"Nothing great is easy." were the famous words (etched in the hearts of every Channel Swimmer aspirant and Channel Swimmer.) were first unveiled on a memorial standing as tribute to the late and great Captain Webb, who was the first person to ever cross the English Channel successfully on August 24, 1875. His crossing lasted 21 hours and 45 minutes . He swam over 39 miles (64 km) long from Dover, England to Calais, France breaststroke in his long johns. He fueled with brandy among other things, and he covered his body with porpoise oil. (poor porpoise) Using animal fat was an early practice which was later replaced with lanolin as it was believed that animal fat attracted sharks. (I have read this somewhere, but I fail to remember where exactly.) Today most swimmers just use plain old petroleum jelly. You can read more about Channel grease under Training. 

Very sadly he met his death in a dare devil attempt to swim the Niagara River, just beneath the falls.

RIP Captain Webb.

The first woman to ever swim the English Channel was an American Gertrude Ederle. She was a competitive and Gold Medal Olympian swimmer from New York. On her second attempt Gertrude used the front crawl and knocked the male record out of the ball park on August 6, 1926. She swam from France to England what is considered today as downstream. Swimming the other direction is tougher. The French however do not allow Channel swimming attempts on their cost line as it is considered dangerous. I think it is just a way for the officials to get out doing administration. Trudy (Gertrude) wore motorcycle goggles sealed with wax. Her time was 14 hours and 34 minutes.

I clearly remember watching footage of her in the 7th grade and learned about the English Channel and Charles Lindbergh. I generally hated school, but this just gripped me and I even remember which desk I was sitting in, the room what I was wearing and when the bell rang and I was ripped out of my awestruck state. If my teachers only knew that some finite piece of history was planted deep in their troubled pupil's bosom. 

There was some kind of impression when I tried to imagine how it would be to swim from one continent to the other and a slight flame was ignited. Our very brave heroine's record stood until 1950. During her second successful swim of the English Channel, high winds rose. Her trainer called her and told her she should exit the water. She simply replied, "Why?" and continued on. When she did reach land, she was greeted by an English immigration officer requesting her passport. 

Today when asked why I don't wear a wet suit, the answer is simple. Modern swimmers must maintain the traditions and standards that these greats once set. We do not have the right to challenge their feats and records with equipment un-used in their time. The exception is navigation. This could be due to the heavy traffic in the English Channel. Over 100 ships pass through the straights daily. 

One thing for sure Captain Webb and Gertrude Ederle are not forgotten. They are celebrated heroes still today by a very special community of swimmers who wish to reach the other shore.