World Record attempt - 3 way Channel swim

We are a team of 6 ladies, in August we will be attempting to break the World Record for a continuous triple crossing of the English Channel! We need your help to make this possible!

About our challenge

In 2013, our team Andy's Channel Ladies smashed the World Record for the fastest 2 way crossing of the Channel, completing the swim in 18hrs 13 mins, a record we still hold to this day. We want to go one step further this time and break the 3 way World Record too, which currently stands at 32hrs 31 mins!

What we will encounter on the swim -

• 63 miles of swimming minimum (we will swim further due to tides)
• Water temperatures between 12 and 17 degrees C (no wetsuits are allowed)
• Stinging jellyfish
• Swimming round the clock, including through the night in complete darkness
• Rough seas
• Floating debris
• The Channel is the busiest shipping lane in the world with up to 500 tankers, container ships, ferries and fishing vessels passing through the narrow strait every day

Each team member will swim for 1 hour, then rest for 5 hours on the boat whilst the rest of the team complete their 1 hour swims. We will repeat this keeping the same order until we finish. When we reach France and Dover, the team member in the water will climb out on dry land, clear the water and start swimming back again. 

Your support

The cost for us to take part in this challenge is £7,000. This pays for a fully qualified Channel Pilot, his boat, crew, fuel, safety equipment and an official observer. We decided not to ask for the full amount as we are aware it's a big ask and because this is an 'all or nothing' platform, we wanted to ensure we do receive some funds towards our challenge and not be too over ambitious!

Raising as much as we can via donations will mean that we can then put more of our time and effort into raising money for the 2 great charities we have chosen to raise money for - the British Heart Foundation and UNICEF. 

We've got some fantastic thank you rewards to make donating that little bit more special, please help to spread the word!

Meet the team

Jane McCormick

•  Jane has successfully completed a solo Channel swim, Loch Lomond and round Manhattan Island (28 miles). She had a baby boy (Archie) 12 weeks before our team's World Record swim in 2013 (swimming 10k on the day her waters broke and then 50km a week after giving birth!) Diagnosed with a blockage in her heart a number of years ago and told she would never reach her full potential in any sport, Jane proves that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. She was also a UNICEF ambassador for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games

Dee Llewellyn

• Dee has successfully completed a solo Channel swim. She has also completed Loch Lomond,  Loch Ness and Windermere 2 way (21 miles). In 2009 Dee had a stroke and was found to have a hole in her heart. She was unable to compete that year but helped train her sister for a successful 2 way Channel swim. Dee had a heart operation that year and made a speedy recovery - in 2011 she was part of a Windermere '12 way' relay team that broke the World Record for the longest ever fresh water swim, completing in 75hrs 32 mins. 

 Lucy Lloyd-Roach

• Lucy is a swimming teacher and coach. In 2012 she was part of a number of masters relay teams in the pool, breaking several World Records. She currently holds the masters British Record for 200m butterfly in her age group. Lucy has won a bronze medal in the World Masters Championships and was No.1 in the masters FINA World rankings for butterfly in 2013 and 2014. She also completed 3 miles butterfly in an open water race in the Liverpool docks as a unique challenge! 

Katie Birchall

• Katie currently holds the masters British Record for 100m backstroke, and won two Gold medals at the masters World Championships in Gothenburg 2010 and Italy 2012 as well as silver and bronze. She qualified for the 2010 Commonwealth and 2012 London Olympic Trials, narrowly missing qualifying for the final by 0.2 seconds. Katie has swum the length of Coniston and Wastwater, and completed her first open water 10k in 2012. 

Natalie Massey

• Natalie comes from a sporting background, her mother completed a Channel relay and her brother competed to National level in Judo. She has been coached by her father since the age of 12, and from 2009 to 2012 was part of the Paralympics GB team (S14 category) representing the UK in many International competitions. She currently holds Paralympic World Records in both the 400m freestyle and 100m Individual Medley. She has won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in the European Championships. Natalie has represented GB in 2 World Championships and also the London 2012 Paralympics! 

Emma Ross

• Emma has completed a number of open water swims including Loch Rannoch (15km), The Solent, the Firth of Forth and Lochore Meadows. Last year she was a member of a 6 person team that took part in the 'Channel swim in Manchester' event, held at Salford Quays. The team shared the 36km distance, starting at midnight and swam through the night which was good practice for our swim in August! Emma won four bronze medals in the masters European Championships in the Ukraine in 2011. She has also been part of a number of masters relay teams who have broken European and World records. 

 The team in action