ADVICE for your A2A attempt

FEEDING

Feeding from your escort boat during your channel swim is something you need to plan and prepare for.

The image below shows the kind of bottles you can use. The lids need to be easy to open, and if they come off completely, ensure they have some string attached; otherwise, they will disappear into the sea. The same goes for your solid feed boxes; see how the lids below are attached with string.

The bottles and boxes must be on long cord or string as they will be thrown out to you. However, as you drink/eat, the boat will likely be moving away from you. You need enough string to allow this to happen and the bottle not be pulled from your hand before you are finished!

• Making your powdered feed up in a concentrated form helps your crew. They can then add warm water to the mix. It also saves with space on the boat.

• Ensure everything is marked clearly for your crew. Feeding a swimmer for up to 16 hours is tiring work, being organised beforehand will help your swim run smoothly.

• Keep kit to a minimum. Space is limited on the boat and having too much of everything will make your crews life harder then it needs to be.

• Keep your feeding time to a minimum to avoid losing the distance you have swam. Run through how your feeds will work with your crew BEFORE the swim.

• Coke or ginger tea can help with sickness. If you are planning on using sea sickness medication, ensure you have tested it beforehand. The same for your crew.

• Solid food can be half a banana, some tinned fruit, jelly sweets or mini Swiss rolls. Some swimmers like savoury food. Test what works before your attempt.

• Some swimmers use mouthwash to help avoid getting a sore mouth/tongue, but make sure your crew mix 50/50 or it will burn!

• Remember to bring warm, loose clothing for AFTER your swim. Also, a warm hat, woolly socks and a DryRobe or similar. These will need to be in a dry bag, so they are stored safety on the deck. Don’t forget a towel as well.

• Your crew will need warm, waterproof clothes and hats. But they will also need sun cream, caps and sunglasses! The nights are cold, but the days can get very hot and there is not much protection on the deck of the boat.

• Remember that your crew will also need food and tea/coffee! It is helpful to have some flasks of hot water made up already but you can use the kitchen on the boat.

• Pack some spare (tested) goggles and you will also need clear lens goggles for the night time and tinted or yellow for the daytime.

• Bring Vaseline to help with chaffing or some Ocean Grease.

• The lights you will need for night swimming are available here.