Kate's Channel Swim

In her own words

Kate Hartwright, mother of Nico in Year 7 took on the challenge of swimming the Channel earlier this month.  Here in her own words, she shares the experience with the Moulsford community and demonstrates the true meaning of determination……

I had wanted to swim the Channel since I swam my first mile aged nine years old.  Life and being a single parent took over, but it was always in the back of my mind.  As the children got older, I took up open water swimming in 2018 for fun! Little did I realise I was acclimatising my body to swim the Channel just two years later!

I booked my Pilot boat in March 2019 but told no one. A challenge this big can be over talked and I wanted to get focused myself before sharing the news.  I was booked to go in summer this year but then lockdown happened, which meant my two training camps were cancelled, in fact, all training was cancelled, full stop.  I was resigning myself to the fact that I probably wouldn’t swim this year, but carried on regardless!  I quickly got onto Amazon and bought myself a 2 metre by 3 metre paddling pool and tethered myself to the children’s climbing frame! I had to carry on as best I could until I was told it was officially off.

I started swimming in the river Thames as the water warmed up and I completed my 6 hour qualifier in my own village in the river! You have to be able to swim 6 hours in under 16 degrees to qualify to swim the Channel.

Towards the end of lockdown in June, I found the only people training were the ‘Kings Swimmers’ and I quickly joined them.  This is when my training really started.  I would drive the tedious 3 hour journey back and forth to Dover where our trainers watched us swim 4 to 10 hours at a time around and around the Harbour. This was my first ever sea swimming and again I didn’t tell anyone for fear they would think I was bonkers! Can you imagine saying, ‘I’m swimming the Channel in a couple of weeks but I have never swum in the sea before!’

Due to health and bad weather my slot to swim kept getting postponed and it was soul destroying.  I was losing heart and I wasn’t training as much as I should have been.  Then 2 weeks ago at 8am on Sunday morning my Pilot called, ‘I’ve had a cancellation, can you be here by 6 tonight?!’ I could have so easily made excuses but I thought, ‘NO! This is your day, the season’s coming to an end, this could be your last chance, take it!’

I had to find a babysitter, someone to drive me to Dover (my partner Ben was away on a cricket weekend!) but most importantly I needed a crew!  I had a list of eight possible crew but needed only two. After texting all of them, Claire & Tony were to be my crew. I didn’t know either of them well, we’ve swum together 3 or 4 times but they were ready and willing!

We all convoyed down to Dover and I was TERRIFIED!  It all became a blur, I was being forced to eat a pot noodle as I hadn’t eaten all day. Not a great start for the challenge that was ahead of me!
I said my goodbyes to girlfriends who had come to support me and Ben who had finally got away from cricket and I boarded my boat.

We took the 40 minute boat ride out of the marina to Samphire Hoe beach where I had to jump into the water, swim 500 metres to shore, climb out, clear the water and then wade back in to start. This was the whole bit of the challenge that had scared me throughout. It was 8pm & getting dark. I’d never swum in the dark before and was extremely nervous. ‘This is your day Kate, this is what you wanted so now GET ON WITH IT!’ I kept telling myself!

The first 12 hours of swimming were amazing, I loved it! I kept thinking ‘I’m living the dream!’ The cold water felt blissful on my skin.  I was doing what I’d set out to do and doing it well!  I’d have my hourly feeds thrown into me on a long rope. I had to drink them back as quickly as I could whilst still kicking my legs so I didn’t drift backwards at all.  I saw the sun rising and I glanced up & saw land! It was magical. I figured it must be 5 or 6 am and people would be waking up and I would still be swimming!  I swam on but was starting to feel tired, but my crew were brilliant cheering me on constantly. This is when I heard I had more than just family and friends tracking me, there were hundreds of people following me that I didn’t know! It gave me a huge boost. I thought, ‘I have to push on I can’t let all these people down now.’

At 13 hours I was really struggling. I was tired. An old shoulder injury had started to give me problems at 7 hours but I didn’t tell anyone for fear they’d pull me out so I just pushed on.  Unbeknown to me I was swimming on the spot for 2 hours against the tide making no progress whatsoever! France had vanished from my sight and Tony my crew just kept screaming at me, ‘Kate sprint, you’ve got to sprint!’ In my head I was saying ‘You try ****** sprinting after swimming 15 or 16hrs!’

I was beyond exhausted and I had hardly anything left to give. However, being a single Mum for years, giving up has never been an option! I just kept turning my arms and turning my arms, digging as deep as I could to find the energy and willpower to carry on.  I’ve been raising money for the MS Society as my dear Aunty Dale has MS.  She has gone from a healthy, outdoorsy person, who walked her beloved dogs for miles and miles in the countryside to being completely disabled, having carers four times a day and drinking from a sippy cup. This is something that can happen to any of us.
I knew that Dale fights like this every day just to get dressed, so I kept telling myself ‘this is one day in your life, Dale does this everyday so KEEP SWIMMING!’

It was sheer grit and determination at this point. I knew I had gone off course and thought ‘well they haven’t pulled me out so there must be a plan B’ so I kept on swimming. I didn’t want any more feeds as I was so bloated and was getting cross with my crew who were forcing feeds down me every half an hour now as I was so exhausted and using up so much energy. At one of those last feeds I turned my head to the left (I only breathe to my right) and I saw a GOLDEN BEACH! This was plan B! I was going to get to that beach if it killed me.

It was still far off and it was uncertain whether I could fight against the tide and make it in.  I swam for all I was worth and then some, I HAD TO GET TO THAT BEACH!  At this point, 18 or 19 hours in, that for the first time I felt cold and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I knew this was not good and I had to focus my mind or I knew I’d get delirious and be pulled out (it happens in Channel swimming quite often at this point).  I focused and after Tony screaming at me 3 times ‘are you OK?’ I managed a feeble thumbs up and swam as hard as I could to that beach.

Finally I was told the rib was coming out and to follow the rib. It still seemed such a long swim but I knew I was almost there. Suddenly I could see rippled sand beneath me. I put my hands down realising I must have been swimming in knee height water for a while! I asked the guy on the rib ‘can I stand up now?’ ‘Yes! Yes! Get up, keep walking until you clear the water’ he shouted at me!  I tried to stand up but it was difficult and my legs were like jelly, but more concerning to me was that I was seeing double of everything! ‘Kate! Keep walking, come on, come on!’ I could hear my French friends Steve and Frederique calling to me from the beach. I could hear ‘clear the water, clear the water, keep walking’.  FINALLY I was on the beach, out of the water in France and, with a new found energy, was screaming ‘I’m a Channel Swimmer!’

Never ever give up on your dreams. You have one life, so live it!  Thank you to all of you who followed and supported me. Please do look at ‘Kate’s Channel Swim’ on Facebook & Instagram. To donate, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kate-hartwright-channel-swim