Over the last week, Julie and Steve from our 'local' Worcester pub, Charlstons, ran a raffle to support my Channel swim for Acorns.

Not only did they go to all this effort to raise funds, but they also personally donated two of the prizes, including a meal for two, and a bottle of wine.

The raffle raised just under £200 in total - So Julie ensured that Charlstons rounded the sum up to an even £200.

A fantastic effort, a brilliant amount raised!  This money takes me well over the £12,000 mark, and it is very, very much appreciated.

Many thanks to Julie, Steve, and all who contributed!

Now that the swim attempt is over, and life returns to normal at home and at work, it is nothing short of heart warming to discover the full extent of the support I was receiving from work colleagues at Dovetail whilst I was in the Channel.

It transpires that I was solely responsible for the lack of productivity on Wednesday 20th August, as staff in the UK and US were glued to the tracker, watching my swim progress.

In the US office, they had their own, somewhat-less-technical progress chart, as can be seen from the top photo.

The fact that I exceeded my target of £10,000 for Acorns was seen as the major achievement, and staff in the UK office gathered for a congratulatory photo.

I work with some incredible people.  It makes me proud to be one of them.

With the swim over and done with (albeit success being 2.8 miles outside of my grasp) it was nothing short of heartwarming to come home to such continued and overwhelming support.  

After a four hour drive home, not only was I greeted by a large 'Well done Dad' banner hanging on the front of the house, but there were balloons, a hand-drawn poster, flowers (though they might have been for Esta), and a bottle of bubbly waiting for me.

Our chickens had been in the care of Newland Poultry whilst we were all down in Folkestone.  To my complete surprise, owner and proprietor Sean Sabin refused to take any payment, saying the boarding of our hens was his contribution towards the swim.  I would very much like to offer my thanks for this gesture, and for the last-minute advice offered by Sean.  Hopefully your business will feature in the documentary (out sometime around March 2015).

Last, but by no means least, Esta and I were stunned to find a large congratulations sign awaiting us at David Lloyd's today when we went to relax in the spa.  The continued support shown by Wayne and his team has been nothing less than crucial throughout the last year - without access to those facilities, there is no way I would have been able to make it as close to France as I did.  Many, many thanks indeed.

Friends, family, work colleagues and even complete strangers from across the world tracked my progress on line yesterday as I attempted to swim the infamous water's of the English Channel.

Those who did so will have seen the my pilot boat, Connemare, turned back slightly short of the French coast. 

Here is why:

We had been holed up in Folkestone, waiting for the wind to drop sufficiently to attempt a crossing. A narrow weather window of 18 hours was forecast, and we took the earliest possible start on Wednesday 20th August.  With my crew of Alistair MacLeod and son my Connagh, together with the film crew who have been following my preperative journey, we met at the harbour at 05:00.

Just over an hour later we arrived at our designated start point and I began my swim.

The seas were being blown by a fair-to-steady force 3. Aside from a few minor jellyfish stings and an encounter with a vast Maersk container ship, I made great process towards the French coast, arriving at this point within just 11hours.

With just 2.8 miles to go, I was within the zone that the majority of swims are abandoned. This infamous coastline has currents that push swimmers away from the coast, and all the skill of the safety pilot is brought to bear on getting the swimmer onto shore.

I was doing well, and success looked certain.

The Channel had other ideas.

Literally from nowhere, the storm that was predicted to arrive at midnight appeared early. The sea turned violent and angry, with swells of two meters making it impossible for me to see land - France or England. In these conditions, swimmers  quickly become disoriented.

I still had strength left, and without the change in conditions I'm convinced I would have made it. But the boat pilot is responsible for the safety of his crew, passengers and swimmer. After I'd disappeared under the waves several times, and even under the bow of the violently rocking boat, the captain had seen enough. I'd been pushed out to three miles from shore, and we'd made no progress for an hour.

At the pilot's say (which is final) the attempt was abandoned for safety concerns after swimming for just over 11 hours.

Disappointed though I was not to make land, the pilot assured me no one alive could have swim against those waves and a 3.5 knot tide. I had no reason to regret any lack of training or mental or physical resolve - the Channel had simply closed its doors to swimmers from that point.

Once on board and wrapped up in warm, dry clothes and a sleeping bag, I saw that I had four text messages and 54 emails confirming donations. My disappointment was eclipsed by the knowledge that my true goal, to raise £10,000 for Acorns, had been achieved. The swim was 'just' a means by which to do this, and unsuccessful though it was, that sum had been raised.

Many, many thanks to everyone who followed and supported me. I hope you can take comfort in knowing I did everything I possibly could to justify your donations and your belief in me.

Regards, 

All Gale

Last blog, prior to the challenge.

To follow my progress during the day, please use the following link:  http://cspf.co.uk/tracking

Look for a white marker labelled 'Connemara'. The boat will depart Folkestone around 05:30, and head for the departure point. From then on, you will be able have a view of my progress, updated regularly throughout the day.

Almost there! 

The weather forecast is holding. At this stage there is still every reason to believe we will get away from the harbour at 05:30 on Wednesday 20th August, with an anticipated swim start of around 06:15 (it takes around 45 minutes to arrive at our coastguard-designated beach).

Today will be spent relaxing, and going through a final check of equipment, feeding drills and communication plans.

The clock is ticking.

Holed up down in Folkestone, it now becomes.a game of patience, waiting for the best break in the weather. With the wind currently blowing between force 4 and 7, all our hopes are hanging on a less blustery day.

At this stage, tomorrow is looking better. The trouble is, Wednesday is looking better still. What I need to remember is that I want to take my BEST chance, not just my FIRST chance.

It's a frustrating time, with everything out of my control at this point.

I am due to speak to Kevin, the pilot, again tonight at 18:00. Hopefully we'll all know more once that has happened.

Wait. Out. 

Now that the date window for my swim is so close, it's possible to start looking at the weather forecasts for next week.

The prediction is not good at this stage.

Though the Channel is renowned for having its own micro-climate, and is famous for unpredictable changes, at this stage a force 5 (or stronger) wind is due to hover over that stretch of water for the next week.

With a factor such as this, so much out of my control, all I can do is sit, wait, and hope things will change.  This has always been one of my  biggest worries.  No swimmers have gone out this week.  And if this wind keeps up, none will be likely to go out next week either.  Including me.

What happened to this elongated jet stream that was supposed to be bringing us record-breaking hot weather?

On 11 June 2013, I woke up in a hotel in the US wondering what the logistical requirements would be for swimming the Channel.  I had no idea of what it might cost, how long it might take, or how I would go about beginning to register my intent for this challenge.

If my swim goes ahead on Monday 18th August 2014, it will be 433 days after the inception of the original idea.

In many ways, that time has flown.  But it has also been a long year of research, planning, fundraising and training.

Whatever happens, I will not be upset when it is all over next week!