Home and dry - with photos & videos aplenty

So we're all back home and slept like we've never slept before! Few achy shoulders and general tiredness but feeling pretty good. Yesterday seems really rather surreal now...

The picture on the right is our route. For those of you who doubted our navigation the wobbles are because because of the tides - we actually swam in a straight line. If we hadn't reached the point on the map (le cap gris nez) we would have been swept over it and probably faced another 5-6 hours swimming in the night! Thankfully powerhouse Robbie swam his heart out for the team and took us home. I'm sure you'll all hear about his heroics in the pub with the usual dash of poetic licence.

A massive thank you to everyone supporting and tracking our progress yesterday - it really made such a difference! Very glad to have provided Friday entertainment for you all! Next Friday we'll do something equally crazy/gripping - just let us know what and we'll be more than happy to oblige...!?!

Anyway, a MASSIVE thanks again and if you haven't had enough of our ugly mugs yet, the photos and videos are now uploaded.

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32555240@N00/sets/72157601909703562/

Videos here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F5EFB27CF5BA75D4

And don't forget it's not too late to sponsor us: http://www.justgiving.com/cheyne_gang_channel_swim
or
http://www.smartgive.com/showpublicevent.php?url=cheynegang

THANKS THANKS THANKS!!!

The eagle has landed

We have done it! 13:02 - within target....

Perfect starry night to cruise home. Very happy team of tired swimmers...

Cuan took over from Robbie after a hard final push to avoid missing a crucial headland - Le Cap Gris Nez. We clambered onto some slippy rocks in the dark just 100 or so yards from another many hours of swimming..

Thanks for all the support from friends and family....

Pics to follow tomorrow.

Good night. God speed.

Near the frogs

http://maps.google.com/maps?z=11&q=50.840,1.530

Nearly there...

Six times Rob is on course to bring it home... By about 9ish...


The sun has disappeared behind the horizon. Water is warmer - thank God, but the temperature has dropped and the cold is beginning to tell. Light sticks at the ready.

GPS to follow....

Final countdown...

http://maps.google.com/maps?z=11&q=50.936,1.711

Two and a half nautical miles from coast but still 3 or 4 to swim due to tides and currents. A glorius sunset is blessing the day as France looms large....

Garlic and urge to surrender intense!

3 mile buoy marker

We have just crossed the 3 mile marker but are being swept down the coast past cap gri nez. We are told we will hit it on the way back so some swimming still to do!

And the band plays on...

Mel is hammering along keeping the other boat in sight. We have crossed the no shipping lane and are now in the north bound shipping lane.

Turns out the saffie dropped out and not daisys doggy paddlers. Apparently some poor fool is crossing the channel doing backstroke. Consensus is we would hate to be him.

Beautiful sunshine and the wind is dropping a little here. The tide has changed and the choppy water is starting to flatten out. Still no pics as we cant seen to send em. Keep the support coming!

http://maps.google.com/maps?z=11&q=50.98,1.488

Why so quiet?

Its turns out your blog master has been in the water and thus unable to bash out these wonderful little anecdotes. Anyway swiftly moving on. I have just got out of my 2nd swim and felt great. G is 30 minutes into his second swim. Taking our total swim time to 6 hour 30 mins. No clue as to when we are going to finish. As the skipper says'stop swimming when your knees hit sand'. There are a few sore muscles but the team is in good spirits and we are enjoying the great weather out on deck.

As for our position. We are currently here

http://maps.google.com/maps?z=11&q=51.055,1.506

Swimming strong

Robbie is motoring along dodging big ships. Mel had a cracking swim and warming herself up next to her boy. Q is prepping for his swim and testing out the ships traps. Not pleasant! Robbie is looking a bit green, but the motion sickness pills are kicking in. All are still feeling fresh and strong.

http://maps.google.com/maps?z=11&q=51.043,1.439

News from the frontline

Robbie insists he can smell garlic as dover starts to disappear behind us. We are definately starting to catch daisys doggy paddlers. Wind is a constant 5 knots and its only 29 meters deep. Fortunately no sewerage from the asian container ships as yet. Slightly overcast but sun is shining. Swells are about 0.5m but have a nasty little chop.

Good news is that we can see france. Hoora. We have just been buzzed by a small airplane and had our pics taken. Super!

Our current location

Mel is a few minutes from completing her swim. Huge boats crossing in front of us. Turns out we have entered the south bound shipping lane. Pictures are on hold till we get better signal.

http://maps.google.com/maps?z=11&q=51.235,1.619

Dam T-Mobile

Sorry to all the supporters it seems that emails are taking longer to get through and update the blog. We will keep them coming. The lass that has done 40+ swims is on the boat and keeping a watchful eye on us. Mel is greasing up as Georges swim is comin to an end

2 swimmers down and 1 away

George is in the water and Cuan has just got out. There is a healthy chop on the water. Temp is about 18 degrees. Mel is cheering us all on. Daisys boat is about 800m ahead. Keep the support up.

We are are about 1/8th of the way http://maps.google.com/maps?z=11&q=51.081,1.38

At 8:30 am

Wind is picking up. Robbie is swimming well. Our position which is a mile off the coast is

http://maps.google.com/maps?z=11&q=51.103,1.305

And we are away

Robbie is away and we have started. The weather forecast is good with 3-4 knot NW wind, slightly overcast and small swells. However our skipper michael oram tells us that the weathermen are wrong 9 out of 10 times. We have 2 other swims today, daisys motley crew that set off 10 min ahead and a south african solo swimmer that has already passed us.

Good luck to all teams and thanks for all the messages of support.

And we are about to set off

The boat is loaded weather looks good. We are about to set out at 7am

Last minute supplies

Our elite team of athletes getting the required last minute goodies. Coke, chocolate and wet wipes.

Roger That, Your'e good to GO

They call has come in. We kick off from shakespeare beach in Dover @ 4am tomorrow. As it stands it looks like the swim order is Robbie, Q, Mel and finally George. Lots of nerves as we consider the fact that less than 7% of the 6000 attempts have been successful. Wish us luck.

We have Live GPS Co-ordinates

Through the wonders of modern technology we have managed to acquire GPS co-ordinates and will be updating them throughout the day so you can see exactly where we are! Tomorrow or Saturday we will be kicking off from Dover (Click on the link to see where it is)

D-Day Looms - T Minus 1 day

Right

So that everyone knows, we have been put on alert by the skipper of the pilot boat. We go on Friday 7th or on Saturday 8th @ about 4am due to the tides. We will probably be swimming along the following line due to the currents in the channel, known as the the reverse "S". The team will spend 1 hour in the water and 3 hours in the boat for 12-18 hours covering 35-45km.



The list of items for our swim are packed and checked off. It reads like this
1. Costume, Goggles, Swim Cap (NO Wetsuits allowed)
2. Light Sticks and safety pins (For swimming in the dark)
3. Water and Energy Drinks
4. Snack Bars, Soup and Pot Noodle (The big one)
5. Warm clothes, towels + blankets
6. Sea sickness pills, Nurofen, Immodium and Sun cream
7. Vaseline

Keep your eyes peeled, we will be updating the blog with pics and videos from the boat, as well as GPS readings so you know where we are in the channel. Wish us Luck...

The beginning... to the end.

Through some accidental challenges in the pub, George managed to us as a relay team comprised of (Cuan Brown, George Cheyne, Mel Edrich and Robbie Constance). The "Cheyne Gang" was formed and our elite bunch of athletes are scheduled to make the crossing to France in early September (depending on weather conditions). The challenge entails us swimming 25% each of the 22miles across the channel, contending with the 600 tankers travelling along the channel each day, the weather conditions, jellyfish, and the odd bit of sewerage. However we are hoping to raise some funds for a charity that is close to our hearts.

We have been raising funds at the following two locations for 2 different charities and any donations would grealy be appreciated:

http://www.justgiving.com/cheyne_gang_channel_swim

http://www.smartgive.com/showpublicevent.php?url=CheyneGang

Thanks and see you in France, unless I get hit by a ferry or harpooned!Q