Santa Barbara Channel (Anacapa > Mainland), 20km, 30th June 2026

Bookending our holiday in California was a considerable physical and mental challenge of the Santa Barbara channel to complete the California Triple Crown. (I had already completed the other 2 legs of the made up list with the Catalina Channel in 2015 (blog here) and Lake Tahoe in 2018 (blog here).

This was also a great chance to catch-up and reunite with another of my best buddies based in the US, Dan Simonelli, who drove up all the way from San Diego to sit on his uncomfortable kayak for the day plus a chance to resolve a swim that had been on the cards since 2020 then Covid hit.

Pic below taken from the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association website (here). Observe Anacapa is the small island group to the east of the Channel Islands National Park.

Another sleep-deprived 2am alarm (but nothing great is easy!), a drive from our AirBnB in lovely Santa Barbara for a 3am meet at Oxnard dock, 4am boat departure for the 1 hour trip out to Anacapa island. Not great for the nerves but great to finally meet Dawn Brooks who had initially booked in my swim in 2020 just before the pandemic hit and all bets were off (for a while) and popped in to say hello to Dan. 

We all boarded New Hustler (here) which is a substantial 60 foot boat insured to take up to 25 passengers which often spends weekends out sports fishing so I told the girls that they were in for a proper treat of a sightseeing tour and bunks on hand if they got tired (as Dan handled all the feeds from the kayak). All the English Channel pilots would die for this boat!

Great pic from Dan as we arrived at the island. Never thought in my life I would be lucky enough to turn up at Anacapa with both girls in tow - that's how marathon swimming has enriched our lives as brought us to parts of the earth we would never have gone to otherwise. The word 'proud' doesn't do it justice as this year Sophia (right of pic) moved out to be financially independent and Issy also matched her sister and got a 1st for her degree (result while we were out there!).

Pic of Dan looking a lot happier about the task at hand than I was before our jump at 05:30. In the end he had it way tougher than me having to endure over 8 hours on a sit-on kayak....he fed me, he navigated, paddled and generally kept the show on the road!

We arrived at the island around 05:00 while it was still dark but slowly dawn was breaking amid murk and sea fog over the island. The scene was eerily intimidating as the boat rocked and I held onto a rail as Issy took considerable care to apply sun cream, zinc and anti-chafe measures for underarms (mixture of butt paste from CVS and vaseline worked a treat!) that were still sore from RTAI just one week prior. 

I was ready by around 05:30 and a deckhand informed me it was time to lower myself into the water via the ladder (Dan was already in with his kayak) and then to swim around the ship's bow to the cliff edge and touch land to start. 

As I lowered myself into the water I noticed a couple of seals playing in the kelp just 10m off the port side and generally felt quite vulnerable in my budgie smugglers as my senses took in the bewildering scenery. 

Swimming through 50m of kelp I slowly got to Dan where he could witness me start where he took this pic. Hard to see the fact that the swell was probably 2 meters and I was urged just to touch the cliff and not kick otherwise I might cut my legs on the muscles etc which were everywhere.

Thumbs up and a yelp from Dan and we were off! After the first 50 meters of kelp I found my usual 50 stroke per min rhythm at the start of these endeavours and we headed out into the morning gloom of the vast pacific. Below the water was reasonably clear but there was a distinct blackness far below as I reminded myself that any real predators generally opt to feed at dawn and dusk!

The currents around the island can be quite strong but we seemed to be making nice progress then on 45 mins I took in my first (low GI) feed mixture of Cyclic Dextrin, fructose sugar, electrolytes and orange squash (thanks to Ray Smith on my Swimtrek LDT week for introducing me to Cyclic Dextrin which involves fewer peaks and troughs than maltodextrin). For the rest of the swim this would be the same regime complimented by the odd salty potato and then the last few feeds just flat coke.

I was predominantly breathing to the left but I threw in the odd right-sided breath to take in the sight of the famous arch marking the far east side of the Anacapa island group. It was absolutely magical:

Getting to the first feed in the slowly-emerging light felt like it took an eternity but then at 90 mins we arrived at feed 2. I had taken on some salty water in my mouth in the chop and felt quite sick reminding myself why I mainly do fresh water swims these days. I dispatched of the feed, threw away half of the potato ready to swim. I looked down and immediately saw a large 6-7 foot SHARK 10m below me heading perpendicular to us. I yelled to Dan that there was a shark below me....he asked 'how big is it'....err '6 feet maybe bigger' I replied....'oh that's probably a blue shark' he said nonchalantly as he then just looked ahead ignoring my concern as if I had asked him something totally mundane....with a whisk of its tail the shark majestically swam away to the west of us and I was relieved that I hadn't freaked out not knowing I would react faced with such a situation.

Pic below is an example of a blue shark not THE blue shark. I can guarantee you if you see one 10m below you in the wild they are easy to confuse with a Great White!

Anyway, we swam on from feed to feed. The crew enjoyed the sight-seeing tour of 5 pods of dolphins or 'dolphins everywhere' as Issy said, a humpback whale and another fin in the water that turned into a sunfish (I didn't see any of them). Glad we brought the binoculars from home. Sophia grew up reading books about sharks so this was heaven for her!

After a number of feeds, I realised I must have been over 4 hours in and still know major sign of the Gina oil rig which marked 6km to go. In this area there were two clear lines of a bounty of small fish glittering in the sunlight which clearly marked where the deep channel was soon to become more shallow and these herring probably destined for a humpback's stomach. There were millions of them!

Eventually after ca. 5 hours we crawled alongside Gina as my swim was clearly impacted by a stiff ocean current headed against us. 

As we went passed the oil rig I finally got a sense we were making progress as there was a buoy nearby that we flew past which gave me some reassurance. 

I began to feel tired, continued to feel sick (given saltier water than a brackish San Francisco Bay the week before) and could barely even make out the mainland but was told there was 6km to go. In my head I told myself there was probably more like 10km so got my head down and grafted playing mind games and counting to 100 over and over. I even amused myself by looking at my lucky duck who had been with me since the beginning on most swims and thinking about what we had experienced together. A silly but welcome distraction to help me ignore the task at hand, my sick feeling and my sore shoulders.

Eventually we fed and I looked up, saw a sandy beach at Oxnard and Sophia shouted out 'you are doing so well you are nearly there'. I probably had 1-2 miles to go. Dan pointed out a few orange roofed houses and gradually I saw the rolling surf (and a surfer) I would have to navigate to get to the finishing beach. 

The chunky waves grabbed me and hurled me to the finish...one even started to remove my goggles which I salvaged just in time. I then got to the shallows, fell over twice as didn't want to be pulled backwards and slowly released myself from the shackles of the ocean with arms aloft and receiving the applause of 3 lifeguards who asked where I had swum from! 'Anacapa island' I said with a giggle......with one lifeguard noting 'you should be rightly so proud of yourself'. I was. I then said my goodbye, navigated my way back out over and under the surf and back to the awaiting boat for some applause and a chance to get warm. 

Thanks for Kathy Harrington for this picture. It was taken on another day but from the finishing beach clearly showing the Gina oil rig and Anacapa in the far distance. A 20km self-inflicted wildlife rich mullering!

I informed observer John that I declared the Santa Barbara Channel season now 'officially open' as that was the first solo of the year and we all laughed. Kate, the trainee observer, asked if I wanted to know my time which I was ready to ignore but informed I had done ca. 8 hours 11 mins. Not great but massive ocean countercurrent all the way to the oil rig and one week post RTAI so probs didn't start the swim as fresh as I could have. I didn't care. The California triple crown was complete and I could lay claim to being the 3rd Brit (after Kevin Murphy and Melanie Tyrell) to complete this made-up list. 

A very short 5 min boat ride back to the dock at Oxnard and we were free to head to our AirBnB at Santa Barbara, have a nap and enjoy our last fully day of holidays!

Round-Trip Angel Island (RTAI) - A British First - 22nd June 2026

I was headed to California (with my/our 2 girls) to finish off the California Triple Crown (see Anacapa blog) which was only completed by 2 Brits (and under  60 people) before me (see full list here). I had the urge to bookend the holiday with a swim near the start of the trip and noticed that acc. to the MSF database that no Brits had completed a Round-Trip of Angel Island (known as RTAI). Nothing gets me out of bed and training more than a British First attempt! I therefore connected with Erika Gliebe (the Queen of Angel Island with 8x RTAIs to her name) via Dan Simonelli and my old buddy Tom Linthcum (aka Reptile) who is an experienced pilot for the route (and guided me on Lake Tahoe so brilliantly in 2018) plus we had connected in 2022 as he kayaked for me at End Wet so this would be our 3rd rodeo together!

The task at hand....according to the MSF website (here), this swim starts and finishes at the same beach at Aquatic Park (AP) near Fisherman's Wharf in the popular touristy part of San Francisco...it's 'only' ca. 10 miles or 16.1 km but swimmers generally have to face the challenge at night, there's often wind (at least to- and from the island), tides to contend with plus there's marine traffic (at least 2 shipping lanes) and it's open water so wildlife considerations always prey on your mind. All that probably contributes to this swim being part of the Toughest Thirteen swims around the earth as declared by Evan Morrison who first presented the challenge. Before jumping in the water I had one of the toughest thirteen to my name as had done the Fermarn Belt (Germany > Denmark) the summer before (see separate blog). 

Map below from MSF site - my swim would be clockwise heading for Point Stuart first:

I had both girls, 24 year old Sophia and 21 year old Issy, along for the holiday as apart from 2 swims bookending the break we wanted to take in the magic of Big Sur and what Highway One had to offer. We were all coincidentally at a 'transition' point in our lives. I had been put at risk after 10 years at a bank in the city and considering life as semi-retired after 27 years in the city and 30 years working. Sophia was between jobs and Issy had just finished University (got her grades on the trip and ended up with a 1st class honours degree like her sister!).

We met Reptile and Erika at 23:20 on Sunday 21st with a view to 'jump' at AP at 00:20 in the early hours of Monday 22nd to time the tide (last hour of the outgoing ebb) plus the wind generally abates from the breezes typically found during the day. 

Pic taken during the day you can clearly see Alcatraz in the foreground and Angel Island behind from Aquatic Park opening....(the actual start for my swim was on the same beach but 20m west of the Dolphin Club).

Here's the view of the bay to Aquatic Park from the top of Mount Livermore which we climbed on the Saturday afternoon (get the ferry from Ferry Building - great thing to do before the swim to get your bearings): 

Anyway the boat ride from the dock at South Beach Harbor to AP was chilly (San Fran in the summer!) and I had totally under-clubbed how cold I would feel prior to jumping off the stern of Reptile's boat 'Ghostrider' just to make the few meters to shore to start the swim. I was also conscious that observer Erika had 8 of these RTAIs to her name so absolutely no pressure! After jumping in I immediately felt warmer (the water was around 60c or 15c) and counted my blessings I wasn't spending the next few hours on the boat. (Erika gave me her reassuring experience that AP was the coldest bit and the section behind the island so I had that at least to look forward to as I was worried that the bay would be colder).

I had split the swim into 6 sections to coincide with 45m feeding intervals. (I had also got the benefit of a day on Angel Island 2 days before getting my bearings and getting a general sense of the whole swim and how the water moved (alarmingly fast down raccoon strait!))

Section 1 AP to Alcatraz

Section 2 Alcatraz to Point Stuart

Section 3 Point Stuart to Point Campbell (ca. 1/2 way)

Section 4 Point Campbell to Point Blunt

Section 5 Point Blunt to Alcatraz

Section 6 Alcatraz to AP

Anyway, I cleared the water, ensured the green LEDs on my goggles and trunks were working, gave a wave to note I was starting then slid carefully into the water at AP determined just to get to the first feed trying to block all the nerves out of my mind. The wind was still blowing at a reasonably awkward stiff 14mph from the west (so it would be turbulent wind over tide all the way out) and Tom insisted on my being to the left of the boat breathing to my right (which is NOT my preferred option for these swims) as he was conscious that otherwise the boat would be constantly being pushed into me. 

Although I was wearing clear goggles I was struggling to see the boat clearly thru the strange foreign chop but hoped that would settle down. The sea state was very lumpy and confused and again was thankful the girls had taken some Kwells sea sickness tablets to keep any green feelings at bay. 

After 45 mins we reached just north of Alcatraz and I received my first feed (Highly branched cyclic dextrin made by bulk, complimented with a bit of fructose powder, electrolytes in warm orange squash).

I took a 2 litre thermos so all the girls had to do was to mix hot water (not easy on a small boat that is rocking) with the 2x concentrated pre-mixed solution then offer me the odd salty new potato if conditions allowed (they didn't to- and from the island)

The shot is blury but you can make Alcatraz in the background: 

This first feed was the first interaction I had had with a human being for 45 mins and the message from Sophia was clear 'you need to stay with the boat!!'....I replied that I was struggling to see them....This fired me up and I really got stuck into the waves, wind and chop and to my surprise when we fed at 90mins just south of Point Stuart - I was thrilled in my mind to get here so quickly as that meant a calmer jaunt down Raccoon Strait where I could get my rhythm back and even take on board a salty potato (or 2!) which was impossible to administer in the first 2 feeds given the swell etc. 

I knew we had cracked the outgoing leg as Reptile put me to the right of the boat, we rounded Point Stuart and coasted down Raccoon Strait and fed on the north side of the island where the ferry docks at Ayala Cove and I couldn't believe in my head we were almost 1/2 way in just 2 hours 15 mins...there just had to be a catch and I wasn't going to declare victory yet!

Taking on board a feed and well-earned salty new potato win the relative calmness of Raccoon Strait near Ayala Cove (I did wonder what on earth could be lurking beneath me!):

Anyway we effortlessly rounded Point Campbell and the stretch to Quarry Point on the east of the island and onto Point Blunt which was all heavily sheltered and I promised myself to save some energy and take on a potato for the exposed section back via Alcatraz to AP. 

As we exited Point Blunt a couple of enormous shipping vessels bore down on us and we of course had to get out of their way (unlike the EC where they seem to be more accommodating of smaller vessels and swimmers!). One of the massive tankers even had an angry face lit up in the bow - I thought I was beginning to lose my mind but Sophia later said it was very scary. Anyway luckily there was a break in the shipping traffic after these 2 ships so we could start to make a dash towards Alcatraz but it was also clear the incoming flooding tide was extremely significant and still flooding the bay. We were getting pushed eastwards by it which was running at 3.0 km/h (my normal swim speed). In the lee of Alcatraz, Reptile suggested I swim towards that island but after a period of time it was totally clear I wasn't moving at all but just swimming on the spot - I informed the crew I wasn't getting anywhere and they all just laughed.

I then reached out to kick and noticed that something resembling a football was hitting my feet (it must have been a seals head I thought) and gave it more of a kick and it went away. The thought came into my head of the seal taken by a shark near this spot off Alcatraz a few years prior which I had seen on YouTube (here) but told myself to get a grip knowing that shark's prefer to feed at dawn or dusk and I might be in the final hour.

We then tried to head for the Palace of Fine Arts way up to the west of AP but in some respects we had become victims of doing the first half too fast as now were waiting for the tide to abate. 

Pic of me 'crabbing' back up to AP - it shows how west I had been dragged with Alcatraz in foreground and Angel Island behind it:

The  next thing I knew Reptile said we were headed for the Ghiradelli sign (above AP) but we still didn't make the entrance to AP but instead got dumped at Pier 39 which meant hugging the dock walls to crab our way back up to AP. Slow progress was made but eventually it was clear we would make it.

Heading towards the Golden Gate bridge (crabbing up the coast to the wall opening of AP in the distance) - iconic!

Note the track below impacted by tide and crabbing up the bay from Pier 39:

Eventually we hit the opening to Aquatic Park (where the boat left me to swim in on my own as there were other swimmers in the venue at 06:00). I really knew then I had cracked this swim and the first British swim of this course which felt truly amazing. Given I mainly train in fresh water this salt/brackish water felt a good 25% easier. I looked at the boat crew and genuinely thought they had had a tougher night.

Cathy Harrington was awaiting my arrival on the beach to the right of the Dolphin Club and she said to be it was 06:11 in the morning which meant I had cracked this swim in 5 hours 42 which is a time I would have bitten your hand off for beforehand (given the average is around 6 1/2 hours). 

I then went back in the water and swam to the opening of AP where Ghostrider was waiting to get into some warm clothes. Cheers all-round and it was then that I realised how cold it had been on the boat with Sophia borderline hypothermic herself. 

Never in doubt when you have the A-Team in your corner. From left to right - Tom 'Reptile' Linthicum, Issy Sheridan, Shez, Erika Gliebe (aka The Queen of Angel Island) and Sophia Sheridan. 

We then made it back to the boat dock, ordered ourselves a Waymo (driverless taxi) back to our accommodation, followed by a warm shower, breakfast and a sleep followed by a brilliant sushi which sorted us right out!

Various links you might find useful

My pilot Tom Linthicum (everyone calls him 'Reptile') has his own website and does RTAI's when he isn't at Tahoe in the summer. He's one of my best pals and one of my favourite people to spend time with. He knows this water better than anyone. His website is here

Erika Gliebe is a marathon swim coach (as well as the Queen of Angel Island). She also has a swim blog which you might find useful in taking on this challenge: https://greenswimmergirl.com/blog/

Stay at The Suites at Fisherman's Wharf (here). Our apartment had a kitchen which was great as eating out in San Fran is crazy expensive plus we could then mix drinks etc. It's also just 2 blocks from Aquatic Park (ideal for acclimatisation/recovery swims) and you can walk to the Golden Gate bridge from here if you are feeling adventurous.

Whilst recovering from travel/jet lag head out to Angel Island before the swim (https://angelisland.com/). Hiking Mount Livermore was a highlight of our 5 days in San Fran

Post swim recovery sushi at Tamago Sushi near Pier 39 is a belter: here

If you are going to visit Alcatraz, get tickets from the official site (here) as there's loads of others offering the same thing and taking a cut. I made that mistake and paid $25 more than I should have done for our 3 tickets which was a bit sickening.

After the swim we then headed down to Santa Barbara over 3 days so we could take in whale watching in Monterey Bay, Big Sur and the magic of highway one then closed out the trip swimming the Santa Barbara channel (see Anacapa blog) before the 5 hour drive back to SFO to fly home. 

The 22.5km Beltquerung (Fehmarn Belt swim) from Germany > Denmark - A British First 12th August 2025

Labelled (by Evan Morrison of the Marathon Swimmers Federation) as one of the "Toughest Thirteen" swims on Earth (https://longswims.com/challenges/toughest-thirteen/), we clocked ‘only’ 22.5km when all was said and done (in ca. 8 hours 14 mins) - more than the MSF database, which has it as 19km (wide of the mark, as you really go nowhere near the ferry, which takes the shortest distance!).

I had never swum in the Baltic Sea before, but the name itself conjurs up a cold image, which I needn't have been apprehensive about tbh as the water was generally a perfect 18c! The other bonus was given my preference for fresh water over salt water, the Baltic sea offered a unique experience as it is barely salty at all at 1/5th of normal sea salinity (given >200 rivers enter the Baltic and only narrow Danish straits allow water in from the North Sea). See here to understand more: https://marine.copernicus.eu/access-data/ocean-visualisation-tools/baltic-sea-salinity. We even saw swans swimming in the sea (with their cygnets) and the only jellies were Moon Jellyfish, which don't sting.

The Fehmarner Belt or Beltquerung is the stretch of water which separates the beautiful island of Fehmarn in Germany with the island of Lolland in Denmark. There's not much tide, but it's notoriously windy, which accentuates unique local currents (or Strommungen in German) in the straits and around the islands. We had to reserve our slot for a week on Fehmarn which is no struggle as it's a peaceful place (mainly farming, cycling, wind farms, kite surfing) but if you want more action you'd be bored pretty quickly - luckily we got the swim away early in the week so we could just swan around and chill.

The actual swim route marked by the red line below (if starting in Germany) begins at the beach at Altenteil and finishes around the area of Kramnitse in Lolland. This adds about 3.5km compared to the route taken by the Puttgarten > Rodby ferry (which of course any pilot would be forced to avoid). We clocked the swim at 22.5km.

Ca. 40 people successfully completed (including one 2-way), but zero Brits ratified (to my knowledge) before getting into the water. At the start of 2025, I registered my interest with the Beltquerung admin (Jens Glaesser) here: http://www.beltquerung.de/en.html (they are in the process of upgrading the website to new code thankfully!)


Anyway, a 1:30am alarm clock on Tuesday 12th August for a 3am boat & pilot meet before a 2.5 hour boat ride to the start in the northwest part of the Fehmarn (as we swam Germany > Denmark given whatever wind that was forecast was set to be mainly southerly). The pilot's boat 'Rochen' is slower than any boat I've ever been on and quite exposed so if you do this swim in the rain it would be pretty miserable for your crew tbh!

Shock to the system at dawn-o-clock... a decent 250m swim from the boat to shore at Altenteiler beach just to clear the water to start…boat’s horn marked the off in the breaking dawn gloom.

Another moment where my brain said to myself "what on earth are we doing here?!".

But we were in for a proper treat... after a tough first hour with the entire swim ahead, we were gifted a stunning sunrise (pics below) and an eerily calm sea. It was so calm it looked like it was oil... I have never experienced such calm swimming in the open ocean.

The sun's dawn rays were dancing thru the sea in front of me and certainly helped to mitigate the daunting task ahead with a welcome distraction

My hourly feeds passed broken up by the odd super-tanker clunking past in front of us and we zoomed past the Fehmarnboje (pencil buoy) which meant we were almost 1/2 done.

However, weird local currents had moved us further east and Didi got on the rail with stern look and arms folded telling me to up my effort level to break it (and counting my strokes complaining to Amanda that I wasn't hitting >52 per minute which is tricky when you are 6 ft 3!). I insisted to the crew that I was pushing as hard as I could  & gave it everything until the end. (Observe the lucky duck hanging from rope in front of Didi - my lucky mascot on each swim!)

I fed every hour, mainly with cooked new potatoes (very easy to hand to swimmer from boat), alongside heavily diluted squash with maltodextrin. I then switched to flat coke and biscoff cream biscuits for final quarter. These biscoffs were great and ideal for end of swim - we smashed the rest of the packet before we got back to port (along with the remainder of the potatoes and the flat coke)!

Anyway, the finish never came closer but knew the end was in sight with Amanda putting on her cossie then jumping into the water with 1.3km to go….I swam like stink when she got in to leave her behind but she captured the money shot! (Clearing the water on a beach between Kramnitse and Rodby in Denmark)

If you ever want to look like you've done a few rounds with Mike Tyson, then spend 8 hours in the Baltic Sea!

Picked up a beautiful pink granite pebble - a huge mixed feeling of both joy and relief. Back to boat, handshakes with Didi and Kevin then 4 hour slow boat ride back to base in Orth. Long day out for just an 8 hour 14 mins swim!


Special thanks to my firm Berenberg for sponsoring my trunks and hat! Given our company HQ is ca. 2 hours down the road, this was special being the first Brit!

Complete with the Scharz/Rot/Gold-ribboned medal that was presented to me by Did post-swim:

The Crew (with the good ship Rochen in the background): (from left to right) Dieter 'Didi' Lorenzen (pilot), Amanda Bell (crew), Shez, Ursula 'Uschi' Lorenzen (admin), Kevin (local observer). I am fortunate that I studied German at Uni and lived in the country for 4 years so am reasonably proficient. Didi and Ursula don't speak much English and sorting contracts/wiring money/correspondence would have been tougher without that. They are a lovely couple with hearts of solid gold and only wanted me to succeed!

I even made it into various papers in the northern part of Germany and am famous with probs 5 grannies in Luebeck: https://www.bundle.app/en/breaking-news/weitere-beltquerung-brite-schwimmt-durch-die-ostsee-von-fehmarn-nach-danemark-17ED71D2-0FD7-40C7-9B73-83C437FC260F

Proof of completion here: http://www.beltquerung.de/de/Disziplinen/bestenliste.html

As ever, over 50% of this achievement is down to the crew. Amanda did all the driving, cooking, organising (you name it) on the trip so all I needed to do was to turn up and deliver. She's one of the finest crew members anyone could wish for so if you fancy this swim in the summer give her a nudge. Pictured with Amanda championing the Yorkshire flag (and before you ask it is the correct way up!)

Didi's boat 'Rochen' is not the fastest but is pretty stable, easy to feed a swimmer from and has a loo (ideal for female crew). However, a solid 2+ hours to the northern part of the island for a Germany > Denmark swim but easily 4 hours + to make the start-line for a Denmark > Germany swim in the event of predominantly northerly winds...

If you ever plan on doing this swim, I would absolutely insist you stay at the sweet little village of Marienleuchte (on the north east of the island) as that has the best jetty to get into and out of the water (I've exaggerated its welcoming with a filter but you can either dive in off the end of the pier or enter in a civilised manner down the ladder!):

This swim is dedicated to my Father, Richard Sheridan, who died on this very day 2 years prior. He ensured the conditions were propitious and pulled me all the way to the finish line.
(Pictured below with me in Feb 2023 boasting our Blackheath 'Club' blazers after beating Guernsey away en route to the Nat 2 East title. (We didn't miss a game between us that season (home or away)).

26.4km Lake Zurich Solo - Part 4 of the Stillwater 8 - Friday 20th June 2025

So the next leg of the Stillwater Eight beckoned... along with some unfinished business to take care of - the disappointment of an abandoned official race 2 years prior after just one hour (due to a storm force headwind).

On the menu for the day: a 26.4km solo attempt under the watchful eye of swim buddy/legend Martyn Webster and pilot Urs Gonzenbach. Martyn kindly sourced the boat and pilot so all I had to do was swan into town, eat some carbs, then get the show on the road the following morning!

We decided to make the attempt from North to East, which is unusual, but any wind that was forecast on the day was expected to be from behind us, and as a predominantly left-sided breather, I would be able to take in more of the sights.


We got ready and I set off from the steps at Tiefenbrunnen at 07:46 on Friday 20th June and finished at Rapperswil at 17:14. The water at the start was 21c and at the finish 4c higher, so with 30c air temps at peak this swim was all about skin care - I was ‘ghosted out’ with factor 50 creams and used sudocrem zinc in liberal quantities!

In my head I divided this swim up into 4 sections:
1. Start (Tiefenbrunnen Badi) to Kuesnacht (ca 5km) - warm up
2. Kuesnacht to Meilen (7km) - main set 1
3. Meilen to Staefa (7km) - main set 2
4. Staefa to Rapperswil (7km) - home straight/warm down

On the day, the conditions of the first half were unpredictable, with wind and chop not allowing for much rhythm. However, conditions settled down upon hitting Meilen (about half-way), and it felt like I was able to hold water and pace. Meilen to Staefa felt longer than it should have done, but before I knew it we were in the final bay with 7km to go.

I vowed not to look up until the final 1km (as anything can happen) as the finish just tortures you otherwise!

With my mascot the lucky duck looking on as usual, I thumped out the swim in 9 hours 28 mins, which was comfortably inside my goal of 10 hours. I was even more thrilled with the time given my year-to-date training was severely impacted by a nasty chest infection in February and Covid during a week's training at altitude in April (which lingered over 5 weeks). This meant that the longest in-season open water weekend was 2 x 9km on one Saturday and Sunday just 2 weeks prior!

Cracking pic below (credit: Martyn Webster) as we made our way within the 'golden' final km (awaiting a champagne finish at Rapperswil Badi), left of pic underneath the castle with the alps in the distance!

Feeding every 45 mins, I got through about 3 litres of heavily diluted maltodextrin with orange squash, 1.5 litres of flat coke, 4 potatoes, 1.5 bananas and 5 Kagi melted chocolate biscuits (local offering chosen by Martyn as an homage to the region).


Everything went reasonably smoothly, so experience counts for something! My training 


I would like to thank Martyn (right below) and Urs (left below) for looking after me on the day but also to Tony Ross for keeping me company in training and Kirsten White (Body Wellness Pilates) for Pilates sessions in the 6 months leading up to this swim.

Midsummer sunset the following evening from the finish-line at Rapperswil Badi:

#comfortablynumb

(21+km) of a 42+km Vidosternsimmet Viking Solo Swim (Sweden) 9th & 10th August 2024

A race where 14 people entered, all 14 technically DNF’d, 12 completed the overnight one-way of which 3 completed (including yours truly) sans wetsuit. Begs the question, where did all the hardy Vikings go? 

 

(Lake Vidostern is a 5 hour drive south of Stockholm, ca. 2.5 hours south east of Gothenburg and 2 hours north of Malmo)

(Closer inspection)

Fate led me here for my first Scandi adventure to attempt to become the 2nd person in skins to complete (after Henry Stockholm, a (great?) Dane) and to be first Brit teased by the organisers website suggesting ‘this event is probably not for you’ (https://vidosternsimmet.com/42km/)....talk about red rag to a bull! 

The basic blueprint for the 42km swimmers was simple: Enjoy the 'warm up' during the 21km+ overnighter benefitting from the feeds/support of a kayaker then do the return leg (ensuring to make the cut-off times) unsupported save for the check points/feed stations where one has to make the cut-off times. The +plus sign is to denote the fact that a one-way is actually OVER 21km.....I calculated 21,750 meters (minimum) and that's before any navigational errors of which there are plenty in the dark and waves. 

I was under no illusions whatsoever that EVEN in an idyllic flat calm, this was going to be one of the toughest swims I had ever undertaken and I have had some long day (s)/night(s) out….(most other swims of that distance are not races but ones where you go for a few days/week and pick the most propitious day(s)). 

 

Anyway, each of the 42km aspirants were put into groups of 2-3 on the basis of average km times. I guessed 3km per hour on my form and was thus paired with Marcel Poodt from the Netherlands who I had never met before and serendipitously was also swimming in skins but he had never done a stretch longer than 21km and yet was training for the EC in 2025! (We connected and had a quick 10 mins dip on the Friday morning to ascertain speeds - luckily he is a dominant right side breather which would compliment my dominant left therefore, in theory, we could place kayaker ‘Magnus’ in between us and get on our merry way). Turned out Marcel was an ideal co-conspirator for this undertaking. He's a top guy. The first available slot time of 22:00 was given to 3 wetsuit swimmers and at the launch of a firework plus claps and cheers of the 20-odd assembled, they were off. 5 mins later we were next. We lowered ourselves gingerly into the silky smooth ca. 20c water which hadn’t dropped much despite torrential rain which has been hammering at my bedroom window all day!…..I was so glad I got in slowly as almost tripped over an enormous log that was in the water. 

(We were given these fab orange tow floats which lit up and avoided the need for green goggle LED lights. Very neat invention indeed. I am the geezer on the right #204)

The first 5km was very exposed with a breeze blowing SW 15mph gusting 30mph sort of cross wind (from behind left) making it pretty uncomfortable for the kayaker at slow speeds and especially so at our 45 min feed intervals. It was also pretty awkward suddenly swimming right into some random shingle and getting cut up on a 20m stretch of reeds that came out of nowhere but we brushed them off and laughed thru it as the typical nighttime swimming fog of war! 

(Pic from the Sundet area (start line) facing north during daylight (the day prior) and, of course, a flat calm!)

Eventually we rounded a little island and entered into the shelter of the first major island on the left as we edged past Ekens camping (5 kms chalked off I thought!) which I had imprinted on my brain as a key checkpoint. We got into a nice rhythm (in the newly-discovered calm) and started to click off the KMs with each buoy beautifully lit up marking roughly every KM. We hit proper swim nivarna where we thumped out the mileage which was no bother at all given our dedication to training. 

Between the 1st and 2nd island we were all exposed again which threw the kayaker around and disturbed our swim rhythms totally until Magnus intricately led us thru a gap in the trees and past E4:ans camping area which must have had a stream entering as the water suddenly dropped a few degrees for a while. Now we were almost 10km down with the long stretch to Tånnö on the menu mainly in the lee of the big middle island but Marcel now began to tire (his whey protein feeds hadn't properly dissolved and got clogged up in the flask delivery mechanism of all 3 feeds) so he actually ended up doing most of the swim on water complimented by the odd enormous looking cookie and/or banana so I had to wait a few times for him to catch up. The water temp, thankfully, was a total non-issue. Had this been Loch Tay or Loch Ness my sense of humour might have deserted me! 

Eventually after a very exposed section we passed a buoy with 8km to go and the end of the 3rd Tånnö island in sight with then 7.5 km to go before the finish of the one way (oh only 1/2 of an entire 1-way Windermere I thought). I was impressing on Marcel to speed up with his feeds which were taking too long but it was hard for the kayaker not to drift when we were trying to feed. There was one feed where we had to swim 20 meters towards Magnus as he was drifting badly in the wind. Peak mayhem! 

As we passed the bathers beach at Tånnö in the pitch dark we noticed a group of 3 wetsuit swimmers and their kayak that had overtaken us during the night were now actually on the side of the lake. Maybe they were switching out kayakers? Who knows...but so much for charging ahead...the tortoise beats the hare right?….On we went! 

Now we had earned the right to be in the final stretch of the lake - very exposed at force 4 gusting gale force 7 but thankfully coming from our (sort of) left rear behind us rather than head on. Feeding off the kayaker was close to impossible....as soon as we got to Magnus for a drink he would be blown 5m backwards from us. It was properly tough. Each bottle I got handed to me got tossed back as he was immediately blown away.  I realised at this stage that we were gonna have to really pull our fingers out to make the 7am start of the return leg and impressed on Marcel to dig deeper (his belaboured feeding times were also creating some animosity). He responded magnificently with an increase in pace overtaking me forcing me to catch up!!! 

The buoys seemed really spread out now and very hard to sight in the waves (even for the kayaker as Magnus conceded) but we hugged the shore and they came gradually into view. We hugged the eastern bank and could see the reeds whizzing past us. I was really enjoying the feeling of speed and let out a hearty yell to the kayaker telling him how much I was enjoying myself 'I am having such a blast right now' I recounted. Love it when it kicks off and we were having a hoot! Think Magnus was enjoying the challenge (and probs looking forward to finishing so he could go for a pee!)

With 5km to go I realised then with perhaps 2 hours ahead of us it was going to be a tall order to swim our hearts out, make the turn and then self-support into the teeth of a gale force 7 return so it was there and then that I made my mind up that I wasn’t going to bother the safety team and knew the 1-Way would be the finish for me. (This was the correct decision as all those that did make the turn retired). Quite a relief really and meant I could get stuck in and just enjoy the rest of the swim. The formality in the now daylight was totally enjoyable. 

 (Baseline force 4 gusting 7. Thanks for coming. It got even worse on the Sunday!)

Anyway, Magnus hailed ‘just 3 kms to go boys’ in brilliant English! Despite having just passed buoy number 4 (which I of course questioned but he was insistent it was just 3km to go)….we held our pace beautifully (without feeds) and the final stretch came into view….with 300m to go I still couldn’t make out many people on land given the waves, I could barely see out of my right eye (goggle suction) and my right under-arm area was agonisingly raw from chafe (all the Vaseline had worn off). Then we noticed a few other finishers and we had caught up with the group of 3 who went off 5 mins before us and they were walking the final 150m in the shallows to the finish…..I shook Marcel’s hand (with a nod of mutual respect) and the timer stopped at 8 hours 22 mins. 3rd in skins and 6/14 overall in a very high quality field swimming mainly in the windy darkness. (It's worth me mentioning at this juncture that not only did Marcel finish the one-way, he managed to turn with the main event at 7am (unlike me) so he only had 40mins rest and made if as far as E4:ans on his return (over 35km into a massive headwind) before he was pulled due to the cut-off times. Respect mate - you are defo ready to take on the EC.

(Might need to zoom in to see the results)
 

Magnus was so proud of us and (not unlike a few people in recent weeks) declared me ‘officially insane’ as we shook hands. In excesss of 550km of training YTD (on top of a demanding full-time job) plus a 50km an altitude camp at 1800m in Livigno, Italy, a 24 km weekend, 3 lots of 100x100m interval timed sessions, and an 8 mile in 8 hour event had paid off! Never felt tired or empty once. 

(Jack Hawkins in 'The Cruel Sea' impersonation (for older film buffs!))

Our younger daughter, Issy, (now 20 yrs old and my executive chauffeur for the week as only need to be >19 to drive the hire car) scooped me up and we returned to our lovely Airbnb in Tånnö for a well earned rest. (She's off to study in Stockholm Uni now for her year 3 abroad so this week gave her a small taster of what is to come when she returns solo in 2 weeks time.

Further musings/consiuderations 

+The water is divine and makes your skin silky soft afterwards- I have swum in clearer still water (Tahoe or our local lake at St Andrews in Kent) but nothing leaves your skin feeling as conditioned as this. Most of the way it was 19-20c which is perfect for me 

+The area around Värnamo (pronounced var-na-mower (!)) breathtakingly stunning and peaceful. Really opened up my eyes and for someone who prefers non-sea freshwater swimming, nature and basics in life with grilling out, this place is right up my strasse and if came here on hols could go to a different lake every day of the month. 

+The briefings/organisation for this must make the D-Day landings seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision but the organisers led by Christer Ringholm deserve special praise especially in the gale of this year 

+When I finished there were 2 charming young men offering me various types of food and a sit in a warm tent (I politely declined both as just wanted to go home for a shower and kip). The area even had nice loos with hot water and changing areas. Sweden just does these basic things so well. 

+There was loads of parking and plenty of (free) places down the lake to spectate or swim. 

+We found the best restaurant in town to be the Italian (D8) which was good value and had reasonable portions. We stayed at an Airbnb in Tånnö and would defo stay there again. Supermarkets were very similar to U.K. prices. We hired a car (Kia EV6) from Stockholm airport which was maybe £450 for the week including 2 drivers and insurances plus there were loads of charging points along the route. Issy drove over 1200KMs and I’d be surprised if we spent over £100 on our 3 charges when petrol would have been at least 50% higher. Our Airbnb had a cheap (but slow) 2.5KW charger which was fine overnight. 

+Feeds of small new cooked potatoes with loads of salt complimented by 250ml feeds of heavily diluted maltodextrin with orange squash were perfect (similar to Lake Taupo in 2023 - see prior blog). Never got the chance to try the flat coke or snickers bars I had cached for the return leg. Probs worked by way thru the better part of 500g of salty potatoes...lol 

-Earliest set off time was 10pm. We didn’t hang around but would have preferred a 9pm off with 1 out of daylight before darkness blanketed. I got very lucky being paired up with Marcel (and kayaker Magnus). I’d very happily swim with them again any day of the week/year. Not everyone was so lucky. I heard a story (not confirmed personally) that a group of 3 set off and the fastest swimmer hared off with the kayaker leaving the slower 2 to fend for themselves. Not sure if/when they fed. I noticed one of them retired from the one way on the results page. The other tbf fair is a very accomplished swimmer and was the other one that did it in a basic costume but in 7 hours!! Imagine how terrifying that would be tho' for the better part of 21 km in the dark = fecking terrifying!! At the Teams meeting on the Monday of the race we were all told to stay within 10 meters of each other at all times otherwise we would be disqualified.....not sure why this swimmer wasn't disqualified if the story were to be true. 

-We set up for the swim in twilight. The start area was quite chaotic and hard to work out what to put where. No pens to fill out liability forms or feed bags. It came together in the end but some of the snafu could have been avoided with a hands-on greeting. The only time the midges came out (all holiday) was hanging around at the start area. Worth spraying legs with bug spray in this area if wearing shorts.

Finally, the distance between the buoys (mainly for the return leg) and cut off times to make the various feeding stations (3 of the 5 are on land and you'll need to exit the water to feed). Will need to zoom in:

Pay good money to create panda eyes like this!

(Special thanks to 2 swim buddies Kate Forgione (keeping people honest @ winter time swims at Charlton Lido) and Tony Ross (endured many hours of my summer lake sessions at St Andrews Lakes) which meant I didn't thrash around solo all the time. Also Kate recommended some brilliant (Aussie brand) goggles which I swear by now for open water! They even deliver to the UK and don't break the bank. Check them: https://fiski.com.au/product/fiski-flyers-bumblebee/