In addition to our Channel Eagle 2009 race providing an incredible opportunity for our swimmers to challenge themselves we are delighted to be able to raise money for H4H.
Welcome to the CHANNEL EAGLE 2009 BLOG
Not only was this year's event a fiercely fought race between the Army, Navy and RAF, two guest teams successfully conquered a gruelling challenge they had never faced before.
The race window opened on Monday 20 July 2009. The personal commitment had been proven and training completed. All there was now was wait for time, tide, weather and the go-ahead from the boat Pilots for the race to start. Watch the BFBS TV report.
Back at 'Eagle HQ' four keen support members waited to take phonecalls from the boats to start updating the website with the latest news on where the teams were, what they were doing, what they were not doing, and relaying message to the teams from family, friends and colleagues who emailed and phoned. The call came that teams should meet at Dover Marina at 10.30 pm with 11.30pm planned for the start.
Nothing I can say here will truly convey how hard this event was. Weather conditions were variable - from nauseatingly choppy to lurchingly sickening. Night time hung around for some time. Hopes of a glorious sunrise were dashed by a realisation it had 'got light' with no fanfare, just greyness - and a fair spattering of very darkness with clouds raining down on places not too far from us!
The beautiful White Cliffs of Dover seemed to hang around for an inordinate length of time with the French Coastline ghosting in the distance, seemingly forever. 
The sealife was something to behold - if I had seen those jellyfish in an aquarium I would have thought they were behind magnifying glass and had been dyed with an incredibly unrealistic E-number to make them look as strange and bright as they did - but in both cases they weren't - they were real. Lucky for us though no-one was seriously stung - I believe remedies for jellyfish stings range from hydrocortisone cream to human urine - and we didn't have any cream - so happy no-one needed any treatment!!
The account below is 'as it happened'. Updates were added as calls came in from the teams.
We also have a dedicated Gallery you can visit here.
'Eagle HQ' would like to take this opportunity to thank the teams for making the effort to phone in - and be so chatty and lighthearted bearing in mind the stresses of this event. They would also like to thank all the friends and family who emailed and called in all throughout the night and day. In the deep dark hours of the night when everything at HQ was dark and quiet it was hugely encouraging to know that others were looking in and keeping them company. Thank you.
THE BLOG STARTS HERE
The window opens on Tuesday morning. The race is booked into number 1 slot for this tide, so we just wait now for the tide and weather.Hopefully we'll get at least 12 hours notice to swim - and as soon as we hear anything we'll let you know.
The teams are down in Dover now waiting for the off. They've been swimming in the Harbour to keep themselves busy and the nerves at bay but things are getting tense.
For all our swimmers this is a challenge and one they are taking on for themselves and others. This is a fantastic and hard fought tri-service competition and we're delighted that as well as taking on very personal challenges we are able to raise money for Help For Heroes - please dig deep and help us raise as much as possible.
20 Jul 1105hrs I've just heard from Rob that the swim may well happen tonight, not sure when though, after 10pm I think. Starting this swim at night is so much better than in the day..why?..because we don't really want to arrive at the French shore in the dark.
20 Jul 2100hrs Hi everyone, from the back office team. This is Geoff on line once again. Helen has zoomed off to Dover and has just rung in to say that the start is ON for tonight, hopefully around 2330hrs.
20 Jul 2230hrs Confirmation that the teams have boarded their boats and are heading out of the harbour towards the start at Shakespeare Beach. The boat allocation is as follows:
Army - "Sea Satin" (pilot - Lance Oram)
Battle Back - "Suva" (pilot - Neil Streeter)
RAF - "Anastasia" (pilot - Eddie Spelling)
Royal Navy - "Gallivant" (pilot - Mike Oram)
Wales UOTC - "Roco" (pilot - Ali Streeter)
2320hrs Apparently the email link hasn't been working as it should,
so I have made an adjustment (way above my pay scale, I might add) and the link now works, so get those messages coming in.
UOTC are feeling very pleased with themselves, as they were first to the beach. Ha, only another 22 miles to go then!
There's a bit of a swell running and the boats are doing 0 knots as they congregate under the cliffs and get the first swimmers ashore. One or two tummies are regretting the Ghurka Curry at tea-time, but I hear that Sian and Liz (Army) are tucking into ham rolls.
2325hrs ...AND THEY'RE OFF
The first swimmers in are Ian (Army), Rob (BB), Simon (RAF) and Laura-Beth (UOTC). The Navy are playing this very close to their chests and aren't letting on who their first swimmer is. I'll have to send the trained dolphins in to find out.
21 Jul 0005hrs The site showing the progress of Gallivant and Sea Satin isn't actually showing them right now. Perhaps the tracking devices haven't been wound up yet. In the meantime, if you look here some of the boats might show up. Roco (UOTC) is the only one showing at the moment, but the others won't be far away.
0015hrs The super-sleuthing dolphins have reported in - the Navy's first swimmer was Chris (but don't tell them how I found out!)
0035hrs At the first change-over the Navy and the RAF are just ahead of the Army, then it's the UOTC and BB. In now are Luisa (Army), Damian (BB), Ali (Navy), Teresa (RAF) and Laura (UOTC).
Collette, Liz and Hamish (Army) are pushing out the zzzzz's, despite the Navy boat pushing out some rather loud music (trying to deafen the dolphins, perhaps?)
0135hrs For anyone who is concerned about the frequency (or otherwise) of updates, may I explain that the boats only contact us in the back office (if they remember) after there has been a change over. We don't have a live link to enable a running commentary and with the swimmers travelling at around 2-3 mph (I don't know what that is knots), the relative positions of the boats don't change very quickly.
0140hrs The order is now the Navy, neck and neck with the RAF, with the Army and UOTC having a tussle a bit further back and BB keeping their eye on the others. In are Sian (Army), Gemma (Navy), Beth (UOTC), Mike Goody (BB). Ali should be in for the RAF, but they aren't speaking to us at the moment.
0230hrs Update from the Army - Liz is in and going well. The Navy is to port (left in landlubberish) and slightly ahead. The RAF are about level with the Army. The weather is remaining good and they can now see the lights of 
Calais as they approach the first of the two shipping lanes. From UOTC - Kat is now in - and swam 
straight into a load of seaweed. "Oh, drat", she said in gentle tones. And a big THANK YOU from them for all the messages of support. From BB - Sarah is now in and sends a "hello" to Spike and Isaac. Damian and Rob have gone bye-byes. From the Navy - Gemma is out and claims to have swallowed two sharks. Steve is in and is keeping his mouth shut!
0335hrs From BB - Sarah's had a strong swim - she had a shoal of mackerel as a pacemaker (I'm not sure that's within the rules - I'll have to send my dolphins after them!) 
Mike James is now in. For the Army, Hamish is now in. There have been reports of a few jellyfish about, but they are not causing too much in the way of problems. Collette (Army) has been unable to shake off a bout of seasickness, so the reserve swimmer, Mike Grawsden, will be taking her place.
They're now into the "quiet" bit between the two shipping channels, but it looks like they've just been overtaken by a Cross-Channel ferry at 18+ knots. That's not fair, is it?
0405hrs From UOTC - Kat is now recovering from her close encounter of the seaweed kind and Joe is in. The sky is now lightening, sunrise is at 0505hrs. I'm told it's easier swimming in daylight rather than the pool of light from a boat's floodlights. I can believe that!
0435hrs From BB - Scotty is now in the water. The dawn is a bit grey but it's not too windy. There's a slight swell. Some tankers (well, big ships anyway) in view, but can't see any of the other pilot boats.
0455hrs From the Army boat - Hamish is out and he doesn't like jellyfish (I happen to think they're rather cuddly). Mike is now in. They are about level with the RAF, with the Navy about 150 metres ahead. Confirmed by the Navy, whose current swimmer is Caitlin, Nick and Steve having completed their first swims.
0540hrs From UOTC - Alice had a hard swim and Laura-Beth is now in. The Army, Navy and RAF are about 1 mile ahead and BB are about half a mile behind. France is in sight.
0545hrs From BB - Scotty completed his full hour and Rob is now in.
Can I ask if anyone is in contact with the RAF boat by text or any other method (carrier pigeon?) would they please ask them to ring in to me in the Back Office. It would be so nice to have an update from them.
0605hrs From the Navy boat - very high spirited...Caitlin finished her stint and was lifted out of the water by the seagulls (sic). Just what spirits are they on? Chris is in and they are in the lead, about 300 metres ahead of the RAF.
0630hrs From the Army Boat - Thankfully, Collette has recovered somewhat from her mal de mer and is sitting up and taking notice. During Ian's stint he overhauled the RAF and the Army are now about 200 metres behind (or should that be astern of) the Navy. Luisa is in now. They are being swept down-Channel with the tide, so this could be the first Trans-Atlantic relay race. Only kidding, this is usual and the pilots take the tides into consideration when plotting their course.
0645hrs From BB - Damien is now in. The weather has deteriorated somewhat - it is raining and the wind is getting up, but there's also some blue sky and sunshine. The French coast is about 4 nautical miles away (or 4.6032 land miles, if you prefer) as the seagull flies, but much further away for the swimmers, who have to contend with the tides and currents.
From UOTC - Laura is now in. The sea is getting a bit choppy and there are a few jellyfish around (the cuddly-wuddly ones, I hope). They're ahead of BB but behind the others.
0730hrs From UOTC - Beth is now in, people are starting to wake up now and moral is high. The French coast is tantalisingly near but they're going sideways more than forwards. The Army, Navy and RAF are about 1 mile ahead and BB are about 1 mile astern.
From the Army boat - They're about 250 metres behind the Navy and about 500 metres ahead of the RAF. Sian has gone in just as they passed the bouy that marks the edge of the shipping lane, 3 miles off the coast, so they're hoping that Sian will get all the way in.
0820hrs From the Army boat - the tide is not favourable, so Liz has had to go in again. Now about 2 miles offshore and the relative positions of the Navy and RAF boats are about the same.
From UOTC - Kat is now in.
From the Navy boat - Gemma is now in.
0835hrs From BB - now about 5 miles out. Mike Goody had a really good swim and has handed over to Sarah. Can see Cap Gris Nez to the left.
0920hrs The Navy swimmer (Steve) is about 500 metres from the shore. He's got 10 minutes to swim, then Nick will go in for the finish. The Army and RAF are about 400 metres behind them.
0935hrs From UOTC - Joe has just gone in. The tide has turned and is now in their favour. Was that a sigh of relief I heard?
0945hrs From BB - Sarah has had a good strong swim and Mike James is now in. He even raised a smile for the camera!
1010hrs Three teams have now finished. The provisional times are:
- Royal Navy 10hrs 05mins See the Navy account of the event here.
- Army 10hrs 20mins
- RAF 10hrs 30mins
1015hrs While we're waiting for news of the other two teams, Battle Back and Wales UOTC, I would like to congratulate the Navy team on their success. The winning times in previous years have been 11hrs 06mins (Channel Eagle 2007) and 10hrs 59mins (Channel Titan 2008), so to get three teams all bettering those times by a substantial margin is brilliant achievement.
1025hrs From BB - Scotty is back in the water and they're about 3 miles offshore. Hopefully the tide will now be helping them.
1040hrs From UOTC - Alice has taken over from Joe. It's hoped that when Laura-Beth goes in at the end of Alice's stint, she'll make it all the way to the finish. Fingers crossed.
1130hrs From UOTC - Laura-Beth is now in and doing "the hard yards" (their words). It's anticipated that this will be the final stint.
1205hrs From BB - we are about a mile and a half from shore. Rob has got another 25 minutes of his stint then Damian will hopefully be the last swimmer.
1225hrs From UOTC - Laura is now in, struggling against a 25 knot headwind, with only (only?) 200 metres to go.
1240hrs From BB - Damian is in the water, but it will probably need a little more than an hour to finish, so the next swimmer is getting prepared for the final push.
1300hrs From UOTC - Laura has landed. The provisional time is 13hrs 05 mins. Bearing in mind that none of them had ever tried a Channel swim before - what a great performance.
Just one team to come in now, and they shouldn't be too much longer.
1330hrs From BB - Damian swam "the glory leg" after all, and they have safely and successfully completed the relay. The BB provisional time is 13hrs 21mins and I'm reliably informed (by my ever-watchful dolphins) that the whole team stood up on the beach to a tumultuous welcome from cheering crowds.
1415hrs 21 July Finally, from me (Geoff) - A message from the Back Office team - Thank you for watching. Thank you for sending in your messages of support for the teams and donating your hard-earned cash to Help for Heroes. To the teams - a massive well done. All of you are winners, some just a bit quicker than others. And to Scott Blaney, Mike Goody and Damian Manning of the Battle Back team - my dolphins tell me you were absolutely awesome and I believe them.
