Karen, Noah, Lynn and I walked into town for coffee and the local scene. I was very excited to tell Darrin, of Jenkins & Sons Fishmongers, that I made it to France in 11 hrs 31 min 7 sec. He told me that if I broke 13 hours, I would get a special fish treat. When I saw him working, I said, "I did it!" Darrin asked if I liked lobster and picked out one fine looking lobster for our dinner. I proudly carried that little lobster throughout town that morning. Cheryl was out running but we went back for them. We bought our pastries at Al's Bakery and coffee at Costa. We picked up Dave and Jeanette and we all drove to Dover to pick up my swim caps from the Channel Swimming Association people.  They gave me an orange latex CSA cap and a yellow silicon cap, which are still in their packaging. It started drizzling but we walked over to the Dover Museum and saw all of the bronze age and WWII displays. We saw the huge bronze boat that they put back together, after archeologoists found it in the 1990s in Dover. The Channel swimming awards (trophy case) is displayed on the third floor. It was very nice to see the names, times and various awards. We bought Matthew Webb's book and a new one, written by the second man to swim the Channel in 1911. I got a Dover patch for my swim bag and a flag, with the Olympic sports on it outlined in the shape of England for my classroom.
Then we had fish and chips walking around Dover. We ate the best onion rings ever. We made a quick stop at the outlets so Lynn could repurchase the "Start/Finish" plate, so I could write my start/finish time on it. Karen found a few copies of Gavin Mortimer's The Great Swim. Aunt Lynn found a neat book with their sailboat on the cover.

Next: Dover Castle. I was exhausted. We parked in the grassy lot facing the Castle. A little shuttle bus took us to the top. We went in to show our English Heritage Passes and get a receipt. I saw brochures at the register for the Castle so I picked one up. I opened the brochure and read tiredly while managing to insult the museum clerk, "2000 years ago, yadda yadda yadda." I need to work on my inner voice. He heard me and replied, "Mam, there is more to this Castle than '2000 years ago.'" I apologized and said I was tired after just swimming to France. I don't think he believed me.  So that was the joke of the day and remains our quote of the trip when we walk around reading signs.... "yadda yadda yadda." The Castle was magnificant: church, lighthouse and tunnels. We waited in a 30 min line for a tour of the WWII tunnels. Very impressive. It was a great presentation. We had to follow the rules and proceed when we saw the green light.  During the War, Operation Dynamo was able to rescue over 338,000 British and allied troops that were trapped at Dunkirk. They predicted they could save 28,000.  Dover was bombed for over four years by the Germans. On our way home, we stopped at the market for chicken and soup broth and crunchy bread. Lynn made chicken soup and warmed up that lobster.

Didn't sleep much last night, after the swim. I couldn't lie on either shoulder since both were just as sore. Actually, Sunday I was the first awake and came downstairs before 6 a.m. local time. We all walked to town for coffee after a quick breakfast of oatmeal at our house. We drove to Dover and arrived just after 10 a.m. Pilot Andy was also pulling in to park next to the waterfront. He saw us and opened up the chart he bought to give me. Using his electronic navigational instruments on the Louise Jane, he documented my swim course on a huge paper chart. He signed and dated the chart. I plan to frame the chart and display it on a wall at home. Thank you, Andy! Next, we walked to the area of the beach where the swimmers were congregated for their training. I hadn't gotten to meet any swimmers since I was doing most of my training swims in Deal, and most of the swimmers come to Dover on the weekends to swim. We had arrived on Sunday and I did my first swim on Monday in Dover but didn't see many swimmers. So our mission was to find the swimmers and share stories and well wishes. Within a few seconds we met fellow American Elizabeth Fry, who completed a double crossing on Saturday, as well as Stuart Johnson, who completed a double as well on Saturday. Also posed for a photo with Miyuki Fujita from Japan, Roger Finch from South Africa, and others. I was thrilled to meet King of the Channel, Kevin Murphy, who has 34 solo crossings. This was a jolly fine swimmer party on a rocky beach alongside in the Dover harbour. We exchanged handshakes, introductions and hugs. We bought seven pins for one of the swimmers' fundraisers, who is swimming to benefit cancer research and a Captain Matthew Webb bag from the Channel Swimming Association, or CSA. I was hoping to pick up my CSA swim cap to have as a momento. I was told if I came back tomorrow, they would have one for me. It was so great to meet other swimmers who spoke the "marathon swimming" language but I was also somewhat sad that we hadn't had a wekeend to swim in Dover with other Channel aspirants.

Next up: The White Horse Pub on St. James Street in Dover, where aspiring Channel swimmers meet and dream of one day adding their name to the wall or ceiling. It's a popular hangout for swimmers to meet and celebrate their successful swims. I waited to find the White Horse, until I accomplished my mission. When my crew and I walked in, we immediately split up into several directions, each walking towards a wall signature that caught our attention. Wow, I thought, look at the history here. I found names I recognized from my research and reading and took a photo of where a fellow Michigander, Brian Burke, signed his name in history. Then I noticed his time: 11h 30 min. I swam it in 11h 31 min. My heart stopped. My swim was over and I was still being competitive!

I shared a pint of summer ale with Lynn and Noah tried a dark ale. We had a great time, swapping stories with other swimmers who came to celebrate, namely Stuart Johnson and his wife, and Roger Finch and his crew. I wandered around and we snapped photos of the wall while I was locating the perfect place for my signature. I found it, right before you step into the back room, on the ceiling. First, I sketched out what I wanted to create on the wall, on a postcard. Noah grabbed a pencil and outlined the large old English D, for the Detroit Tigers, in pencil. Then I took my permanent black Sharpie and started to fill in the details of Saturday's swim. Please check out our photos above.
I filled in the top with my name, the bottom with my time (11:31:07) and date, and the side with Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. The cook was ill, so we just had the celebration drink, a few crackers, and then walked to lunch in Dover. We had a sit-down lunch and walked to the Dover Museum, hoping to walk around. The museum had closed 11 minutes before we arrived, so instead, we walked around the town. We made a late night dinner at the house. I was overwhelmed and very emotional reading the amount of e-mails and Facebook posts from friends, family, and people whom I had never met who wanted to offer their well wishes. Thank you for sharing this celebration with me. By the way, a shout out to my terrific massage therapist and friend, Jeff Kong, of Novi's Tri-Covery Massage and Fitness, for the awesome black jacket that says "English Channel 2011 Swim" that I proudly wore all day, while my face was beaming with excitement.

When my husband said we missed a call from Andy King, skipper of the Louise Jane, my heart skipped a beat. I immediately felt nervous to return his call. My friend Karen, husband Noah, Aunt Lynn, and pals Cheryl and Dave Dehn and I were out on the waterfront in Deal (England). I had just swam 3.5 mile, or two laps with Noah and then two laps with Karen. Our laps began near North Street and we swam towards the Deal Pier. Our route to the pier took 8 minutes and our return to our friends took roughly 24 minutes, battling the tide. At that point, we had guessed I would be swimming the Channel either Sunday, August 21 or Tuesday, August 23, per conversation with Andy King on Monday, August 15.

I was swimmer #2 and Andy was going to be escorting Bill Bradley from San Francisco (on his fourth attempt) anytime starting Friday, August 19. So when I saw we had missed a call from King, I wasn't expecting to swim so early. "We may go tomorrow, Jenny," King said. "It looks like a good day."
"Did swimmer #1 turn it down?" I asked.
"I took him this morning," he said. "He didn't make it. He did a few hours and stopped. Call me at 7:30 p.m. tonight to discuss further, allright?"
"Okay," I said.

At that instant, I delivered the news, while standing in the kitchen of the house we rented in Deal, to my crew. Within moments, the rat race to prepare began. Everyone sprang into pre-swim action. Bags were unpacked and items were checked and shuffled around. All medical items were given to Aunt Lynn for her medical bag. In my large blue REI duffel bag for the boat, we packed my FAST fleece swim parka, two-sided fleece MSU/Detroit TIger blanket (that my mom sewed us for the holidays), lightsticks and blinkers for the swim, duct tape, Sports Beans, spare water bottles, kite string, and the 50/50 Lanolin-Vaseline concoction. I also added two pair of spare goggles, two silicon swim caps, rubber gloves for the Lanolin application. As a companion swimmer, Noah packed his swim gear in the medium REI orange duffel bag. He packed his USA swim cap, wetsuit, fins, towel, and a dry set of clothes, including rain gear. In my red, white and blue Speedo "Birmelin" embroidered backpack I had two pairs of silicon ear plugs, a Foggle (antifog goggle wipe), three pairs of goggles, my TYR USA silicon swim cap (which we were given at the Howell Aquathlon in July 2009), my red Detroit to Dover towel (monogrammed by my mom, Jan Domino), a pair of thick black winter running pants, a green fleece jacket, my black Tri-Covery Massage & Fitness fleece beanie (thanks, Jeff Kong), Body Glide, Bull Frog Water Armor 50 sunblock spray, fleece gloves, and Smartwool socks.

Lynn's medical bag included: children's liquid Motrin, syringes with saline (in case, for eyes), Zofran OD tablets, Epipen (for shock), Benadryl,  plastic bags for seasickness, Antivert (anti-dizziness), vinegar, rubbing alcohol, gauze, Ace wrap, bandages, tape, Scapolomine patches, sutre set, throat lasenges for post-swim, stapler for large wounds, alcohol-free mouth wash (diluted 50/50 with water), lemon mouth swabs, rubber gloves, Albuteral inhaler, lip balm, Tylenol tabs, and Motrin tablets. In hindsight, we'd add shampoo, washcloths, and soap.

My crew packed 3 Muskateer bars, grapes, bananas, coffee, gummy bears, hot water thermos with boiling water, my laminated signs in a plastic binder, cheese and crackers, pre-made bland sandwiches (ham/cheese, turkey/cheese, no dressings on white bread), chips, water jugs (>2L per person), a 2 liter of flat Coca-Cola, rain and wind gear, gloves, towels, sunglasses with Croakies, sunscreen, stop watch, hats, whistle, green lightsticks, green blinkers, hand towels, two 2 kg tubs of Maxim Carbo Energy Powder, waterproof camera, Nikon's SLR D5100 and 7000, safety pins, logbook, and pens.

Noah and Karen mixed 24 scoops of Maxim powder per 2 L of apple juice to make the double-strength Maxim energy drink. My goal was to drink a half liter every hour, or 750 calories from the drink alone. My crew added 100 ml of boiling water to my apple juice/Maxim mix. We used kite string attached to my bottle. Andy King had a feeding system already built. His was comprised of about 12 feet of white PVC piping, a metal basket with the piping on the perimeter. The basket had a dish in the middle to hold feeding cups and two circular areas on either side of the dish, for water bottles or whatever. My mouthwash and feed cup were always tied to the food dish. We had poured my diluted mouthwash into a small 6 oz. empty water bottle squirt top that we bought in town.

My swimmer food included Peter Rabbit Organics squeezeable fruit snack pouches, peaches in heavy syrup, the Maxim mixed with apple juice and hot water, and coffee was on hand just in case.

Saturday, August 20, 2011, Dover's projected tides:
High Tide, 3:12 a.m - 5.92 meters
Low Tide, 10:33 a.m. - 1.62 meters
High Tide, 3:24 p.m. - 6.08 meters
Low Tide, 10:55 p.m. - 1.69 meters

Crew: Skipper Andy King, co-pilot Andy McRath, husband Noah Birmelin, aunt Lynn Frikker, friends Karen Rosinski and Cheryl Dehn.

Before dinner, I plopped down on the couch to read my book, The Help, while Noah, Lynn, Karen mixed 2 liters full of the Maxim drink. Cheryl and Lynn went to the grocery store for dinner and reinforcements. I almost dozed off but Noah saw me and said, "She won't sleep tonight. Cheryl, go talk to her and keep her awake." I was thinking, "Come on, let me take a nap." For dinner I ate salmon, Hake, a fish native to Scotland, risotto, white bread, water and bowtie noodles. The crew also made fresh veggies (green beans, zucchini, carrots, snap peas, garlic, red onion and olive oil). Around 11 p.m. we heard the clickity-click of high heels walking down the 3 ft wide sidewalk. Then, the person banged the door knocker trying to get inside a nearby house. Since no one answered, the person knocked repeatedly for about 10 minutes before hollering began. "Open up," a woman's voice bellowed, "open up, wake-up." The knocks grew louder and more frantic and seemed much closer together. Then she screamed, "Open the F***** door, Arthur!!!" and kept knocking. I think our whole crew was awake by then and finally someone from our street yelled, "Enough!" it sounded like another neighbor tried to speak to her quietly. Finally, the clickity-click lady ticked away. Around 12:15 a.m. our CD player boomed a Van Morrison song from the kitchen. After dinner, we hit pause on the CD to call our pilot to discuss the possible swim Saturday. We never turned the radio off, so for whatever reason, the song blasted in the house until Lynn wandered in the kitchen and pulled the plug. It took her a while to realize where the music was coming from. Around 12:30 a.m. someone else was playing music. I should have slept with ear plugs.

The alarm rang at 2:00 a.m. and I rolled out of bed at 2:15 a.m. When I came downstairs, I ate a small banana and one instant regular oatmeal packet mixed with warm water. I began drinking one sports bottle filled with apple juice and Maxim. Our plan was to have me swim one hour and then stop for the first feeding. Further feeds were scheduled on 30 minute intervals, which Andy approved. Noah, Lynn, Karen, and Cheryl carried all of our bags to our rented silver Volkswagon Passat hatchback. We started the 15 min drive to Dover in the pitch black. Noah was wondering if his lights were on. All of a sudden, we went past a Deal Police Officer vehicle on a side street, who pulled behind us with his flashing lights. The police vehicals in Kent are white, checkered with blue and neon yellow rectangles so you can't miss them. "2:52 a.m.," I said, "pulled over on the way to swim the English Channel!" The officer was out of his patrol car and standing my Noah's window within seconds. Noah rolled down his window.

"Hello," the officer said. "Did you know your lights weren't on?"
"No, I just figured that out now," Noah replied.
"This time of night, I'm checking for drunk drivers," he said. "I saw you coming from way down the street. Where are you headed?
"We're on the way to Dover to swim the English Channel," I piped in from the front passenger seat. I'm sure he could see that we were all wearing the same navy blue "Detroit to Dover" hooded sweatshirts.
"Do you know how to get there," he asked.
"Yes, we think so," Noah said.
"Good luck then, right," he said.

Whew. "From now on, I'm keeping the running lights on all day," Noah said. When we turned into the Dover Marina, the lights were exciting. In the dark, the Marina area was well illuminated, as well as the ferry docks and harbour area. We turned into the Marina parking lot and found a space to park. Noah walked up to the dark Marina office and knocked on the door. "I woke up the attendant," Noah said. He bought a full day parking permit for 6.5 pounds, which went in the front windshield. I grabbed my Speedo backback and started walking the plank to the dock. I saw Andy standing on the Louise Jane with lights on the boat. "Morning," I said, and shook his hand smiling. Others were behind me, carrying armfulls of swim bags and deck food/gear. Andy introduced us to his co-pilot, Andy McRath and they both lifted our gear onto the boat and set our bags in the fish coolers, which doubled as crew benches.

Meanwhile, as Lynn and Karen were taking photos while we walked to the dock, a large white police van pulled alongside them. Here we go again.

"Is everything okay here," the officer asked. "What's your purpose?"
"We're here with the English Channel swimmer," Lynn replied.
"Alright then. Good luck," he said, and motored away slowly.

Whew. Karen ran down the long ladder/plank and told Cheryl and I what just happened. We just laughed.
Two police encounters within 25 minutes on the most important and now most stressful morning of the year.
I had bought a Little Miss Sunshine shirt at a large sporting goods store in Ramsgate on the Tuesday (Aug. 16) prior to the swim, for 5 pounds. I was a huge fan as a child of the series, and owned several of the tiny books. The series is popular here in England as we have seen the books in several book dealers' window displays.  Both Andy's asked if I was ready and I nodded. I said, "Wait. I have something for you when I get grumpy." I ran to my Speedo backpack and rifled to the bottom and came over to the railing to proudly show Andy my cheerful shirt. And just so his sons and Andy M. could make fun of him, I gave it to him to hold up for a photo of me and both Andy's.
"My sons are going to love this!" Andy King said.

Andy pointed to a boat docked just 50m away from us. "See them--the Viking Princess," they are going out too. There was a 43-year-old man going out with Reg Brickell. The man's mother stood in the darkness of the marina dock, waving to her son, who was pulling away with his crew, for the swim of a lifetime. I couldn't imagine what she was feeling. I could guess she was the proudest mama while a bit nervous for her son at the same time. As she walked past our boat, she paused, smiled and said to us, "Be well." 

I sat down on the black bench (fish cooler/gear holder) and Karen and Cheryl sat on either side of me. Both Andy's sat on the bench facing us. "Are you ready? You look a bit nervous," they said. "Yes, I am both," I said truthfully. "When should we grease her up?" Cheryl asked. Andy said it was too early, to wait about 15 minutes, until we left the Dover Marina. Andy M. asked if we had green lightsticks and blinkers. "We have blue, red and yellow," Noah answered. "Green is the most visible, right," he said, "hang on." Andy M returned with a bag of lightsticks and pulled out two. Andy M gave me two green ones and two safety pins, and a green blinker for my swim cap. I took off my shoes and socks, blue "In Pursuit" hoodie and gray Tri-Covery sweatpants. My swimsuit of choice was my USA red, white and blue Speedo. I had only worn it prior to the big swim on two training swims in the Channel that week. There were three red crossing straps on my lower back but I wasn't worried about them chafing. I chose a TYR American flag silicon swim cap, which I had saved from one of the Howell Aquathlon open water swim races from 2009. For goggles, I grabbed my BlueSeventy Nero racing goggles that had white straps, blue lenses. There were the most comfortable goggles I had tested this summer. The testing was getting mighty expensive, as I was buying several styles and brands to test.

In the past few years and even for the USMS 25k on June 17, 2011 I wore TYR Socket Rockets goggles with bungee cords. As much as Iike wearing them in pool training and races, they ended up bruising my eye sockets after the 7 and-one-half hour swim in Noblesville, Indiana. I searched for comfort, a goggle I could put on and not have to adjust for over 12 hours. The BlueSeventy's I found at Running Fit in Novi and after one pool swim, I used them on my 8 hour swim to Charity Island on July 10 and loved them.

Andy said to stand next to the cabin for greasing. Before greasing, Lynn put gloves on my hands to protect them from the grease. It was more stable and less windy standing by the cabin. At swim time, the water temperature (63 deg F) was warmer than the air temperature (56-58 deg F). Noah put on latex gloves and opened our container of swimmers grease. Back on July 9 in Tawas, Michigan, Lynn, Karen and I mixed a batch containing 50% Vaseline and 50% pure lanolin (ordered from CVS Pharmacy in July 2008 and still sticky!), using an old crock pot, two inches of water, a tall stainless steel bowl and a wooden spoon. Noah began greasing my sides and armpits first. Then he put the stick mixture all over my neck, back, and under all of the red suit straps. Finally, with my arms touching the white cabin wall, Noah greased between my legs, where my suit could possibly rub my inner thighs. I put my waxy ear plugs in and my goggles on my forehead. From the moment we pulled away from the dock to the brief boat ride to Shakespeare Beach, it seemed instantaneous. Everything in the dark happpend so quickly. Noah fastened two green lightsticks with safety pins to the back of my suit. Andy M. said at daylight I could remove them. One of the sticks stayed in place until shortly after I reached France and the other fell off at some point after daylight.

"Give Noah a kiss," Lynn said, and I gave Noah, Cheryl, and Lynn and kiss. Karen was at the back of the boat. Andy M. then asked me to walk to the starboard (right) side of the boat, where he unclipped a 2-foot chain, which was there for safety.

"You're going to sit here and jump," Andy King instructed. "Tthen swim to shore, stand up, clear the water and wait for the whistle. Then start swimming."
"Can I pee first," I asked.
"Sure thing," he responded, "good idea."

Since I was slippery as a jellied eel, they held my arms as I swung my legs over the side of the boat. As I sat there, I was quite nervous about leaving the protection of my crew and vessel.

"You want me to jump?" I asked, stalling.
"Yes--mind your head," King said.
"One, twoooooo, threeeeeee," I said, and jumped into the dark and salty day. I started stroking with all the adrenaline and energy of a thoroughbread on Derby Day. The water temperature, air temperature, and salt water were the last things on my mind. The only thing I was thinking was "when will I feel the rocky bottom and I hope nothing bumps into me."

Andy was shining the boat's search and rescue beam on the cliffs of Shakespeare Beach. I could see the beam of light to my left but I tried to swim straight. Shore was about 100 yards away. When I started to feel pebbles, I stayed seated on shore for a moment to pause, urinate, and think about what I was about to do. Meanwhile on the boat, I was told Andy King asked, "What's she waiting for? Cheryl told him, "I think she has to pee."

As soon as I stood up, I heard a whistle. "That was quick," I thought. My adrenaline, crew and I began our English Channel adventure at 4:05 a.m. (Dover time). I took a few steps and dove into the salty sea. I prepared the last two to three years for this day but all of the swimming coaches, teachers, friends, workouts, races, collegiate water polo, open water swims and experiences played a role in getting me to Dover. I really believe the PURSUIT was readying my body and training my mind to finish. Training my mind encompassed focusing on my stroke, while experiencing sensory deprivation from the first plunge into the darkness. I had read accounts of swimmers who had physically gotten to Dover, who swam just minutes or hours in the Channel before ending their attempts. I hadn't trained for a 2-hour swim and a 15 to 20 minute boat ride home. For me, the PURSUIT was surrounding myself with a cohort of friends, who wanted me to be successful. This group, my dedicated crew, was essential for a successful crossing. You don't complete a "solo" swim alone. My friends and terrific husband were committed to my goal and told me, "Do not stop until you get there. We know you can do this. We believe in you." I was far from alone in the enormous sea and shipping lanes. The PURSUIT--Detroit to Dover was over. I would now swim to France channeling my inner strength, desire, and courage, plus a swift kick from my crew.

I swam to the port (left) side of the Louise Jane and saw my crew hanging light sticks on the rails. The boat looked like it was ready for a nautical parade. Maybe not that bright. Andy King had asked me to stay 8 to 10 feet from the boat. He had a camera fixed on me, so he could always see me swimming from the skipper's cabin. I asked if I could get more lights strung, since the weren't that bright with my blue goggles. I didn't want to use clear and have to switch them later. I could really only see the bright orange lightstick. The crack and snap lightsticks were much fainter. Since there weren't any lightsticks hung past the cabin door (the dinghy blocked the crew's way), when I swam near the bow (front), I had difficulty judging how far I was from it. I preferred to swim in the middle, closer to the crew and lights. I wanted to maintain bilateral breathing (breathing every three strokes) but when I did, I would often drift too close to the boat. When I came too close, Karen and Cheryl, who were crouched down by the railing in the darkness (like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) would motion to me to move away from the boat with their lightsticks. I thought, "they could get a gig at an airport taxing planes on the runways."

I could see Lynn's red coat easily, and Cheryl and Karen's white FAST hats. As the morning progressed, sometimes when I breathed to my left I would catch a glimpse of new colors appearing in the sky. "There's the moon," I exclaimed my crew at one point, midstroke. After at least an hour I finally saw a glimmer of orange and a few clouds. The colors brought comfort to my gigantic effort. I thought of what my mom, Jan Domino, posted on Facebook the previous day for me to read. "Jenny, tomorrow... all those that love you will see everything in black and white except you, You will be in color. Tomorrow is YOUR day." And I thought of what my friend Maddie Diedo told me. "Want it more than you're afraid of it," she said, quoting Bill Cosby.

My first feed was after one hour of swimming. My crew waved a large white FAST towel and I swam closer to the boat. In came the 12 ft PVC pipe feeding pole and basket with a water bottle filled with apple juice and double strength Maxim, a high carbohydrate powder. I drank 250 cc's. At 6:30 a.m. I reached the first shipping lane and Andy said that 3 or 3.5 hours to reach the first shipping lane would be ideal. We were setting a great pace. My stroke count was 62. At this feed, the crew administered 600 mg of liquid baby Motrin mixed with peaches. My crew said I spit out 500 mg once I tasted it.

At 7 a.m. they let Noah get in as a companion swimmer. He was allowed to swim one hour next to me without touching me. I was thrilled to have some company as I was getting colder. I was 8 miles into the swim. They gave me a bottle of Maxim and I complained of a headache, possibly from the diesel boat fumes. I did tread for a minute to urinate, which pleased the crew and skipper.  At 7:30 a.m. Noah and I swam over a gigantic orange-pinkish rhizostoma jellyfish (abundant in the Irish Sea and eastern English Channel). It was a beautiful Finding Nemo type. I was ecstatic it was closer to Noah, but well below him. I yelled, "Jellyfish!" to my crew but that didn't see that one. This feed I was eating Maxim and peaches. The water had dipped to 58 deg. F (14 deg C) and my fingers were curling inwards. Many times during a stroke, I would open and close my hand to keep them warm and stretch them out.  At 8 a.m. Noah exited the water at the back of the boat. During the feed I had a squeezable Peter Rabbit Organic fruit snack pouch and some Maxim and mouthwash. I began vocalizing how cold I had become. I yelled, "I can't be this cold for 9 more hours!" My comment was ignored.

The crew decided to move my feeds to 25 min intervals, instead of 30 min, as well as adding more hot water to the apple juice/Maxim bottles. At that point my body had burned through the carbs and was burning fat for energy. I was having a tantrum because I was freezing. I thought of my warm comforter at the house and putting on my Smartwool socks. As I breathed to my right, I could see the long ladder, which was folded up high on deck. I plotted how I could get to it to get on board and get warm. "I'm so cold," I yelled again to the crew, with tears in my eyes and a sad, pathetic look on my face.

"You're doing great," Cheryl yelled. "All those boats that started before you--YOU PASSED!"
"Wait, what did she say?" I thought. "Yeah, right," I said, and started stroking. Not my most positive hour.

My crew members could have been on a collegiate cheer squad. They recognized that during this fourth hour, I would need a little extra cheering. Cheryl, unanimously voted #1 cheerleader by crew, alternated between performing the "YMCA" arms and the Chicken Dance (and for you triathletes, the "bask in my prowess cheer, Swimmer Guy vs. Triathlon Girl." See my links tab above). From time to time, Noah would give me the thumbs up to keep me moving. Simple communcation from my #1 supporter. Sometimes Andy M. would come out and I'd see him talking to the crew. He tried to make me laugh and even attached the giant American flag to the back of the boat and the smaller one to where I could see. When I saw Andy M. wearing the Detroit Tiger cap we brought for them, I said, "Nice hat," midstroke, and he smiled and waved.  Lynn and Andy King even made a bet on my swim. King bet five pounds that I would finish in 10.5 hours. Lynn said it would take me more than 11. I'm glad I chose a pilot who bet on ME. I saw Andy King watching me from his cabin window throughout the day. One time he was holding up his binoculars and I saw the red lenses looking out to the west. I thought he looked like a fly. His role on board was not only to make sure I was okay at all times, but he was also skipper of the boat and in charge of logging every detail about the swim. He was in contact with the French authorities, piloting the boat, and logging sea temps, winds, tide changes, stroke count, my state of mind, crew names, the wherabouts of companion swimmers, my food intake, and medications. At this point, the water temperature warmed to 60 deg. F, 15.6 deg C and my fingers got closer together. At 8:20 a.m, my feed was Maxim mixed with extra hot water. Karen said they were adding more hot water when I complained of being so cold.

At 8:50 a.m. I was given my Maxim bottle, a Peter Rabbit pouch, and my stroke count dropped to 61. Andy King said he would make me coffee if I wasn't urinating. He said sometimes the Maxim causes you not to be able to urinate but the coffee would fix that. When I stopped to feed, Andy K put the boat in neutral. He had an orange sea anchor which slowed the boat's speed. At 9:25 a.m. companion swimmer and friend Karen jumped off the port side, wearing her wetsuit and swim fins. She splashed while I was feeding and apparently I made a face. Sorry, Karen! They gave me peaches and Maxim. The string for the mouthwash bottle kept getting tangled in the wire feeding basket. Probably when I yelled, "I want my mouthwash," since my tongue was swollen like a canteloupe.

Karen and I saw one or two Compass jellyfish, brown striped jellyfish and several translucent ones of all sizes. We swam over something that looked like a vertical sea lettuce, resembling a sea horse, but larger. At 9:46 a.m., the water temperature dropped to 13 deg C, 15 deg F when I stopped for a quick Maxim feed. At 10:30 a.m. the water was 16 deg C, 62 deg F. The winds were blowing 11 knots. Karen exited on the back ladder. "I climbed to the first ring and pulled off my fins one-by-one and handed them to King," she said. "While I was climbing he was trying to lift me into the boat." Then her and King took a photo together by the American flag. I was grateful for her companionship and am thankful for her friendship throughout the years. Karen was with my husband and I when we did the Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge swims in April 2010. At this feed they gave me liquid baby Motrin mixed in with my Maxim bottle and again, most of it was spit out into the water.

At 11:15 a.m. I drank 100cc's of Maxim. At 11:40 a.m., I had a Peter Rabbit fruit snack and Maxim. For the 12:10 p.m. feed, Noah filled my bottle to the top with 3/4 Maxim & apple juice and 1/4 hot water. It was the heaviest bottle yet. When it came time to feed, Lynn aimed and fired the bottle towards me. "Whack!" it drilled my head. Then I face floated and held my head. "Oh my goodness, I tought I had a headache before, but this is nuts." Lynn, my medical supporter, photographer and cheerleader, said to me, "There is nothing I can do about it now, so just start swimming."  On board, she told them it scared her that I was face down. "I'm supposed to be here to take care of medical problems," she said, "not CAUSE them." She said she was about to jump in and get me. Karen assured her, "if everything went smoothly, it wouldn't be a colorful story."

And so I began stroking 8 hours into the swim with a terrible headache. Noah entered the water around 8 hours and 10 minutes into the swim. Earlier Noah asked Andy King when the next best time would be for him to get in. They decided between 8 and 9 hours would be best. Andy told him to add more water to the bottles because it was a salty sea, he said. At 12:36 p.m. I drank a 1/2 bottle. Noah found a blue plastic bottle floating on the surface. He grabbed the bottle and threw it on board, hitting Cheryl in the head. At the same time, Lynn accidentally hit Karen with the feeding basket handle. The water temperature was 16.6 deg C, or 62 deg F. I had a Peter Rabbit and Maxim.

The crew chatted about the a successful crossing and discussed the White Horse Pub. Andy told them the wall is smothered with names. At 1:55 p.m. the water temperature was 17.2 deg C. I had been in the water for 9 hours and 50 minutes. As I watched the crew and Andy on board, they seemed down. I saw serious expressions and zero cheering. They were hoping we'd land at Cap Griz Nes but realized the tide pushed us too much north. The tide hadn't pushed me as far south as he had hoped. I was watching the Cap get closer and closer but after an hour I felt it slipping away. My crew was so important to me and they displayed so much energy for so long. It crushed me to see the absence of smiles and everyone looked serious and Andy K looked grumpy.


I stopped abruptly and yelled, "What's wrong? I want to see some cheering. Why so serious? This is FUN!"
They exploded into cheer, clapping and waving me towards the French cliffs. Andy M. went and put on his swim trunks and tank top. At 2:15 p.m. Andy M began preparing the dinghy and pulled it to the other side of the boat. When I saw him stand next to it, I couldn't contain my excitement. I got teary eyed. "THIS is happening," I thought. All I wanted for the last hour was for them to launch that little dinghy in the water. They told me that I would have to sprint for an hour to beat the tide. Karen later said she could see Calais getting closer and the Cap further away. Again, Noah entered the water at 2:45 p.m. for the final push to France. I was definitely a bit discouraged. I thought we were going to land at the Cap for a while, which would have made for a much shorter swim. Then I seemed to be moving to its left.
 
At the next feed I said, "Andy looks grumpy. What's going on? What do I need to know?"
"The tide's changing," Cheryl said. "We need you to swim really hard right now."

At 3:05 p.m.the water temperate was 17.8 deg C and I had covered 27 land miles. At 3:10 p.m. I had a quick drink of Maxim. "Quick feed and go," Lynn said, "final push." It was tough to judge depth. I could see the cliff's in Wissant in front of me, Calais to my far left, the Cap to my right. I didn't realize the beach at Wissant sorta curved inward. For a while, I felt like I was in an Endless Pool. I kept thinking of the swimmers I read about who fought so hard to get this far and couldn't reach shore. Some were only 300 yards or less from an official crossing, only to have the tide take them west. I started to apply more power to my stroke, even though my shoulders were screaming at the increased workload. I glanced at Noah many times and I was glad we were pushing each other beyond our limits. The final hour, one that will forever be engraved in my mind. This hour pushed my shoulders past their pain threshold, a swifter stroke rate (now at 65-66/min), and increased intensity by the crew. Cheryl and Karen turned their white FAST hats into rally caps. When I saw this I just shook my head as they laughed and cheered. This was the bottom of the ninth inning, and all cards were on the table. Cheryl went to my binder of signs and held up one of my favorites. When I breathed towards her, she held up the sign that said, "REMEMBER THIS DAY." I looked at her and nodded, so grateful for her presence and the message.

All of a sudden, a small fishing boat cut right in front of us, heading southeast. I saw it on a forward sight and said, "Oh my gosh." I will never forget looking at my crew and seeing certain crew members giving the fishing vessle the middle finger. I thought, "They are bad ass! They have been fighting for me for a year and 11 hours into this, a boat comes too close. I saw Lynn jumping and motioning to the nautical "A" flag (diver flag, or our "swimmer in" flag) on the rear, trying to slow the speed boat. A few minutes later I saw a friendlier sailboat ahead. I figured it was very close to shore. As I fought the tide, I was judging the final distance by thinking about how many lengths of a local lake back home this was. In my opinion I had one length of Trout Lake (Island Lake State Park, Brighton, Michigan) remaining. I figured when I saw the sailboat and could make out people on the sandy beach, I was no more than 10 minutes away. The water was much clearer and the crew had been shedding clothes for some time, so I knew they were heating up in the sunshine. The sun was brightest at the finish. I hadn't seen a single jellyfish the last hour. At 3:27 p.m. Andy M finally launched the dinghy. While doing so, the boat hit Lynn in the chest. Andy M was 20 feet off the back of the boat and Lynn and Cheryl called him back to the boat. When he came back he asked if they wanted him to take the Olympus waterproof camera and flags. "Yes, she wants them," they said, and handed him a small American flag, a navy and white Detroit Tiger flag, and a green and white Michigan State University Spartan "S" flag. I knew that was when I was leaving some of my crew and smiled. "They got me here!"

The tides, jellies, and cold were no longer against me. I had visualized my landing dozens of times and always saw a sandy beach. The beach in front of me brought relief over having to navigate a rocky shoreline at the Cap. With his arm, Andy M pointed me towards shore, in the direction he wanted me to swim. The bottom of the Channel was growing a more brilliant blue. The water was warmer and I saw people walking towards me. They realized what was happening as they saw the dinghy directing me. I sawm by a jet-ski carrying three people who came close to watch. Even the friendly sailboat inched closer. I was IN PURSUIT of sand in my fingernails and collecting rocks from shore. The last few yars swam by so quickly. My left hand touched bottom first and then I started to dolphin dive like I was finishing an open water race or triathlon swim.

"You can stand up and walk," Andy M said. I always swim as far as I can into shore, so I did a few more shallow dolphin dives, with my suit now skimming the bottom.. In my research, I read about swimmers who have attempted to stand prematurely and after 10, 12, 15, or more hours of swimming horizontally, have collapsed just feet from clearing the water. By standing too quickly, after being weightless for so long, their hearts were under too much strain. Knowing this, I crawled the last few feet before putting my left knee down in the sand. When I tried to stand I was wobbly, like Bambi on ice and my arms flailed a bit to maintain balance. Until you have no water in front of you, no one is allowed to touch you or provide assistance. I took a few steps and realized I was standing on sand. I turned around to face my boat and hoisted my arms into the air with clenched fists, in victory. Noah was removing his fins and stepped on shore just behind me. I walked back to shore to share the moment with him and we embraced. Andy K sounded the big horn on his ship and Lynn and Karen took turns sounding a 1.5 ft plastic horn. Cheryl was waving the 3 x 5 foot American flag. Andy M handed me the three flags to hold and I posed for pictures with Noah. Andy M shook my hand and other beachgoers were clapping when I looked around. A man approached and shook my hand and said, "Well done. Brilliant."

I wasn't sure how long on shore I had, so we turned to get back into the dinghy and I saw that Noah had two rocks in his hand for Karen. "My rocks," I exclaimed, "I almost forgot." I highkicked it out of the water and ran back to the beach, where I chose three rocks as momentos. And I mean RAN. Where did that burst of energy come from?
As i walked back to the dinghy again, a medium sized black dog saw something in my hands. He wanted to play. The dog followed me back to waters edge, so I tucked the three rocks into the side of my suit and showed the dogs my empty hands. "Magic," I said to the dog. The dogs owner and others laughed.

At 3:36 p.m. I landed in Wissant, France, after 11 hours 31 minutes 7 seconds. I covered 28 land miles or 24 nautical miles.

The short ride back to the Louise Jane was beautiful. I was beaming. Our crew was still cheering and preparing to help us onboard. I was still hoisting my arms in the air. We pulled up to the port side and Noah got out first. Then I stood up and they held my upper arms firmly as I swung both legs over the side to get on board. Andy K came right over after Lynn gave me my red "Detroit to Dover" towel and shook my hand. I got a big hug from "Mr. Grumpy." He was more relaxed, like Little Miss Sunshine at this point. I hugged each crew member and I stood up for a few photos with the American flag and both pilots. While they took care of the dinghy, I sat down in back and they helped me put on my fleece swim parka. Lynn put on my Smartwool socks and Noah draped the MSU/Detroit Tiger fleece blanket my mom had sewed over my legs. Somehow, they also got my warm black running pants on too. I drank some water and looked around as I grabbed my sunglasses. Around 4:20 p.m. Cheryl gave me a few bites of a banana and at 4:40 p.m. I said, "Can I have some Dramamine" and it was given to me. A few minutes later I asked, "If I was going to get sick, where do I go?" and pointed to the black buckets near the starward side of the cabin. "NO!" yelled the crew in unison. "You're not touching those buckets," Lynn said, while I sat wondering why. At that time I figured they must have something to do with the bathroom. Someone handed me a plastic bag and then I lost my banana and water.

Lynn gave me a dissolving Zofran tablet to stop the vomiting. I began to feel better after a few minutes and apologized to my crew near me. At 4:51 p.m. I got sick again, and the crew had already given me a few new bags. This time I got a lemon mouth swab. At 5:11 p.m., in a tiny plastic dispenser cup, Lynn poured me 1.5 oz of water. 

"You can have another 1.5 oz in 10 minutes if you keep that down," Lynn said.
"Sweet," I said. "I just swam to France all day and I get 1.5 ounces of water in a plastic thimble."

At 5:21 p.m. I got another 1.5 ounces and made sure they didn't short me on my water ration. Finally I was able to look around the Channel and really get an idea of just how many freighters, ferries, fishing boats, and Channel swimming boats my crew had seen all day. The sight was incredible. They get so close! At 5:23 pm. I was given one Ritz cracker and 26 mL of water. The White Cliffs of Dover were getting closer. I wanted to get my feet on land so I could start to feel better. I was thrilled to see Dover Harbour. At 5:59 p.m. the Louise Jane, carrying Andy King, Andy McRath, Noah & Jenny Birmelin, Karen Rosinski, Lynn Frikker and Cheryl Machovec Dehn, pulled up to the dock in the Dover Marina. We took a few crew photos and I walked carefully and slowly to a shower stall at the Marina. My left hip flexor took a pounding the first few hours since I was mostly breathing to my right in the dark. It was extremely uncomfortable walking up the ramp. Remarkably, I only had a little seaweed in my suit and a lot of French sand. The only place I chafed a bit was on the back of my neck, where my hair was creeping out of my swim cap. After a shower, using only their hand soap from the wall, I hobbled back to the car. We hadn't packed shampoo. I plopped myself in the front passenger seat and asked permission to eat part of a granola bar. "Eat," Lynn said, "Drink!"

Before we parted ways, King told us if we met him the following day (Sunday, August 21, 2011), in Dover, he would give me a chart of my swim. We made plans to meet in the late morning, knowing I really wanted to meet other Channel swimmers who were training in the Dover harbour on the weekends. On the 20 minute ride back to Deal, we laughed and recapped our favorite memories: the police encounter at 2:52 a.m., the water bottle head incident that almost ended my swim, jellyfish encounters, freighter sightings, and crawling to shore. 

When we got back to our house in Deal, I knocked on the door and Cheryl's husband David answered the door, holding their daughter Jeanette. I gave him a big hug and said, "Guess who just swam to France?" Then I joked, "I delivered your secret message to the man who shook my hand on the shore. I saved the Western World." After our crew unpacked the car, I went up to shower for real and Lynn and David walked into town to order pizza. When I came down, we all shared three varieties and were intrigued that one pizza was topped with veggies including kernel corn. I admit, we also had a little ice cream--and a lot of water.

Everyone went to bed fairly early but I didn't sleep too much. For the next few nights, it didn't matter which shoulder I slept on, I was hurting. My mind was like an MTV pop-up video. Thoughts burst into my head like Jiffy Pop and I was trying to relive every minute. This was much the same story until Monday afternoon. We went to visit the Dover Castle. I was exhausted and frankly not much fun. Funny story: We walked into the ticketing area at Dover Castle and showed them our English Heritage passes to get our tickets. I grabbed a brochure that was sitting by the register and opened it. Still standing in front of the register, exhausted, I read the first page of the brochure, "2,000 years ago...yadda yadda yadda," I said, and flipped the pages quickly. Well, the register clerk heard me and said, "Mam, there is much more here than just 2,000 years ago." I said, "I'm sorry. I just swam to France." He was probably thinking, "Swam to France, yadda yadda yadda." Whoops.

My crew practically coaxed me up hundreds of steps and steep hills like I was suddenly displaced in the Detroit Marathon. "You're doing great, keep going," they insisted. I kept thinking, "I swam to France two days ago and now you want me to walk 500 acres." Surprisingly, I was the first one awake on Sunday and Monday, sometime between 5 and 6 in the morning. I snuck downstairs quietly to write before my crew woke up.

I will always remember THAT DAY (8.20.11), the day I said, "I did it. I swam the English Channel." Thank you to my wonderful husband and best friend, Noah Birmelin, for your continued love and support and ensuring I was safe. This experience is richer having shared it with you. Thank you to my parents, Jan and Gary Domino and sister Jill Domino, for your constant cheer and encouragment (and mom's awesome swim towels, blankets, swim quilts). Thank you Aunt Lynn Frikker, for my first swim suit, motivation (Mark too!) and keeping me on course. Cheryl and Karen, you were instrumental to my success from training swims to answering my phone calls and never leaving my side in the dark Channel. Katy Michalski, thank you for your friendship, swim companionship and brilliant effort and success with Channel PR. Friends who joined me on my long winter pool swims at Lifetime and the Y, walked around Trout Lake keeping an eye on me, or crewed the 25k and training swims, thank you!

Final thoughts: On Living

1. Surround Yourself...with people who want you to succeed. They don't have to share common goals but be a support system for you during your PURSUIT. You are strong and capable. This was my mantra during the swim. 2. Always be IN PURSUIT. Life is more interesting when you set goals. This could be an A or B on a test, saving up for something, or walking your first mile or 5k. Harness your energy so it works for you, not against you. Make a plan and see #1. The PURSUIT is a process, a journey, the effort--of achieving the goal.

3. Plan to Succeed. Train your mind and body to finish. Simulate your final pursuit and visualize how you feel and what you see at the end. Organize practice events, practice tests, etc. The more you do, the more you discover you can do, and the more you want to do. Get to know what it feels like when everything "clicks" and nothing in the world could make you want to quit. Swim until you can remove the element of time. One hour will start to feel like 10 minutes. As Cosby said, "Want it more than you are afraid of it." If you keep going, whatever your speed, the finish will get closer.

4. Be Thankful. Thank others (see #1) often for their assistance in your PURSUIT. Let others know what they mean to you. Your crew or support team is the key to holding your course when the going gets tough.

5. Inspire Others. A few simple words of encouragement on a tough day go a long way. Make a phone call, write a letter, send a photo or message, or best yet, go for a face-to-face visit. Your actions and words carry a lot of weight. Throw it around. Putting out that extra effort brings good things to all aspects of your life, and your support team.

If you're wondering when I got back in the water, it was Wednesday. I did an easy 25 min (1 lap) swim to the pier and back. My mechanics in my left shoulder were not in best form, so I stopped. Finally got that sports massage on Wednesday at noon. Many people have asked, "What's next now that you've swum the Channel?" For right now, my answer besides wanting to throw out a first pitch at a Detroit Tiger's game, is "Must a successful feat be sequeled?"

We had a beautiful morning swim, after Karen, Cheryl and Noah went for their runs. I swam two laps with Noah first and then two laps with Karen, just shy of two hours. The skies were blue and the air temperature was 17 degrees Celsius, or 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The water was 63 degrees F. We just got a call from pilot Andy, who said he took the first swimmer, Bill Bradley from San Francisco early this morning. He said there is a 90% chance that I will be swimming early tomorrow morning. Andy told us to give him a call at 7:30 p.m. tonight (our time) to talk more. This is now a resting and eating day. The crew is heading to the grocery store, Sainsbury's (it's not a Piggly Wiggly, but they do have orange shopping bags) for supplies. High tide for tomorrow is at 3:22 a.m. (5.97m), and low tide is 10:33 a.m. (1.62m). The next high tide is at 3:24 p.m. (6.08m) and low at 10:55 p.m. (1.69m). Sunrise at 5:53 a.m. (England time). Sunset tomorrow is 8:02 p.m.  Game time!

Use the link below to track my swim LIVE tomorrow. When you wake up tomorrow, I hope to be halfway done.
http://www.spotadventures.com/user/profile?user_id=75248

The crew has been very busy unpacking groceries, slicing canned peaches (heavy syrup), building and bagging sandwiches, alerting friends and family, packing our medical and clothing bags, fixing salmon and a fish native to Scotland for dinner. We ate rice, veggies, pasta, and fish for dinner while rockin' out to Van Morrison's Domino.

Karen has never ran four days in-a-row, until today. When we arrived at the angry sea, the winds were already 20 knots and the skies were cloud covered. I tried to convince Noah and Karen that it was a "no swim day," but they disagreed saying, "everyday is a swim day for you." Authors Note *I didn't see them playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to see who was going to swim first today. Luckily, Karen volunteered to swim first. She slowly backed into the water because the waves were crashing on the rocky shoreline. Entering and exiting the water were quite dangerous today. Our route to the pier only took us eight minutes and our trip back took us 28 minutes today, six minutes slower than yesterday. At times it felt like we were swimming in place and yes, the seagulls were still performing fly by's to see if we were edible. We were glad to finally see Noah walking towards shore in his wetsuit and fins. Karen and I climbed out once we had our shoes on. Later when she took off her wetsuit, a pile of pebbles fell out. Once I put on my black fleece Tri-Covery beanie, trainers, and warm clothes, I paced the shore as Noah swam towards the pier. Like us, Noah made great time swimming towards the pier, faster than I could run alongside. He battled the waves on his return swim and said it was a tough fight.

Lynn, Cheryl, Dave and Jeanette arrived around 11:30 a.m. By having a baby with them, they earned a Fast Pass through Customs, similar to Disney World, though not as fun as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Since David didn't feel well, he stayed at the house while we all walked through town. We made a pit-stop at Al's Bakery, for take-away sandwiches and pastries. We walked about 0.75 mi to the Deal Castle, one of the finest Tudor artillery castles in England. Today all of us wore rain gear, as it was drizzling when we left. It is among the earliest and most elaborate of a chain of coastal forts, which also includes Walmer, which we hope to see tomorrow. Built between 1549 and 1542 by order of King Henry VIII, who feared an invasion by European neighbhors. The foreign invasion never materialized, but Deal Castle saw hard fighting during the Second Civil War (1648). We bought the two week English Heritage Pass (49.50 for a couple), which allows entry into dozens of monuments throughout England. I was having asthma issues in the old castle, so I had to excuse myself and sat outside for a bit. We walked around with portable headsets, so it looked like we were all talking on cell phones. For dinner tonight, Lynn and Noah bought chicken, spring rolls, fresh bread, and cornish pasties and we had leftover pasta and veggies from last night too.

This morning, both Karen AND Noah went for runs, in opposite directions. Karen found the paddling pool in Walmer and a little mini-golf. After a little breakfast (oatmeal, yogurt and Karen had a scone and cereal), we walked to Deal beach, an hour earlier than yesterday. The waves were coming out of the Northeast and were crashing against the iron groynes. Everyone go to Google and see what we're describing. Go on...
Karen and Noah played "Rock Paper Scissors" to see who would be the first lucky companion swimmer. And I mean lucky. Noah won and said, "Damn." Does that tell you the size waves that we saw this morning? The winds were up to 19 knots, so we got hammered from the beginning of the morning. Instead of having an easy swim back from the pier, it was opposite today. On our route to the pier, I thought I was China's Sun Yang, who won the 1500m freestyle at the World Championship this year and broke Grant Hackett's longtime record. It took us less than eight minutes to reach the pier. The water temperatue was 63 degrees today. When we turned around to head back, we knew we were in for a fight. Heading into the waves, we judged our progress by the various colored houses on shore. At one point I said, "We've been in front of that pink house for two minutes." It was like being in an endless pool, or the Triwizard Tournament, feeling like we were being pulled backwards by sea creatures. The route back to where our swim gear was stationed took us almost 24 minutes!
Noah and Karen switched positions for the second lap.  I had my Garmin 310xt gps watch in my cap. Karen's watch told her that our average speed was 1.7 mph, for the second lap. Ouch. And they were both wearing fins and wetsuits. We never stopped to talk because one stroke of breaststroke caused you to get pushed back six or seven strokes. It wasn't worth it. The seagulls did not leave us alone again today. They went after my beach shoes when I tossed them back to Karen on shore. Again I had to yell "we're not food."

While drying off, I removed my cap without thinking twice, standing on the rocky beach. I didn't realize my Garmin watch had fallen out of my silicon swim cap and the crystal face was shattered. Ouch. Not a happy morning.
We took showers and walked into town towards the Wednesday Market. Karen bought a few prints from a local chap, who had lived in Indiana, Florida and Connecticut. We found that great pastry shop, called Joe's and Karen got her fix. Sad to lose our parking spot in front of our house, we ventured to Sandwich for lunch. Sandwich is a historic town, about seven miles to the north. Quaint like Deal with narrow streets, I thought we were in Hogsmeade. We even saw an "H" in the brick and a pig doorknocker--possibly Harry's safe house. Karen went into St. Peter's Church and bought a book for 50 pence from 1886. It is a play that we intend to act out on a rainy day. We went into a resale shop and a nice boutique and had omelettes (Noah had steak pie) at a small restaurant called Haven.

Next we drove north to Ramsgate. Noah only hit three curbs on that route. We passed a huge Pfizer plant with Sports Facility and heard they were shutting it down. They are hoping to bring in a multitude of technology companies to the gigantic site. Ramsgate is on the water and is curvy and hilly like San Francisco. With narrow streets, you don't see too many cars coming into the shopping district. It was mostly closed for foot traffic. We saw signs for "dog fouling"--a 117 pound fine and three-points for an infraction. We parked in a structure, the first we've seen. A sporting goods store was our first stop, where we picked up some London 2012 souvenirs and Noah found a sweater. All of the stores close around 5 p.m. Most open at 9:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. Some are closed on Wednesday's and others we found are only open on MWF from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Ouch. Somewhere on the way home, we stopped to see the gigantic Viking ship. It was a replica commemorating the 1500th anniversary of the landing of the first Saxon King of Kent.

For dinner we fixed chicken and rigatoni, broccoli & cauliflower, bread, and various crudites. By lunchtime tomorrow, the rest of our crew will have arrived. We will welcome Lynn, Cheryl, Dave, and lil Jeanette.
Oh, and if you are still reading, my pilot said he will take swimmer #1 on Saturday (weather permitting), and will escort me across the English Channel on either Sunday or Tuesday.

Karen was the first one awake and she set out on a new running path. She found the golf course and ran on the rocky road (not the ice cream). When she came back, my bathing suit was on. I decided to wear my USA suit, just in case they couldn't figure out where the three of us were from. Noah and Karen have been wearing their USA silicon swim caps that we all got a few years ago at the Howell Aquathlon. We may all wear those caps for the Channel Swim.
Around 10:15 a.m. we walked the two blocks to Deal Beach and set up a beach chair for the Karen, to spot first. Noah and I swam first today. I'm thankful to have their aquatic companionship, especially when we bump into seaweed or other creatures. The water is so murky that you can't see your hand in front of your face. They say there is a seal populatin here and offer boat tours but we haven't seen any yet. It was much wavier today than yesterday. As our pilot Andy said yesterday, the Dover Harbor was like a swimming pool and swimming in the openwater in Deal is much closer to what we'll experience on the Channel swim. There are no seawalls in Deal, just a pier.

So today, I did two laps with Noah and then two laps with Karen. We started at one of the rocky beaches, and sprinted to the pier, into the waves. The wind was coming from the south as we were swimming towards Dover. All of us had to work very hard to get a breath. Karen said she was very glad she was wearing fins. Noah said he needed fins because I took off. I needed to keep moving quickly in the 62-degree water. The air temperature was probably around 60 degrees this morning. On the way to the pier on the first lap, there were seagulls that were trying to get a closer look at what we were. I had to duck beneath the surface several times when they came swooping from various directions, towards my head. I yelled, "They're dive bombing us!" while Noah was trying to grab them. We were under attack! When we reached the pier, we saw a lot of people watching us. There was a loose dog on the rocky shore, who ran alongside us for quite some time. This second swim didn't seem as salty as yesterday. However, for about three hours after today's swim, my tongue didn't feel normal. Prolonged swimming in salt water makes your tongue swell. Yesterday, pilot Andy joked with Noah that after my swim, he should have at least 2-3 days of me not nagging him. He's a funny guy, that Andy! We finished the morning with 3.5 miles and walked back to our house to shower. The water level must have risen 10 feet while we were there. After a turkey sandwich, grapes, and chips, we walked around the shops in Deal. Karen said her highlight was the Pastry Shop. She chose a pineapple creme puff pastry and enjoyed every bite. Noah and I picked a grasshopper brownie and a white chocolate brownie to have after dinner tonight.  We're about to cook a fish dinner with rice, green beans, baby potatoes, and cucumber/tomato salad. Plan to train in Deal again tomorrow and explore the town of Sandwich and two local castles (Walmer and Deal). 
 

Day 2-- Karen went for an early morning run past the Seascout station, the lifeboat station and saw a lot of dog walkers in Deal. We packed our swim gear and drove to Dover. We were one of the first cars on the street at 9:30 a.m. A policeman was walking by so Noah made sure we were displaying our parking sticker correctly in the car window. This being our first swim, we didn't really know which side to start at, so we camped out in the middle. There were two male swimmers out in the water training and later we saw another girl in a blue swim cap and said hello when passing. The water temp was 62 degrees. We saw a washed up dogfish, which we thought was a baby shark. Pilot Andy King later said that he catches a lot of them when fishing. In her wetsuit, Karen entered the water with me and it took a minute to get used to the temperature. I started with a few strokes of head-up breaststroke before I made the salty face plunge. The first half hour I felt like I had fallen into a salt shaker. We swam from one sea wall back towards the other. When we started, the tide was low and can be seen on the poles in the water. Just an hour later, Noah was scrambling on the beach to move our stuff up 30 feet. After an hour and a few swigs of apple juice/Maxim feeds, Karen and Noah switched. Karen, while sitting on the beach, also had to move our stuff up a few more feet as the tide rose. She met an Australian and his girlfriend who stopped to ask if we were swimming the Channel. Noah swam the last 45 min. with me and then we grabbed our warm towels. With nowhere to shower or change, we changed out of our suits in the car and then walked around by the water.

At 1 p.m, we met Andy King, captain of the "Louise Jane," by the clocktower. We climbed aboard the boat and looked around. He showed us the gps monitors and a camera, which would be aimed at me when I was swimming. He has a stuffed Shrek doll on top of the cabin on a pole. In the small cabin, there is a little bench, several monitors, and a small stove. Our crew will be sitting on the large white benches on the boat, which will be storage containers for our swim stuff. They are actually lockers for fish, when he's not accompanying channel swimmers. We examined a map and several courses by other channel swimmers. We could see which boats were out and where they were located in the Channel. After our hour meeting, we walked around Dover for a bit before heading towards Folkstone. We stopped at the Hilltop Cafe for a warm drink and great view.  We only hit a couple of curbs and then got stuck in a large traffic jam during rush-hour on our way back to Dover. The traffic was the same as going north on I-75 in Michigan on the FourWhen we got back in town we had fish & chips in Deal and came back to the house.

We arrived around 7:13 a.m. today and it's been quite the experience so far! I don't know how we didn't lose the mirror on the left side of the car, as Noah is driving on the right. He is doing exceptionally well driving a stick shift with his left hand, in our silver Volkswagon Jetta hatchback. The streets are extremely narrow and dotted with signs saying "Give Way" rather than "yield."  A safe turn is a left hand turn, while a right turn is just plain frightening. We tapped mirrors with someone today already. Drivers of parked cars turn their mirror inwards for safe keeping.  

Our flight was terrific. Departing at 7 p.m. Saturday night, we were offered pretzels/peanuts aroud 7:30pm. At 8pm, dinner was served. We had a choice of bbq chicken (touching green beans and mashed sweet potatoes) or pasta, a salad and roll, 1 piece of cheese with a cracker and a tiny brownie.  After dinner, flight attendants served coffee/tea. After dinner, I unzipped my Speedo backpack that was jammed under the seat in front of me and pulled out my full size pillow, sporting the "Eat, Sleep, Swim" pillow and tried to fall asleep. About 3 hrs after dinner, just as we began to get some decent sleep, flight attendants came around with breakfast. Blueberry muffin, Biscoff cookie, tiny oj (grade school size) and if you are lucky, a refreshing wet-nap to cleanse your face and hands. BTW, there was a great selection of movies on your private screens. Karen and I really enjoyed watching the movie "Win Win," a family movie about a middle aged wrestling coach, a critics choice winner. They have at least 20 movies to pick from, tv shows plus music and HBO.  Just as we were sleeping again, the PA came on and flight attendants started selling duty free items. A+ on the landing.

The airport was a rat race. It took at least 1 hour to clear British Customs--and it was very warm in line (bring water). Our Customs official was cool when he asked why we were here. He said "good luck." The lines were similar in length to the Buzz Lightyear attraction at Disney World. Leaving car rental, our directions weren't the best and we didn't have a map or gps. We ended up in a town called Eastry, where Karen and I went into the post office (also a party store and newspaper shop) and met a new friend. When he found out I was there to swim the Channel, he said his buddy was a longtime Channel Swimming Association (CSA) observer named Keith Jeffries before going overseas last year. The store worker said, "one minute" and disappeared into a tiny back room. He produced a little gift bag, carrying an engraved mini silver plate, given to him as a gift from his friend Keith. The plate was given to Keith for one of his swims he had officiated and the store employee was very proud. He also had the brochure for the November CSA Dinner and Awards party. He wished us luck and we bought a map.  

Deal was just 15 min away. Deal is quaint. Cute shops, closed on Sunday's mostly, the water was beautiful. We saw some recreation swimmers doing the backstroke. The beaches are all rocky and Karen already has quite the collection. Our house in Deal is quite charming on the outside. Houses are stacked on top of the road, like where the Weasley's live in Harry Potter. We have a teal door and shutters.  We spent 1.5 hrs at the grocery store (you must pay to park there Monday through Saturday) and stocked the fridge. The kitchen is very narrow, as is the kitchen table. The kitchen table is like an outdoor wood patio set, with bench seating. We have two bedrooms and a bath on the second floor and a bedroom and bath on the third floor. We bought meat, fish, chicken, pasta, veggies, fruit, peaches, snacks, granola bars, bread, lunch meat, juice, pop and water. If we take our street, and walk 2 block easts, we hit the North Sea/Straits of Dover. There is a pier, not Santa Cruz length, but nonetheless, very busy. We saw groups grilling chicken and corn on-the-cob on mini grills on the rocky beach. Some set up tents and chairs. We cooked hamburgers, green beans, salad, bread for dinner. We plan to head to Dover in the morning to check out the swimming.

Tomorrow morning we'll be waking up in London, and hitting the road for Dover, England. Yesterday, I had a fun swim with the Dearborn crew at Levagood's long course pool. We celebrated Jeff's birthday with an abundance of 50s (Jeff, I won't tell how many), and then shared an enjoyable send-off breakfast. Thank you Jim, Mike, Bob, Joe, Jeff, Michael, Tim, Barb, Maddie and Tracy. Our bags are finally packed. The vacuum space saver bags worked wonders for traveling with swim parkas, towels, winter gear, and fleece blankets. It's summer vacation and I'm traveling with hand warmers, mittens, wool socks, winter swim parka, and a fleece beanie. I didn't pack this warm when we went to Alaska. I know when I finish training in the harbor each day, or step back onto the boat, I'll need to quickly get warm. Wednesday nights send-off bash was terrific. Thank you, friends, for sharing the evening with us and for your words of encouragement.