0615, Wednesday 22nd August, Folkestone Harbour. We waited for 'Connemara', the escort boat vessel that was to guide 'Team Rees' across The English Channel. After a tense wait it was time for Gareth to take on the swim dream he had trained hard for and sacrificed lots for. After two years of preparation he was strong and focused. We loaded the boat with our supplies and embarked on the 30minute boat ride to Samphire Hoe, our start point.

Pre-swim liberal amounts of 'channel grease' lanolin were applied to Gareth to protect against chafing. Add in the high factor 30pf suncream to ensure all exposed body areas were covered then we good to go! In the meantime our Channel Swimming Association Observer Paula ran through the safety brief and completed the necessary paperwork (next of kin, will, lol).
The GPS tracker is on and family, friends, the Uswim community crossed their fingers and toes in front of their devices ready to monitor the 'swim of the year'.

0718hrs. Gareth jumped off the boat , swam the short distance to 'Samphire Hoe' and, once he had climbed onto the beach, Skipper Kevin hooted the horn to signal the start of the swim. The attempt had begun at the official time 0721. Here goes. His biggest swim adventure begins!

Long distance swimming requires regular feeding to maintain energy levels. At feed one – CNP / Zero + 3 Bloks - Gareth has developed a super-fast feeding technique (grab, gulp, go) washed down with mouthwash to reduce the taste of salt. As Gareth sets off a seal pops his head up. Paula says “he’s quick isn’t he!” and is impressed with how strong a swimmer he is. Stroke count has settled to 48 per minute and he's shown this on a whiteboard board. He puts his thumbs up as recognition.

At 1404hrs bang at the half way point in the shipping 'separation zone' skipper Kevin informs us that three other escort boats have aborted their swims due to the increasingly tough weather conditions which may ultimately end his swim. K and DQ reassure him that these conditions and big waves mean nothing to a swimmer as powerful as Gareth as he powers on reassuringly. Stroke count has increased to 54 which shows that Gareth has upped his intensity as requested.

Swimming the Channel is a marathon not a sprint and at 1715hrs, numerous feeds later, Kevin says “he’s not making any progress”. There’s 3 miles to go to France as the crow flies with conditions tough and relentless for Gareth. Once more we reassure Kevin that he is strong and we will not give up. He replies that “we only have 2 hours to get through the inshore shipping lane and if we don’t do that then the swim is over”. The pressure is building as the winds are picking up to 20mph.

Three hours of tough swimming later there is lots of unsettling discussions between the Coastguard and Kevin now. We're In very dodgy territory and the French Coastguard has approached Connemara in their Rib informing us that we need to move. We are not allowed to stop at all as we are now in the Ferry Lane. The green navigational light that we are close to defines the dangerous sandbanks in the Sangatte area and we need to keep moving beyond that. Kevin keeps shaking his head and the Observers want to pull the swim straight away but K and DQ are fighting for the chance for Gareth to land. No feed given as want to maintain any progress and not give Kevin any reason to stop the attempt. .

FRANCE IS SO CLOSE! We can see headlights from french cars on the coast road now. Lots of shouting by Team Rees, no voice left, lots of tears (mainly from K) pressure from Pilot and Observer but pleading for the time. DQ is watching the depth chart to see how close to landing Gareth is and relaying back to David and Karen who keep shouting as it moves from 60m to 50 etc. With Kevin and the 2 Observers eyes transfixed on Gareth's lights the horn finally tooted. The sweetest sound and a huge scream of happiness from us all.

Gareth Rees is a Channel Solo Swimmer in a hugely respectable time of 15 hours. As he tiredly boards Connemara Gareth in shock he keeps asking are you sure? Looks shell shocked! Fantastic, gutsy swim!