartoonist who designed the Captain Webb 150 this year. The perfect nod to thismomentous anniversary in the history of Channel Swimming.I still have some Captain Webb pin badges left so if you would like to buy some, pleasecontact me at tickets@cspf.co.uk and we will get that sorted. They are £5 each.For those of you hoping to join us next year I will post details at www.cspf.co.uk as soon as Ihave a date and venue for you.I wish you all a great 2025 season and I look forward to celebrating with you in 2026.Best wishesMichelle Read more
