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A trip to France and back – the hard way
AS you tuck into your breakfast or mid-morning coffee today, take a moment out from pondering what highs and lows another week might bring then imagine – if you can - the cold, swelling, forbidding waters of the English Channel and try to put yourself in Liane Llewellyn's lonely place.
At some time today, depending on the weather forecast and the tides, Liane, 27, will wade into the grey, unfriendly strip of water which separates England from France and attempt to become the first swimmer from Yorkshire to complete the 45-mile two-way Channel crossing.
Only 18 people, eight of them women, have done the double but for Liane the challenge appears to hold few fears. As she looked ahead to a minimum of 20 hours in the water, she was remarkably sanguine, fully aware of what lies ahead yet at peace with herself, confident she has done the hard work in training to realise her ambition.
That hard work has gone on for two years, since the day she decided that the double-crossing was possible and dedicated herself to success. Now she just wants to finish the job.
"I'm looking forward to a rest from swimming and having a social life again," she said when we met after she had returned to her home in Denholme, high on the hills above Bradford, from her work as a senior physiotherapist at Fairfield Hospital in Bury.
She completed her first Channel crossing in 2005 and one memory burns still from that swim. She could see the coast of France and the fabled head of Cap Gris Nez after nine hours in the water. "I was only two or three miles from finishing and thought I would make it in another half hour or so," she recalls. "Due to the current, it took over two hours. This time I will not be asking my support team in the boat how far I have to go."
The landing in France holds the key to the double crossing. Liane explains: "You have to hit Cap Gris Nez exactly; otherwise you can face an extra two miles or more in the water trying to get to the shore."
Among those in her support boat – which was booked two years ago – will be her sister Dee, who has been Liane's coach for the last two years and completed her own Channel crossing in July 2003.
Liane followed her sibling into the water as a child – she could swim when she was just three years old – but admits that during her days with the Halifax, City of Bradford and Bradford Dolphin clubs she was not exceptional in the pool. "I did alright at front crawl and butterfly and swam in the Yorkshire Championships but I was not particularly fast," she says.
The turning point came when she competed as a 14-year-old in the junior swim on Coniston Water. "People were telling me such-and-such is fast but I just kept up a consistent pace for the whole of the five-and-a-quarter-mile course and eventually started to make progress from the back of the field," she says. "I surprised everyone – including myself – by winning the race."
Since then her progress has been as consistent as her pace and readily acknowledges the part others have played in her success. "Jill Massey – who retired two years ago when Dee became my dedicated coach - gave me training templates and improved my stroke technique," she says, adding: "Elaine Shaw helped me with core stability work, Bob Hall was my coach for many years and Helen Partington encouraged me to try the open water.
"Dee and I have really just worked on things we have learned from all people we have been lucky enough to meet. We help each other a lot and I was in her boat when she swam the Channel."
That learning had its reward last summer when Liane completed over 80 miles in open-water competition, recording outstanding performances at Loch Lomond (over 21 miles) and the seven-mile tidal swim across Rathlin Sound in County Antrim where she had to overcome a water temperature of just 13 degrees, rapidly changing tides and stinging Lions Mane jellyfish. Only five swimmers of the 19 to start the event arrived safely on Ballycastle beach and Liane was the first woman home.
In recognition of her achievements she was named swimmer of the year for 2008 by the British Long-Distance Swimming Association but the challenge of the double-crossing of the Channel drove her to work even harder this year.
"I have never done as much as I have this year," she confesses. "I used to get by going from one event to the next doing as little as I could but until the last couple of days I have been working
fairly solidly all year in the pool at the Nuffield Health Centre
near Bingley and at Gaddings Dam near Todmorden as well as doing several long swims."
The build-up began with a two-week "holiday" in Tenerife during which she alternated 10 or 12 mile swims in the Atlantic with just two or three hours in the water on other days.
She went to swim in Dover harbour for seven days in May
to help her acclimatise to the cold Channel, swam round Coniston, completed the 15-and-a-half miles down the Firth of Tay from Newburgh to Tayport in Scotland then wrapped up the mileage with seven hours in the dam and last Saturday's three-way 16-and-a-half mile marathon round Coniston which she accomplished in under eight hours.
Since then the concentration has been on consuming the calories which will give her the energy for what lies ahead. The tides will play a part in her swim – she expects them to be helping on the outward leg – but has proved already that her technique and will power can see her through the toughest of times in the water and it would be a brave man who would bet against her making Yorkshire swimming history by becoming the first woman from the region to complete that amazing double crossing.
"The women's record is around 20 hours, but I am not going to worry about that," she says. "If it takes 24 hours then that's what it will be."
She will have earned a proper English breakfast when she arrives back, weary but with
her ambition achieved, in Dover – no matter what the time might be.
n Liane Llewellyn is attempting her double channel crossing to raise funds for the Bradford Outward Bound Association and has set herself a target of 5,000.
The Outward Bound Trust offers structured residential courses with the aim of raising self-esteem and confidence, developing skills and preparing young people from every background for life's challenges.
"I've always loved the outdoor life and so am aware of the benefits it can bring; Outward Bound really can make a difference for young people,"
she says. "It would be wonderful to help young people in the city have the chance to experience the countryside."
To make a donation visit: http://www.justgiving.com/lianellewellyn/
CHANNEL SWIMMERS' ROLL OF HONOUR
On August 24 to August 25 1875 Capt. Matthew Webb made the first crossing of the English Channel from England to France.
In 1961 Antonio Abertondo from Argentina became the first person to swim the Channel both ways non-stop.
The fastest swim of the Channel was by Petar Stoychev on 24 August 2007, who crossed in 6 hrs 57 mins 50 secs.
The fastest two way channel swimmer, in a time of 16 hours 10 minutes, is Philip Rush in 1987.
The fastest female two-way channel swimmer, in a time of 17 hours 14 minutes, is Susie Maroney in 1991.
The fastest three-way channel swimmer was Philip Rush in 1987, with a swim of 28 hours 21 mins.
The fastest (and only) female three-way Channel swimmer is Alison Streeter, who crossed in 34 hours 40 mins. Streeter is also holder of the title of "Queen of the Channel", with 43 crossings, including one three-way and three two-way swims.
The "King of the Channel" title has been awarded to Kevin Murphy (34 crossings, including three doubles)
There have been a total of around 1,200 successful swims across the English Channel.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -5 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
