In a guest blog post, Laura Suggitt shares her experiences of swimming the Channel to raise vital funds for environment funds including Project Seagrass:
Earlier this month, I swam across the English Channel to France with my team, The Matriarsea.
We completed the crossing in 12 hours and 49 minutes; swimming 35 miles in total as a result of the tough tides. It has long been a dream for me to cross the Channel and reaching France in the sparkling sunshine with the strong women in my team around me was magical. I was swimming in memory of my brother Henry and we raised over £6,000 for three charities: Project Seagrass, Planet Patrol, and Surfers Against Sewage. I am so proud of the team, and it is such a privilege to be their captain.
Yet, behind the sparkling sunshine and smiles, its easy to forget that our journey to get there was far from smooth…
We were originally scheduled to swim in June – but the winds were too high throughout our tide window and it wasn’t safe. We responded by designing our own challenge and swimming double the distance in Dover Harbour; through sewage, high wind and freezing water. It was brilliant and I am still particularly proud of how we turned our initial disappointment into something amazing.
But there was a part of me that didn’t want to give up on the original dream. I knew, if the weather was right, we could do something really special. So, when a cancellation came up for August, I took the chance. But the weather still wasn’t playing ball.
Then, with 24 hours notice, our pilot rang me up and gave me a choice, to try outside of the main tide window and do our best to make the crossing. He warned me the tides were aggressive, and there would be huge swell, but if we swum hard we might be able to make it. It would be our very last chance. We decided to take the risk.
So against all the odds, we left Dover Harbour at 2am on Monday morning. The first 5 hours were gruelling. Seriously nauseating conditions on the boat, and 4ft swell in the water, swimming in the middle of the Channel in the pitch black. I’ll be honest, we were all terrified, but we dug deep.
Then came the really aggressive switch of tide at sunrise. I had to swim the hardest I ever have to salvage our crossing or we’d be pushed into a freight lane. That’s not to mention jellyfish the size of dinner plates, the huge swell, no sleep, the stench of diesel, sewage slicks, and buckets of seawater swallowed.
And it took sweat and tears to even start. A year of planning, rallying after opportunities didn’t materialise, early morning swims around work, sessions that pushed us to our edge, adapting to freezing water, and the mental gymnastics (and maybe insanity) it takes to jump into the Channel at night and swim your guts out. There were many reasons we shouldn’t have made it, but we did. We were extremely lucky to have amazing supporters, and most of all each other, to lift us when things got tough.
This was one hell of a lesson in what it takes to never give up and I hope something in our story resonates. I am so proud of these women, and I’m so proud to be a woman. We really can do anything.
Project Seagrass is most grateful to The Matriarsea team for raising funds to support our work to save the world’s seagrass.
Project Seagrass is extremely grateful to The Suggitt Family for their generous support for the Henry Suggitt Laboratory (named after Laura’s brother). Find out more about the lab here.