This September I will take on the English Channel in aid of Horizons and Cork Mental Health Foundation. I want to raise money and raise awareness of the great work both charities do.
My coach is Eilís Burns, she has trained a lot of channel swimmers, and she has kindly dedicated a lot of time to support me. Eilís is a brilliant coach and person, and she put a training plan together for this challenge.
I swim with Sandycove Swimmers Club and train in District Health & Leisure with Eilis and other swimmers, mostly in the Winter months. For open water, in Spring and Summer time, I either swim in Sandycove, Myrtleville, Loch Hyne or Inniscarra. The Sandycove Swimmers Club is renowned for long-distance swimming around the world. There is a lot of dedication and sacrifice put in like any other sportsperson.
I have always loved the water. As a kid I swam competitively with City of Cork and Sundays Well, later as a Masters swimmer with Cork Masters and Sandycove Swimmers. Cork is probably the best place for open water swimmers, in my opinion. Nearly every beach has swimmers of different levels and ages. I think the best places are Sandycove, Myrtleville or Loch Hyne.
The Challenge
I will swim the English Channel overnight while everyone is asleep. There will be a safety boat, Andy King is the pilot, and there will be an observer, and the crew will also be aboard. We call Andy ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’ and the safety boat ‘The Black Pearl’. It’s an extreme sport so anything can happen. Every swim is different. Conditions, tides, etc. will dictate if the swim goes ahead. If all goes to plan it could take 12-15 hours, although some have gone over 20 hours. The boat will dictate our travel, so I follow the boat. Hopefully we won’t end up in Africa!
You also need to prepare mentally. Everything has been a step-by-step process, with plenty of practice swims, good sleep, diet, feeds, support from everyone, belief in yourself, and the help of God. We just keep swimming until we reach the end, trying not to think of Jaws, Flipper, or anything else. I must follow the boat and swim over whatever lies in front or beneath me. There could be sharks, whales, dolphins and big jellyfish. You learn from every swim in the training, good or bad, it helps perfect the next one.
For energy during the challenge, I have trained all year trying different carbs, gels and hot drinks. There will be breaks at different times during the swim. It is essential that the feeds and timing are right for the swimmer. If someone could please order a Dinos Big Mac meal with chunky chips when I finish, I would greatly appreciate it!
My crew are Olga, Dave and Anthony, all legends of swimming and brilliant people, kindly dedicating their time for me. I would also love to bring Eilís, to me she is an icon of the sport, a great coach, a lovely lady, a great friend and I owe her a lot.
I love the beauty and nature of the sea. The sea is like a person. If you respect the sea, she will respect you. From the moment you hit cold water it changes the metabolism of your body and mind, but to swim and see the beauty and nature at work is unreal, it calms the mind from the pressures of life.
I am lucky to have a lot of support for me and my challenge. Sue, my wife, is brilliant, she supports me and helps me a lot from home. There was enjoyment in training too, especially in swimming with others of different levels during long pool swims. I had support swimmers of different levels in the lane, and we fed off each other’s energy by encouraging each other, giving advice and having a laugh. The staff and lifeguards at District Health and Leisure, James, Kevin and Bruno, were brilliant in encouraging us. For me the greatest achievement was seeing others exceed their limits, realising that they can up their levels, rather than thinking they are only capable of a certain level. I think that they are legends for achieving new goals.
In the past I have done a lot of open water swims such as Lake Zurich 26K, Cork to Myrtleville, Tralee Bay, Inniscarra to Clondoighead, a few 6-hour swims in Lough Hyne, Sandycove and Carlingford. In training I completed some savage distances, the pool and open water almost became like a second home. In the past I have done some swims for charities like the Irish Cancer Society with the Lee Swim and Cork to Cobh for Co-Action. I’ve done other challenges too such as sleeping on Spike Island for Shine a Light for the homeless and I ran marathons for various charities.
It is well documented that exercise is very important for physical and mental wellbeing. There are different pressures in life and it’s important to exercise to ease those pressures, whether it’s walking, going to the gym, swimming or whatever interests you. There needs to be a balance. A lot of people use the open water as meditation to ease the mind, just by getting into cold water. There’s also a great social aspect to all of it and it has taken off since Covid-19. My message from the English Channel swim is I hope that no matter what hardship is in your life, you face it, and you can overcome it. Don’t let anyone or life get you down because it is short, we need to live it the way we want to live it and achieve our hopes and dreams. Exercise is essential to help get out the different emotions that we have. My Mam used to say,’ “It’s important to have a balance in life, a healthy mind is a healthy body”, but the most important thing is to enjoy it all also.
Prayer, music and positive thoughts keep me going while I swim. The crew will be important and the support from everyone at home. When France is on the horizon I will be thinking – keep swimming to the finish, and thanking God for everything, that the crew are safe and to thanking Sue, Eilis, the crew and everyone for their support. I will be recovering physically and mentally after the challenge by catching up on plenty of sleep and taking a break for a while and also watching Liverpool Premier League champions and Munster in rugby.
To finish off I would like to say a quick thank you to my team and to everyone in the office at Horizons, for the kind words, support and advice. You are all Legends and brilliant people. Thanks a million, to those who have donated so far. Even though times are costly please just give what you can, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all most sincerely for everything.
Support Jonathans fundraiser here Support EnglishChannelCharityChallenge on iDonate.ie