Jersey to France Swim Challenge

Aim

To swim the 18 miles from Jersey to France to raise money for the Langton Community Swimming Pool.

Following on from Miss Lopez-Bonilla's Channel Swim attempt and the Spanish  Vigo Bay swim, she will be taking on the challenge of swimming the 18 miles form the North East Coast of Jersey in the Channel Islands to France.

The first successful crossing from Jersey to France was accomplished in 1966 by renowned local swimmer Denize Le Pennec. In the 40 years following, only a further 4 successful attempts were made of this little known channel crossing until Ms Lopez-Bonilla and a fellow swimmer completed the swim as the 1st ever relay across from Jersey to France in 2005. This relay tried out a new route for a swim that had not been completed since the 60s, paving the way for solo and relay swimmers. 

Ms Lopez-Bonilla completed this swim as a solo in 2016 in 10 h and 52 min becoming the 1st Spanish swimmer to do so. During her second attempt, she will be escorted by Lionheart Pilotage and the swim will be ratified by the Jersey Long-Distance Swimming Club.

Jersey - France has now become a well-established stepping-stone in the training plans of many English Channel aspirants, whilst a real achievement in its own right. This crossing shares many similarities with the English Channel - being a land mass to land mass swim, a snaking track as the tide pushes one way then the other and you may even find a souvenir pebble to take home!

 Point to point, the distance is around 15 nautical miles (18 statute miles or 28km), with tidal assistance early on, while the latter part of the crossing is a case of cutting across the tide and hitting the beach wherever you can.

This project closed unsuccessfully on 6th October 2023