Training is hotting up for the Channel Titan swimmers, as they have moved their training sessions to the open sea.

The group of year 8 swimmers spent Wednesday 5th June training in Lyme Regis. The sea temperature was still a chilly 13°C but it apparently felt warmer in the sun.  Our Headmaster, a channel swimmer himself, stated that ‘it marks a major milestone being able to swim for 45minutes in such cool water temperatures. These are some of the best we have had thus far, having great courage, resilience and determination’. 

Next on the training schedule on 12th June, was the 1km offshore swim to ‘bag’ the Pencil Buoy!

The Lyme Regis yellow pencil buoy, behind Genevieve’s left shoulder, is approx. 1km offshore and ‘bagging it’ is a right of passage for all our Channel swimming teams dating back to when the school started Long Distance swimming in 2015.  

This swim was chilly still and the children met a fair few jelly fish which left their mark on Holly’s arm.  

Incremental achievements such as yesterdays swim give our young swimmers the confidence, trust and grit that will enable them jump off a boat at night into The English Channel.

The swimmers were accompanied by Their Headmaster, with Mr Pettifer, Mr McCarthy and by Mr Williamson on the safety kayak who kept a watchful eye on them and other watercraft.   

The most recent sea swim session on 23rd June saw the Titans Exploring the secret caves at Beer on a Swim Safari.

A swim out passed Beer Head, through ‘secret’ caves and forests of Gut & Thongweed. Another great training day banked.

Following this, the team underwent their mandatory qualification swim and passed with flying colours – a major milestone reached and done so with incredible team effort. The qualification consisted of a 90-minute swim, followed one hour later, by a further 60-minute swim, all at water temperatures no higher than 16°C.

The swimmers are now looking forward to their hardest test yet, the Plymouth Breakwater swim which takes place on Sunday 14th July. The swim is 3.5km from the breakwater back to shore in potentially cold and choppy waters but is a great challenge for the team and will really help set the scene for their channel swim.

Training will resume as usual the next day which will help recover the team’s morale and celebrate their success. The group will begin heading out to sea in small groups to practice swimming in specific conditions at Beer, Antseys Cove and potentially Brixham too.

The Channel swim is scheduled for August 2024, good luck Titans with your continued training this summer!