Team Les Français Givrés celebrate their new Channel record
Image: @Stuart Gleeson
Team Les Français Givrés (Givrés translates as “frosted” but can also mean something like “bonkers”) took advantage of the unexpected and sudden change in the weather for an early season three-person English Channel relay on 21 April. Subject to ratification, this is a new record for the earliest relay of the year. Philippe Fort, Frederic Kocen and Denis Colombe, all accomplished cold water swimmers from France, took 12hr25mins to reach Cap Gris Nez accompanied by Sea Leopard. Pilot Stuart Gleeson described the conditions as mainly flat and calm with a chilly start in the dark at 2:25 in the morning. The water temperature was between 9 and 10.2 degrees.
The swim had been planned as a record attempt and was in fact brought forward a few days because of the advantageous weather conditions, even though this meant swimming on a big tide.