Final Thoughts (part two)

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This morning I got the call from Eric the pilot saying its almost definitely happening this evening. Which is a bit crazy...waiting for the final definitve go ahead, which I'm expecting in half an hour. Blimey. I've mainly been eating spaghetti.

Yesterday I went down to Dover for one last swim (one and a half hours). It was fine, and probably just what I needed, but on the way back we stopped off at Samphire Hoe, which is the beach that I set off from. This was the first time that I have stopped and looked at the channel since I agreed to do this. And probably something I should have done beforehand, although with hindsight it is good that I didn't because there is no way that I would have agreed to do it.

The one thing that struck me, and struck me hard in a kind of breathtaking kind of way, was the sheer vastness of it. You can just about make out France, and that is fine. But its the vast stretch between the Atlantic and the North Sea thats the problem. Just a great big maassive body of water...that I need to try to swim across, in a couple of hours.

Probably best not to dwell on that for too long actually...I'm sure it will be a pretty unforgettable sunset.


Much more constructive is to leave with this quote, which I think is appropriate, from a great man and adventurer, and generally quite deep and philosophical - but I guess thats probably the best thing to be now...a bit philospophical:

"The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head."

See you on the other side.