A few days ago I joined the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation’s (CSPF) Annual Dinner celebrating the accomplishments of last year’s crop of English Channel swimmers. There were tales of obstacles overcome and dreams realised as well as a fair share of disappointment and better-luck-next-time stories. I joined SwimTrek’s own office relay team, the SwimTrek Spartans, at the dinner. They successfully got across at the tail end of September after overcoming challenging conditions in an admirable time of 14 hours and 7 minutes.
I have been going to these dinners (both ones organised by the Channel Swimming Association and the CSPF) for many years now. They are a mix of catching up with old friends who you met training on the beach in Dover as well as a large dose of last year’s successful swimmers and a smaller smattering of this year’s wannabees.