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Two former competitive swimmers, who took up sea swimming recently, will be part of a team of six to swim the Channel as a relay in a bid to raise funds for the animal shelter.
Rhiannon Gribbell and Phil Gaudin, are currently training under the direction of Swim Smart coach, Andy Truscott, with Danny Richardson, Nicky-Holgate-Smith, Simon Du Feu and Emma Bateman for their relay which is scheduled between 17 and 21 July 2021.
The team will be taking to the waters in a bid to raise £4,500 for the JSPCA, a target which they are now very close to reaching.
This week, Express has been presenting each of the participants. After Coach, Andy; swimming teacher, Nicky and photographer, Danny, Emma Bateman and Simon Du Feu, the last two team-members to introduce are Rhiannon Gribbell and Phil Gaudin.
Rhiannon moved to Jersey two years ago to work as a Doctor at the hospital and has since fallen in love with “the people and beauty of the island”.
Like some of her teammates, Rhiannon used to swim competitively as a child and teen.
Since coming to the island, she has fallen in love with outdoor sea swimming and particularly enjoyed the freshness of the water. In 2019, she was even named the Jersey Long Distance Club Champion.
As an avid supporter for environmental issues and animal welfare, she thought a relay swim in support of the JSPCA was the perfect first open water challenge to take part in.
I started when I came to Jersey in July 2019.
I enjoy sea swimming as you’re in the outdoors, you can really appreciate your surroundings and its variation and there’s no lane lines, bright lights or getting stuck behind one another!
I’m feeling really excited for such a unique and memorable experience, getting to know my fellow team mates and training along the way.
Pictured: The 'Swim Smart' team: Phil Gaudin, Emma Bateman, Simon Du Feu, Rhiannon Gribbell, Danny Richardson and (in insert) Nicky Holgate-Smith.
Training so far has just involved brief dips in the sea- we are somewhat limited by the cold sea conditions. But I’m trying to ensure I go in once a week throughout winter.
I think the best part about training is the group atmosphere- having like minded people to dip in the sea with. I bizarrely do enjoy the cold temperature of the water.
Yes, it’s a bit of a shock when you first go in, but I find it a really good reset button. It clears the mind of all its cobwebs. Although probably the worst part of sea swimming is getting back out and getting dry and warm!
Pictured: Phil Gaudin and teammate Simon Du Feu at St. Catherine's breakwater.
A former competitive pool swimmer for Jersey Swimming Club, Phil has always kept an interest in the sport, whether as a coach and a teacher.
He took up sea swimming again during lockdown, initially inspired by his “fearless” seven-year-old daughter Lola. He then took part in 30 bays in 30 days challenge and swam with the rest of his family. He says one of the things that struck him during the challenge “the diverse beauty each bay around the island has to offer”.
Phil’s employer, Aztec Financial Services, have kindly agreed to sponsor him in helping raise funds for the JSPCA, whose “tireless and thankless work” he says he is continuously wowed by.
I swam competitively when I was younger as well as some of the Jersey Swimming Club sea swims, the Green Island to Havre des Pas and Castle to Harbour and then have swum in the sea on and off ever since for a little bit of fitness and mainly in the summer, with the exception of the annual Christmas Day Swim, where the three-stroke minimum was not always adhered to.
I did 30 bays in 30 days for the first time last year and loved it. I kept swimming until November and started again in January.
Pictured: The team is training under the direction of Andy Truscott.
The waves, the current, the calm. You don’t know what the sea will throw at you. I am able to switch myself off from the world and solely focus on the cold water wrapping itself around me, the current and waves pushing me and most importantly what the hell was that leviathan I just swam into that is about to eat me, and realising it was the tiniest bit of seaweed.
Jersey is a stunningly beautiful island that I have been fortunate to live on most of my life and last year I discovered, and rediscovered, so many little gems of bays and shoreline that I had forgotten existed. I couldn’t say which one is my favourite as they all had their own separate charms and experiences.
There is also a camaraderie amongst sea swimmers. Something akin to ‘it's not insanity if we stick together’, but is more like a happiness that someone else has discovered the secret.
Good, with the exception of the jellyfish and the seaweed. Jersey has some pretty rough sea conditions so I am pretty sure the team can deal with whatever is thrown at them.
We all have different experiences as swimmers, but we all have one goal that is the same and the right attitude and dedication to achieve it and swim ashore at Cap Gris Nez.
Pictured: The team training at Archirondel.
Doing 30 Bays in 30 Days, plus always being in awe of individuals that have swum the English Channel. It is one of those achievements that is not about speed, or the time it takes you to get there as every single swim is different. It is about having the attitude, dedication and gumption to get there and finish the job.
I have been training since 17 January, and with the pools closed, the only swimming is in the sea three to five times a week. I have gone from 10 mins on the first day (9 of which were stood on the slipway up to my waist wondering whether this was the right choice) to 20+ mins and swimming over a km in 8 degree water. This will be increasing over the coming weeks and months as the water gets warmer and I get more and more acclimatised and fitter
What are the best and worst parts of the training?
There are a few ‘bests’:
As for the worst, a cold Easterly wind after you get out of the water; hail or sleet; seaweed and jellyfish - although I haven’t encountered any yet as thankfully they like warm water.
Q&A: Relay Channel swim to raise funds for animal shelter
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