Date: September 13, 2009 |
On September 13, 2009, at 7:53 am, Andy and Matthew began swimming from Europe to Africa. After waiting for nearly a week for the wind to calm just enough that a crossing was possible (as noted by the president of the swimming association), the two set off from the lighthouse peninsula in Tarifa, Spain. 10+ miles later, they landed at an industrial harbor in Morocco - not the tiki bar we all hope for at a swim finish line, but mission accomplished.
Date: June 26, 2009 |
Date: September 8, 2008 |
On September 8, 2008, at 4:39am, Night Train departed from Shakespeare Beach in Dover, Kent, for the fabled 21-mile crossing of the English Channel. The destination was Calais, France, a cliff barely visible on the horizon of a clear day. The real excitement started the evening before. After waiting in Dover for 5 days for the weather to partially clear, Night Train received “the call” for an early morning (or late night?) departure the following day. The team was, of course, at the White Horse Pub enjoying some of England’s (er…Ireland’s) finest from St. James’s Gate. After a final-final, the team made its way next door to try (unsuccessfully) to get some sleep before the early morning dip in the Channel.
The next morning, September 8, Night Train departed from Shakespeare Beach, between Folkestone and Dover, at 4:39am. Eleven boats departed before Night Train that morning. In the dark, you could make out most of the boats on the horizon, and Night Train closed the gap quickly and passed more than half the teams in the first 2 hours of swimming. Halfway across the channel, the weather worsened considerably, and our pilot told us that we were in the lead and two boats had already turned back. It wasn’t the Perfect Storm, it wasn’t the Deadliest Catch, it was the English Channel.
After 12 hours and 5 minutes of swimming, including very cold water, a busy shipping channel, and one member digging very deep to finish the swim and get to France, Night Train landed at a beach in Calais, France, at 4:44pm. 2 hours of cruising back to England over a few bottles of smuggled wine from California, and we were back at the White Horse Pub in Dover to leave our mark on the wall. Vito, our resident artist, did a great job with this one.
It was quite an adventure, and we were glad to get this first of many charity swims successfully completed. We’ll be back, for individual crossings as well as more relay endeavors. Dover (unfortunately) hasn’t seen the last of Team Night Train! Our spotter, Mikey, made the following video compilation for our swim.
