Galway endurance swimmer to take on English Channel

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

A little piece of information compliments of a Google search: More people have successfully climbed Mount Everest than have been able to swim the 21 miles – 33 kilometres – or so of the English Channel in 2016. That may change over the Summer months but, all the same, it puts what Bushy Park swimmer Alice Flood is about to undertake into perspective.

Between the window of July 19th and 26th, Flood will bid to become the first Galway native to swim the English Channel. Recognised as the ultimate endurance event for any swimmer in this part of the world, not surprising, those who attempt and fail it far surpass those who succeed.

Self-confessed challenge junkie Flood, though, is optimistic that she can join the elite group who have swam the arduous route from England to France.

“I love testing myself and sea swimming is a massive test regardless of the distance because you are always battling different conditions. You could get into the same spot in Salthill three days in a row and have a completely different experience,” says the Galway native when asked about her motivation for undertaking such an extreme venture.

“I was doing 5km and 10km swims while last year I did Galway Bay (the Frances Thornton Memorial 13k Swim). I remember I came out at the end of the Galway Bay swim and I thought I could have gone again. For any long distance swimmer though, the Channel is the one you want. It is the ultimate challenge so I guess that is where my motivation came from.”

Flood had planned to do the Channel last year but, unfortunately, it fell through due to adverse weather conditions and she missed her slot. In the coming weeks, however, she hopes Mother Nature will be more forgiving to her ambitions when she lands in Dover. She explains the process.

“You are assigned a window and mine is from July 19th to the 26th. I will head over and just wait on the call from my boat pilot, Eddie Spelling. He is in charge of monitoring the weather and the tides. He is monitoring everything that is happening on both ends of the Channel. He knows all about the shipping lanes because it is the busiest shipping channel in the world. So, he works out all of that.

“I guess the bigger issue is that he is not just looking for good weather in the moment. He is looking for good weather for 12 to 14 hours. Last year, I was supposed to do it around the third week of August and on that week there was a massive storm up the Channel. I couldn’t get out on my week. So, I am just praying for some fine weather.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.