Energy channelled into swim
A staff nurse at Newark Hospital has organised a team of five who hope to swim the English Channel.
Miss Nichola Fowkes, 38, of Blackthorne Close, Balderton, said she had always dreamed of attempting a cross-Channel swim, but it was only when she discovered that the distance could be done as a relay event that it started to become a reality.
She first started planning her team two years ago with colleagues from the hospital. They even came up with a name — Newark Hospital Swimmers.
But, she said, one by one team members dropped out until there was only her and retired nurse Mrs Carol Measures, 67, of Honing Drive, Southwell, left.
They have now been joined by Miss Caroline Sims, 35, of Grove Street, Balderton, who Miss Fowkes met while swimming at the Grove Leisure Centre, Balderton.
The other team members are Ben Kent, 28, of Dover, and Francesca Adams, of Bournemouth. The reserve is Mr Darren Parfitt, 40, from Kent, where Miss Fowkes used to live.
Because the team has been put together from across the country it has been renamed The Odd Bods.
The team members train regularly in the pools and gyms at the Grove and Southwell leisure centres.
During the Channel relay they will each swim for an hour at a time before handing over to the next swimmer.
The rest of the team will travel alongside in a boat.
The attempt has been organised by the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation.
There will be an observer from the Channel Swimming Association on board to ensure they stick to the rules.
The 26-mile swim is expected to take about 16 hours.
They will start at Shakespeare Beach, Dover, and finish at Cap Gris Nes, near Calais, where they are allowed to stay for just five minutes before returning home in the boat.
They plan to start cold water training at Lincoln and will also swim in the North Sea at Skegness.
They will each have to complete an observed two-hour swim at Dover before attempting the challenge.
Channel swims can only be attempted from late June to September when the average temperature of the water is about 15º Celcius.
Poor weather and hypothermia are common reasons for failure.
Because they will not be in the water for more than an hour at a time will not need to be covered in grease.
Miss Fowkes said: “We are really looking forward to it but there are times of sheer panic when you wonder what you have done.”
They are raising the £2,525 needed to pay for boat and fees.
They have each picked a charity to support — the British Heart Foundation, NSPCC, Cancer Research, Pilgrim’s Hospice in Kent and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Anyone able to help with sponsorship can contact the team on 07757 538090.
