CHANNEL EAGLE 2009-RAF CHANNEL SWIM TEAM

On 20-21 July 2009 a team of RAF swimmers competed in Channel Eagle 2009. This was a Tri-Service Cross Channel Relay Swimming Race from England to France, raising money for the charity ‘Help for Heroes’ in the process. Two additional guest teams were also competing alongside the RAF, Navy and Army. These were Battle Back and Wales Universities Officer Training Corps (Wales UTOC). Battle Back is a new Tri-Service initiative which aims to improve and formalise the use of AT and Sport in the aftercare of wounded Service personnel in order to aid their rehabilitation and return to an active life.

RAF preparation for the event started back in February 2009, culminating in a 5Km team selection swim at the Inter-Services Open Water Championships, Lake Bala, Wales on 15 June. This was a very good test for all swimmers involved, the course was marked out incorrectly and the overall course distance was 6Km instead of 5Km. Results from Bala were very promising with four RAF swimmers finishing in the top twenty. Swimmers selected for Channel Eagle 2009 were as follows:

FLT LT Teresa WALSH RAF Halton

F/O Nick HARRIS MSS Corsham

F/O Aly PHIPPEN RAF Odiham

C/T Simon WOOLDRIDGE RAF Brize Norton (Team Capt)

SAC Susan RANSBY RAF Valley

SAC Ben KINGSHOTT RAF Brize Norton

SAC Shona COWAN RNAS Culdrose (Reserve)

Rules for a standard Channel relay attempt require a team of six swimmers. For Channel Eagle at least two swimmers were to be females. Each swimmer must complete a one hour leg in the sea and hand over to the next team member prior to exiting the water. Once all six team members have completed their first hour the swim order must remain the same and the first swimmer goes back in again and so on until the finish. No further substitutions of swimmers are allowed until the crossing is completed or aborted. Any change to the starting six swimmers also makes the swim ‘Null and Void’.

In the week preceding Channel Eagle 2009 the squad was given some very bad news. SAC Shona Cowan was still sick and unable to swim and SAC Sue Ransby could not be released from her duties at RAF Valley. This meant the squad was down to five. Due to medical and cold water acclimatisation swimming training requirements it was now too late to find another swimmer to make the numbers back up to six.

After consultation with Mr Mike Oram, the Honorary Secretary of the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation (CS&PF), the decision was made to attempt the crossing with a RAF team of five swimmers under the ‘Special Category Relay’ rule, this would keep the RAF in the race and despite the kind offer of using one of the Wales UTOC reserves, avoid a mixed team of RAF/non-RAF swimmers.

Over the weekend 18-19 July all teams assembled at the Sir John Moore Barracks, Shorncliffe, Folkestone. Pre-race preparation and further sea swims were carried out. The weather forecast for 20-25 July was changeable with wind and sea conditions expected to be out of limits for most of the week. After factoring in tides for the period a possible window of opportunity late on Monday 20 July would be the first chance with a further break in the weather expected on Thursday 23 July. Final preparations were made and the teams waited for the telephone call from the CS&PF to say the swim was on.

At 21.00hrs on Monday 20 July the final decision was made to go with an expected start time of approximately 23.30hrs. This was about 1.5hrs after optimum tide but gave the necessary delay to allow wind and sea states to calm sufficiently to start the race. The delay would also mean starting further down the coast at Samphire Hoe, near Abbot’s Cliff, midway between Dover and Folkestone rather than the standard start point at Shakespeare Cliff next to Dover Harbour. By 22.30hrs all teams were boarded onto their respective boats at Dover.

Team Pilots and boat allocations were:

RAF "Anastasia" Pilot - Eddie Spelling

Royal Navy "Gallivant" Pilot - Mike Oram

Army "Sea Satin" Pilot - Lance Oram

Battle Back "Suva" Pilot - Neil Streeter

Wales UOTC "Roco" Pilot – Alison Streeter

The race started from Samphire Hoe at 23.22hrs, the wind had calmed down but the sea was still very choppy. Water temperature was approximately 17°C. After thirty minutes on board the pilot boat several RAF swimmers were starting to feel queasy and were reluctant to go ‘below decks’ to the galley.

Swimmer order was as follows:

1st swimmer CT Simon WOOLDRIDGE

2nd swimmer Flt Lt Teresa WALSH

3rd swimmer F/O Aly PHIPPEN

4th swimmer F/O Nick HARRIS

5th swimmer SAC Ben KINGSHOTT

Through the night all five swimmers put in good performances, dodging container ships and cross channel ferries. At 04.22hrs when Simon entered the water for the start of his second leg it was just before sunrise, the air temperature was at its lowest and the teams were mid-channel in the shipping lane separation zone. Through the gloom the Navy were in front by about 450m, the RAF and Army boats were level, Wales UOTC were fourth and Battle Back fifth. Teresa had been struggling with sea sickness all through the night after her first swim and was looking forward getting off the boat and back into the sea again! Nick was curled up in a sleeping bag still trying to get warm from his first swim. Aly was keeping an eye on Simon swimming and Ben was getting dry after his first ever Channel sea swim.

By the end of Simon’s second leg when Teresa entered the water the RAF had closed the gap to about 150m behind the Navy. The Army were about 300m behind the RAF in third place. By now Wales UOTC were trailing by about a mile with Battle Back a mile further behind them. At this stage the other teams, who were swimming standard six person teams, started swimming their first swimmers again.

The French coast was clearly in view. Cap Gris Nez was approximately 8 nautical miles away, but the swimmers contending with tides and currents had considerably further to swim. The sea had calmed down considerably and the end was in sight. The air temperature was rising as the sun came out. Teresa, Aly, Nick and Ben all put in another good swim keeping pace with the Navy and Army. By 09.22hrs the coast at Cap Gris Nez was in clear view and about 1 mile away. The Navy were 400m in front of the Army and the RAF were about 100m behind the Army. It was going to be down to the last mile, which team got the best course to land and the final swimmers pace. Simon entered the water for the final leg.

After 31 minutes Simon clambered up the rocks clear of the water at Cap Gris Nez. By now both the Navy and Army teams had disappeared from view the other side of the point. The RAF time for the swim was 10 hrs 31 minutes. After a few tense minutes the Navy and Army boats came into view around the headland. Times were exchanged from boat to boat and the results were as follows:

1st Navy 10 hrs 06 mins 2nd Army 10 hrs 20 mins 3rd RAF 10 hrs 31 mins

Wales UOTC and Battle Back both completed their Channel Relay swims later on, a truly remarkable feat especially for the Battle Back team. Their times were as follows:

4th Wales UOTC 13 hrs 07 mins 5th Battle Back 13 hrs 21 mins

CT S WOOLDRIDGE

RAF Channel Swim Team