Applying for the Swim

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4 STEPS TO BOOKING YOUR ENGLISH CHANNEL SWIM:

Step 1

Book a pilot boat:* Without a boat booking, all other steps are irrelevant.

Pilot boats are either affiliated to the CSA or the CS&PF.

CSA boats are basic fishing boats, but cheaper; CS&PF boats are slightly bigger and more comfortable, and therefore a little dearer.
Bookings can be made for a solo swim or a relay team consisting of between 2 & 6 people who swim 1 hour each on rotation.
You don’t book a day; you book a month, a tide and a slot number.**
Boats get booked up 2-3 years in advance.

Step 2

Qualifying swim: A 6-hour, swimsuit-only swim in 16°C or less must be signed off within 12 months of your EC swim slot.

Step 3

Medical: A specific channel-swim medical is required prior to the crossing (and sometimes a drugs test afterwards).

Step 4

Apply: Finally, apply to the relevant swimming body (CSA or CS&PF) to swim the channel, providing evidence of your pilot boat/month/tide/slot, your qualifying swim and your medical. They then register the application and allocate an observer for your swim.

THE PILOT BOAT

Boat cost includes 2 skippers for 24 hours, the boat and its facilities, fuel and most importantly, the pilot’s skill to calculate tides and start time (based on swim speed), read the weather and have final say over the swimmers’ condition, safety & continuation of the swim on the day.

**Unlike other events, you never know the exact day of your swim which is psychologically draining. Your boat offers a month, a tide (a ‘neap’ tide is preferred over a ‘spring’ due to less extreme swells) and a slot number, which refers to the 1st, 2nd,, 3rd etc. good weather day within that tide. Most people aim for a slot 1 or 2 as there may not be another good day in that tide. In fact, the advice I received was not to even consider a slot 3 or 4 if offered.