Youngest ever Channel swim relay team announced.

Twelve successful candidates have been selected to take part in a relay team to become the youngest ever to cross the English Channel.

Using the Torpedo children's wetsuit and blueseventy open water goggles, the team could not be better equipped for the exciting challenge ahead.

Taken from bestswim.co.uk

Many more people have climbed Everest than have swum the English Channel. And although our team will be crossing as a relay they still must overcome two massive challenges: the English Channel is the world’s most revered sea crossing AND the team are all only 12 years old!

The swim will take place sometime between August 17th and August 24th 2010 (depending on weather). The team will consist of 8 children however only 6 will be swimming, the other two will act as reserves.

The swim will begin at 03.00am. The first swimmer will have to set out in pitch darkness (although we will have a light trained on them from the pilot boat and they will be wearing lightsticks). Then after exactly one hour the next swimmer will go in and so on until they arrive in France some 15 hours later. As well as darkness they may well have to overcome jelly fish stings, sea sickness (for some swimming may come as a relief!), salt ingestion, the cold, fatigue, ferries and floating debris of the unsavoury kind. The swim could take anywhere from 8 to 20+ hours depending on the weather, tides and of course the children’s individual performances.

Mike Oram, founder of the CS & PF (Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation), will be piloting our boat. He has been a pilot for nearly 30 years and has guided more than 500 solo or relay swims across the Channel.


Alexander Chantler, from Quenington; James Elmer, from Keynsham; Drummond McMillan, from Portishead; Eleanor Aris from Hawkesbury; Lewis Clarke from Bristol; Danny Pirret from Bristol; Angus Rowley, from Bristol; Lucy Davies from Weston-Super-Mare.

Congratulations to them all!