Paul Leonard
Porthcawl to Devon 26-6-24
Swim time: 9hours 15mins 53 seconds
Start: Sandy Bay, Porthcawl
Finish: Devon
Observer: Matt Draper
Swim Crew: Andrew Leonard
Pilot: Mark Hutchinson - Wild Frontier
Pending ratification by the BCSA.
Swimmers report:
Swimmers Narrative
I slept on the boat to Porthcawl, I always seem to sleep really well on boats before big swims and this was no different. I was anxious to start and for what laid ahead, just needed to get going. The swim to the beach was a lot longer than any other swims I have done, it must have been 800m. There were two people on the beach staring at me. The water felt cold but nothing that I had not experienced before, although this would become the longest cold swim I have done. I had been training to swim the Molokai channel but had missed the window due to strong winds so the Bristol channel was a chance not to let the training go to waste.
I started the swim with a lot of pace as I wanted to keep heat up in my body and get 2-3 hours behind me. My first feed was not hot enough so I asked for a greater amount of hot water and the remaining feeds were a good temperature. After 6 feeds (3 hours) I started to develop hip flexor pain and kept pushing. I took 400mg of Ibuprofen at feed 8 (hour 4) but it was preventative only.
At the six hour mark my swim coach called Andrew to say that we were being dragged too far west by the tide. Andrew stopped me and explained that I needed to pick up the pace and gave me a GU gel. I immediately knew something was wrong and picked up the pace for the next hour. The coach called back to say that the track was changing and that we were back on course.
At feed 14 (7 hours) the hip flexor pain was still evident and I was unable to take all of the liquid feed and swapped to gels and chocolate. I could see the cliffs very visibly now but they were just not getting any nearer and I was telling myself to relax and stop looking.
The next hour felt very choppy, a bit like going over the sandbank earlier in the swim. Fatigue was starting to set in from swimming hard to stay warm. I felt like I was just about at a level above shivering the whole way but was well prepared for it from winter training. In preparation for the North channel I had been in a cold tub in the garden twice per week for 20 mins, this was massively helping.
At around 8.5 hours Andrew said we are close to the fastest time on this route and I gave it everything for the final stretch but we did not seem to be making much progress, maybe the tide had just changed. In the end we were off by a good 5 minutes and I was very glad to be getting back in the boat to get warmed up.
Observers report:
I travelled down with Paul the evening before the swim arriving at the hotel just before 10pm. On the morning of the swim we met the pilot of the Wild Frontier at 5am and started loading our kit on board. Whilst I had a chat with the pilot about their experience across the Bristol Channel Paul had a sleep. Approximately 20 minutes before the start of the swim I woke Paul up to let him know that it was nearly time to start getting ready. Paul then began to start applying sun cream and Ocean Grease before splashing into the water to swim from the boat to the start line at Sandy beach.
Paul began his attempt across the Bristol Channel at 07:30AM BST with a bearing of N51 28.571. Whilst we waited for Paul to swim back towards the boat, the pilot advised me that the temperature was 14 degrees and it was likely to be a similar temperature throughout the duration of the crossing. The weather was mostly cloudy with the occasional patches of blue clouds and sunshine however, the underlying temperature was warm throughout the day.
A few hours into the swim we hit a narrow sandbank which the pilots explained was one of the hardest parts of the swim. Paul later explained to me on his next feed that he thought it was quite rough in the channel however, I think this was just due to the narrow sandbank and the water pushing past. The Bristol Channel was extremely quiet for the duration of our crossing. We saw only two other boats both of which were fishing vessels. Approximately half way across the Bristol Channel Paul was joined by two dolphins - both of which he didn’t see but laughed about when I told him at the end.
Paul’s feeds took place every 30 minutes with the first feed taking place at 08:00AM. Paul quickly drank his warm feed (200ML) of hot water and two scoops of Decathon. Paul had a total of 5 different feeds which were alternated every 30 minutes. Feed’s number 10 & 13 saw Paul take on board his feed along with x1 GU gell. Feed 15, Paul took a precision fuel gell and spat out the majority of his warm feed. 8 hours into the swim Paul ate a small twix Chocolate bar and a handful of revels.
Throughout the swim Paul had a consistent stroke rate of 63 - 65 for the full duration. Just before the 4 hour point, Paul mentioned on one of his feeds that he was experiencing hip flexor pain which is common for him on his channel swims - especially in cold water. 4 hours into the swim Paul took some Ibuprofen pain killers to help with the pain he was experiencing. On hour 8 Paul declined the Ibuprofen when offered with his feed.
Around six hours into the swim Paul advised me that he was starting to feel the cold. On the next feed I provided him with microwaved coke and 3 table spoons of sugar as well as a GU gell. Shortly after this I received a text message from Paul’s coach Tim asking me how we were getting on (as Paul was swimming on a Spring tide). I explained that Paul was doing well with a consistent stroke rate and that the pilots were happy with his progress however, Tim asked me to inform Paul to up it by an extra 5% because we were staring to drift. The instruction resonated with Paul and he picked up the pace.
Pauls swim was very well executed with quick feeds meaning minimal time spent stopping. Once Paul had finished the swim and we had motored back to harbour Paul began to tuck into not one but two sandwiches whilst looking out across the Bristol Channel. Well done to Paul for completing the Bristol Channel making him the one of the many few that have the Original Triple Crown for Long Distance Swimming.
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