On August 11th 2001-Sunriser Kristine Buckley " the Channel Lady" crossed the English Channel

The only woman in the World with more than 75 swims from Alcatraz

copy and photos courtesy of Pacific Bay Marketing

THE FIRST SWIMMING - My swimming was curtailed to only a child safety course and a few recreational swims as a child.  My mother took me to the Red Cross swim classes held at the local high school during the summer.  I suffered a stress fracture in my hip due to aerobic workouts with ankle weights in 1985, in which I turned to swimming to get my strength back.  I began swimming regularly at a community pool to rebuild my hip and keep fit.  I gave open water swimming a try and joined Tamalpais Aquatic Master in 1991.

Suzie Dods, a marathon open water swimmer, swam for TAM.  She holds the record as the first woman to cross Lake Tahoe the long way.  She also swam the English Channel on three different relay teams but decided she was going to swim the Channel solo for the year 2000.  She asked me if I was interested in meeting her in the cove for her training sessions.  It turned out that we both had the same stroke count and speed.  I was inspired because we are the same age and I figured, if she can do it I can too.  We became training partners, but I knew I was not on Dods’ level yet.  After Suzie made her successful swim last August, she told me it was my turn. 

As a member of Pacific Masters I participated in the open water swims. Gary Emich and Joe Oaks, founders of the San Francisco Bay Swimming Association, carried out monthly swims throughout different swimming locations in the Bay Area in which I also participated. I am not a fast swimmer, nor am I nationally ranked, or an ex-Olympian swimmer, but the English Channel holds the allure as the ultimate swim test just as climbing Mt. Everest holds to a mountain climber.

The waters of the San Francisco Bay and Marin County are exceptional good training waters for any open water marathon swimmer.  Training in the bay is very similar to swimming in the English Channel, which is unpredictable. My training included poolworkouts of various drills and intervals, which added up to 4000 yards a day.  I cross-trained with weights after work.  A year before my Channel swim, I stopped swimming in the pool and swam in the bay 5 to 6 days a week.  (I was also bored of lap swimming.)  I stayed in the water for an hour plus and every other Sunday I scheduled long swims that spanned anywhere around 4,5,6 and 8 hours.  My average yardage for a week was about 32,000 yards, about 18 miles plus.  I ceased weight training four months before my swim date.  I gained about 20 pounds.

THE TRAINING - A normal training swim was simulated just like a swim in the English Channel.  I hired a 41-foot fishing trawler docked at Fisherman’s Wharf.  I figured out the tides for my long swims and then Captain Darryl would call Vessel Traffic and we proceeded along a course in the Bay.  I was fed every half hour with one packet of Gu and Fruit Punch Gatorade.  Note: Channel swimmers are not allowed to touch the boat or any obstacle, which might constitute drafting.  Feeding supplies are tied to a fishing line and thrown to the swimmer in which the feeding should take 3 minutes or less.

My hardest swim was the time we headed from the Bay Bridge to the San Mateo Bridge.  I caught the ebb tide and I got to Coyote Point, then the winds picked up to about 15mph.  I was getting hit from every direction and not making any progress.  I couldn’t get past the point. The tide had changed, the winds picked up and I just couldn’t fight the waves any longer.  I decided to get back into the boat and head back to the club.  I felt very defeated.

Jellyfish and seals are the strangest things that I run into the water while training.  One time, after a severe storm hit the Bay Area, the Sunrisers left the cove in the pitch dark.  We swam past the break wall and all kinds of debris such as lumber, fallen trees and telephones poles were in the water. Once you start your English Channel swim, it is up to the weather Gods and your pure determination to getting across.  Once you decide to call off the swim, or the boat pilot calls off the swim due to foul weather conditions, that is your one chance.  You can attempt to swim the Channel as many times as you like.  I meet swimmers going for their 3-7th and 8th attempts.

“The swim is every bit a mental challenge as well as a very physical one, and the swimmer must be both mentally and physically attuned.  There is an element of luck involved in getting everything to fall right on the day.  The only real way to achieve success is to start with the idea that nothing else matters except arriving on the other side.  Start with the intention of finishing, no mater what, then play the day as it comes.”

Taken from the CSA information package.

The basic cost for the Channel was 27.50 pounds sterling for the initial application.  500-pound sterling for the information package and the boat cost 2500 pounds.  As of Dec. 19, 2000 1500.00 British Pound= $2,211.54 US Dollar.  Remember, additional costs for hotel, food, airfare and training sessions also make this an expensive swim.

English Channel solo and relay swims are booked one to two years in advance.  When I initially started the CSA information pack, I was on a waiting list. There are 4 pilot vessels that comply with CSA standards and each vessel has 4 openings per swim week.  Lynne Cox, famous marathon open water swimmer, is a member of the SERC.  I contacted her and she recommended Reg Brickell.  Reg’s father, Reg Senior, was the one who guided Lynne to 2 record-breaking swims. I called Reg and he had a cancellation for the week of August 10-16, 2001.  My place in ‘queue’ was number 2.  By Christmas 2000 I knew I going to swim the English Channel.

I work 40 hours a week.  I had to budget my money in order to pay for my training with Captain Darryl, pay living expenses etc.   I also saved my tax refund and vacation checks to pay for this crossing.

I left SFO August 7th via Virgin Atlantic and arrived in Gatwick Airport.  Got on a bus found to Victoria Station and transferred onto another bus headed to Dover.  The flight took 10 hours and the bus ride another 4.  I arrived in Dover with the winds blowing and the waves in the harbor kicking up white horses, aka white caps.

I stayed at Castle House, owned and operated by Rodney and Elizabeth Dimech.  This bed and breakfast inn was an old officers castle just below the actual Dover Castle.  My room was in the top attic and it took 64 steps to get to the front door.  I stayed at Castle House because Suzie had stayed there. After I arrived, all I wanted to do was to unpack, shower and sleep.

The next day after my arrival, I walked down to the harbor where the swimmers would meet each day.  There were swimmers in the water, others standing around in their swimsuits or getting tips from their coaches.  As Lynne said, “There is a lot of camaraderie involved in the English Channel swim and there is a lot of competition.”  I was talked into taking a group swim around the harbor.  Little did I know that I would be making my attempt the next night. 

When a swimmer arrives in Dover, it is their responsibility to call two key people in the Channel Association.  Duncan Taylor is the secretary and the other person in whom you will remain in close contact with is your pilot.  Pilots receive daily weather reports and this will determine your time of crossing.  When I got there, all swims were postponed the first four days due to severe weather.  Finally on August 10th at 7:30 p.m., the weather was deemed suitable for the crossing and four swimmers departed eight hours later. 

THE SWIM - I showed up at the dock at 2 a.m. by myself.  I carried my food supplies and extra clothing to the harbor to meet with Reg. The Viking Princess is a 31-foot professional fishing trawler, similar to Captain Darryl’s boat.  Raymond, his brother, and the Channel Observer, Colin, asked, “Where is your crew?”  My reply, “I don’t have one.”  It worked out that Raymond would feed me every half hour.  Colin, hired by the CSA, is not allowed to help or talk to the swimmer during the crossing.  The official observer will require half-hourly updates of the Vessel’s position keep and submit a full written report to the committee for ratification.

Let me just tell you how naïve I was about this whole Channel swim.  The shortest distance across the Channel is from Shakespeare Beach to Cap Gris Nez is 21 miles.  And on one ever goes straight across because the tidal flow will carry a swimmer in a curve, which makes for a longer course. Suzie completed her swim in 12:37 and I figured if worse came to worse, it would take me 12 to 14 hours.  I thought one just showed up in Dover and swam across.  Wrong!  It all depends on sea conditions, water and air temperature, wind-chill, hypothermia, swim technique and seasickness.  I learned how to combat seasickness taking one 25 mg tablet of Meclizine, seasick pills, the night before a swim.

The official water tempeture was 63 degrees and 64, as I got closer to France.  (Sure beats the mid to high 50 degree waters of the SF Bay.)

RULES

The CSA rules the swimmer may wear:
• Only ONE STANDARD swimming cap.
• Only ONE STANDARD swimming costume
• Goggles, nose-clip, earplugs and grease.
• A Light stick at night.

Grease is any type of grease permitted, but is normally a mixture of lanolin and Petroleum Jelly.  I found Aquaphor to be mixture of both and sold over here in the United States.  It is legal to use in the Channel.  I would apply this to my torso so the lining of my swimsuit would stay adhered to my body.  I also applied it to my upper arms, neck and thighs.  The primary usage was to evade severe salt water chaffing.

THE GOAL-There was no racing plan.  My goal was just to finish my quest:  crossing the English Channel-no matter how long it took. During my crossing, I wore a watch, but I think I looked at the time only twice.  I didn’t want to know how long I was in the water.  I relied on my pilot to tell me how much longer I had to go.  At one point Reggie came out and told me I had six more hours to swim.  I must have already swam for eight. I remember feeling discouraged, but I still could count my fingers and I knew my name.  I kept swimming, thinking about my father, my cat and just basically spacing out.  Every once in a while I saw a white sphere of a jelly fish which shook me back to reality- keep swimming. I eventually got the hours down to four when Reggie said he had some bad news.  I had at least another six hours to go.  Okay, now what am I going to do?  I assessed the situation, realized that I was not tired, not experiencing any cramps, I could still see clearly out of my goggles, I could still count my fingers and I knew my name.  I was somewhere in France with a time about 14 hours and still more miles to cover. I’ll just keep going until Reggie tells me to get out.  After all, I paid for this and there is no time limit.  (The longest one-way crossing took 27 hours.) It took me 3.5 hours to swim two miles due to tide and weather conditions.

Freda Streeter is a famous English Channel trainer.  She is quoted, “No one has ever died of a sore shoulder, and you will eventually get to France.”  Suzie also sent me a clipping that said, ‘I will never quit.’”  I repeated these lines over and over.No, I do not speak a word of French, but apparently I did swear a lot during my crossing.  Maybe that gave me the tenacity to keep going.  I’m sure Reggie and Raymond don’t want to see another American woman for quit some time.

My mother was the first person I called when I got to a payphone back in Dover.  It was 3:30 am in England, 11:30 am in Burlingame. The following day after my swim there was a Regatta in the harbor.  The CSA had a booth in which I purchased a tee shirt and a sweatshirt.

I have no swimming goals after this.  I spent a year and a half training for this and there were some things that got put on hold in my life.  Changing my job is on top of the list, enjoying life, spending more time with my friends and trying other adventures.

My training was done before going to work; I am committed to an 8-hour workday and my long swims were scheduled on the weekends.  Most of the people I work with have no idea what I do before I get to the office.  I never felt comfortable talking about my endeavor. My mother never knew about all the crazy swims I did.  When she asked how my training was going, I had a one-word reply, “Fine.”  A very good friend of mine told me that my mother was very scared for me.  The English Channel is known for its rough seas, and has a negative stigma for the notion of swimming across it.

As it turned out, there was a 37-year-old Swiss personal trainer a half hour behind me.  He was feeding off of coffee and chocolate, 16 hours into his swim he asked his father, who was on the boat, for some more coffee, but he got too far from the boat and sunk, He probably had a heart attack or got hypothermia.  A lot of strong swimmers give up a half-mile away because of the tides.  Before they knew it, he was gone.  He was found 8 days later in Belgium.  The autopsy is still pending.

There were a few difficult parts in my life that diverted my concentration from my goal.  I got a severe case of chicken pox seven months before I was to leave for England.  I was sick the month of March with bronchitis, I crashed my car four weeks before I was to leave and I had to put my best companion, Boots the cat, to sleep.

I would like to say that I didn’t go out and brag about my attempt to swim the English Channel.  I didn’t ask for fund-raisers, I didn’t solicit major corporations for donations, and I didn’t broadcast myself to every television or radio station.  I wanted to do this for myself.

My father died of a heart attack and we scattered his ashes in the bay.  I always thought that a part of him would be in the Channel waiting for me.  And you know what? - He was.  Towards the very end of my swim I stopped to canvas where I was.  I swear I heard him call my name.  I looked all around me and there wasn’t a person in sight.  I know in my heart he helped guide me through my incredible journey- 16 hours and 54 minutes.

I sincerely want to thank everyone who helped me and supported me.

THE FIRST WOMAN TO SWIM THE ENGLISH CHANNEL-1926



American Olympic gold medalist Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel in August 1926. Before setting out from Cap Griz-Nez, France, at 7:09 a.m., Ederle coated her body with layers of lard and petroleum jelly to insulate her from the cold waters. On that day, the sea was so rough that teamship crossings had been cancelled, but Ederle swam on in spite of being buffeted by waves and plagued by seasickness. She reached Dover at 9:40 p.m., August 6, after swimming the Channel in 14 hours and 39 minutes. This time broke the existing world record of 21 hours and 45 minutes set by British Navy Captain Matthew Webb in 1875.American Olympic gold medalist Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel in August 1926.