We want every penny our swimmers raise to go to this years charity and to do that we need corporate sponsorship

From now until 24 July 2008 our front page is being hijacked by
EXERCISE CHANNEL TITAN

Our usual front page is still available here.

Just as Channel Eagle was last year, Channel Titan is a two stage event to raise money for charity - this year it’s the Army Benevolent Fund - close to all our hearts. The challenge begins with Rob Healey attempting a solo Channel crossing between 10 - 19 July then the 6 boat relay race between 20 - 24 July.

You will be able to follow both events right here, in real time, as our guest Webmaster Geoff, updates the page with info from the boats by phone and text. Although Channel swimming is hardly a stimulating spectator sport, we hope you will join us here to see the ‘fun’ with your good wishes and wads of hard earned cash for our brave, mad and hugely committed swimmers.

LATEST NEWS

16 JULY 2008
1930HRS

At last some news, but not what we wanted to hear - Rob’s motion sickness overcame him and he was taken out of the water just 8 hours after he entered. The good news is that Rob is otherwise fine and, when he came out of the water, his blood reading was 8.3 - I’m told that this is a good reading and his diabetes certainly was not a negative factor in this very commendable effort.

I know that Rob and Helen will be saying their own thank-you’s but I would like to give my thanks to all of you who have been sending me e-mails of support for Rob and information to help me give you a better service (you know who you are), and a BIG thank you to all those who have donated or who are yet to donate (and you know who you are) to a most worthy cause.

I’m going to sign off for now BUT don’t forget to come back in a few days time to witness the unfolding drama of EXERCISE CHANNEL TITAN - THE RELAY as it happens.

my best regards to you all - Geoff

16 JULY 2008
1820HRS

Sorry, everyone, I have no further information at the moment - I can’t get through to Helen’s phone. The last AIS update showed GALLIVANT heading NW @ 6 knots, which would appear to be back to Dover, unless it was circling for some reason. As soon as I hear anything, I’ll let you know.

16 JULY 2008
1730HRS

I’m having trouble getting through to Helen’s mobile phone at the moment, so I can’t tell you what’s happening at present, BUT, GALLIVANT has reappeared on the AIS and they’re still heading for France. Information from Emma (ta very much) - on the AIS screen, if you click on the name of the boat an info pane appears on the left-hand side of the screen. If you then click on the red/yellow H above the info pane it shows the history of where its been, and if you click on the M beside the H it shows the last recorded position.

16 JULY 2008
1615HRS

Rob’s having a bit of a problem with sickness at the moment - not while he’s swimming, but when he stops for refreshment. It’s being put down to motion sickness and he’s going to try a technique suggested by his pilot to settle things down a bit. Let’s hope it works!

16 JULY 2008
1530HRS

Hmmm...Rob’s boat, and the other pilot boats that are nearby, have disappeared from the shipais.com screen. Not to worry, they are still there. I expect being so small and now so far from Dover their signals aren’t being picked up. When I last spoke to Helen on her mobile phone, the signal kept breaking up.

16 JULY 2008
1500HRS

Rob is now about 2/3rds of the way across the shipping lanes. There’s something of a swell running and he’s had a bit of sea-sickness, which is to be expected. However, he is stable and making good progress.

PS The fulmar got fed up ‘cos Rob wouldn’t play with him and he’s gone off to find another playmate.

16 JULY 2008
1400HRS

Rob’s entered the shipping lanes now - the water’s getting a bit choppy due to the traffic. He’s on about 50 spm now and looking good.

Wendy’s just sent me this link http://www.shipais.com/currentmap.php?refresh=10&count=2&map=dover - thank you Wendy. It gives an idea of Rob’s position (look for Gallivant) but is not for those of a nervous disposition - just look at all those freighters/tankers. Give me the M25 at Heathrow on a Friday evening anytime. At the moment, he’s in the jumble of boats in the ferry lanes

16 JULY 2008
1300HRS

Just as an aside, Rob has attracted a bird (feathered) as a companion. A sea-bird, first described as a seagull, then a sea-eagle, then pterodactyl (no, I jest) landed a few feet behind him and started following him. Every time Rob pulled away, the bird “ran” across the water to catch him up. It has been identified as a juvenile Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis). I suppose as long as it doesn’t start to act as a pace-maker, it’s all within the rules...

16 JULY 2008
1230HRS

Having had his second hourly feed, Rob is now going to 1/2-hourly feeds. He’s progressing at about 60 strokes per minute.

The sea/weather conditions deteriorated slightly as a front, and a big black cloud, moved over, heading for France. The swell increased to moderate and a funnel cloud developed, but didn’t make a touch-down.

Now that the front has moved off, the pilot expects conditions to become much calmer - good news.

Jim - no, Mickey isn’t on the boat.

16 JULY 2008
1130HRS

Rob’s had his first feed and is going well. The sea and wind conditions are unchanged. Let’s hope they stay that way.

Your messages are being passed on to Helen. Thanks for your advice, Wendy. I’ve passed it on to Helen, with emphasis. I can’t answer your question at the moment, Jim, but I’ll find out next time I contact the boat.

Right now, as well as your money, we need your positive thoughts. If you can just take a little bit of time out from your busy lives and really will him on, I believe it can make a difference. Most athletes have a crowd cheering for them, which is a real spur. If we all cheer for Rob in our minds, who’s to say he won’t hear us. Let’s give it a go, anyway.

ADMIN. NOTES

Just in case there are still any grandmothers out there who can’t get to grips with the egg-sucking thing I thought I’d point out that the “justgiving” box is slightly different this year. The last three messages from donors are only partially displayed. To see the whole message, left-click on it and a dialogue box, with the message in, will open.
If you want to see all the donors’ messages, left click on the DONATE button and you can read all the TITAN messages. If you would like to make a donation (and you know you want to) click on the SPONSOR ME NOW button on the message page.

Finally, if you’re keeping this page open to follow Rob’s progress, don’t forget to refresh the page from time to time, by pressing function key F5 on your keyboard or the refresh button in the toolbar of your browser.

16 JULY 2008
1000HRS

Rob set off for France at 0945hrs, wearing his bright yellow Channel Titan swimming cap. (One of the guys on the boat is wearing his “I’ve done it before” T-shirt, so no pressure there, then!) Sian says the water is very (not the word she used) cold, but I am assured, by someone who’s not in it, that it’s not that cold .

The sun is bouncing off the White Cliffs, but nowhere else, the sea state is “slight swell” and the wind is light.

Helen’s received the text messages from Liz, DZ, Toby and Liz (Dukswim) and passed them onto Rob. Thanks, folks, keep them coming - if you prefer to email me, I’ll pass them on via SMS.

16 JULY 2008 
0930HRS

Good morning, one and all. This is Geoff, Helen’s dad, taking over as webmaster for the day. I’ve just had a message from Helen to say that they are just leaving Dover harbour in a boat called “Gullivant”, heading for the “launch site”. A sunny day is forecast, so Rob is slapping on loads of sun-block.

15 July 2008
2045hrs

Ooooer. Sorry not to have got back earlier - thanks for keep checking though! Looks like we’re off tomorrow morning at 10-ish. So just to be on the safe side we’re leaving in about 5 minutes - those of you who know Rob will know how I feel just now aaarrrghgghh. I shall be handing this over to Geoff in minutes few as I still have a few panicky things to get out of my system - nothing that a stiff gin won’t help - oh sorry - that’s a no to that then. So off we go - millpond awaiting and non-burny glorious sunshine ahead........
 

15 July 2008
0040hrs

Helen here, Rob’s wife. I think that’s how I started the blog off last year too - I really hope this isn’t going to be a habit! Rob’s ‘window’ for his swim opened last Wednesday and he’s number 3 of 3. You’ll all probably know how unpredictable the weather has been recently so for the first couple of days nobody swam. Then Number 1 swimmer went on Sunday and number 2 left at 8am this morning. We don’t know how he’s done yet but understand it to have been quite choppy out there. Seasickness is a common hazard of Channel swimming - yes really - and something they learn to swim through - sometimes quite literally.
There was a two-way swimmer who went off on Sunday with a different pilot. We understand he made one way, turned round but had been so poorly he ran out of energy at about 16 hours and had to come out - and even then he didn’t want to - how’s that for grit.
We’ve heard nothing yet from Rob’s pilot Mike Oram but hope to have 24hrs notice to start.
Rob’s gone to bed - he really needs to get some rest in the bank but the suspense isn’t making that too easy. He’ll be at work tomorrow morning at least, as will I. He hopes to chat to Mike around lunchtime if he doesn’t hear before. We’ll try to keep this blog updated regularly so please keep coming back (and don’t forget to refresh your browser F5 usually does the trick).
We’ve had loads of lovely good luck messages and the money is now starting to trickle in to our charity pot. Please keep it all coming you’ve no idea how much your good wishes are appreciated. I’ll be on the boat alongside him trying to help him keep going. One of the things we tried last year that really did help keep him going was holding up laminated A4s of loved ones, friends and colleagues with messages like ‘keep going’, ‘kick those lazy legs’ and more. If you know Rob or even if you don’t, if you would like to help us keep him going you can email an image or message to me at webmaster@armyopenwaterswimming.co.uk - and don’t worry, I’ll keep them secret until at least 5 hours in!!
I’m off to bed myself now - good night. Hx