August 9, 2010 
Andy
22
[On Aug 8th, 2010 Charlie Wittmack successfully completed the first leg of The World Tri by swimming across the English Channel to France. He became the first American to both climb Mt. Everest and swim the English Channel. Explore a photo essay below taken on board the escort boat that followed him on the 12 hour, 27-mile continuous swim from England to France.]
7:47 AM: Charlie, with his wife Cate, prepares for the 21-mile swim across The Channel, as the escort boat speeds off from the harbor to take him to the starting point at Samphire Hoe beach south of Dover, England.
8:28 AM: Charlie takes the last few seconds to say a little prayer, as he prepares to step into the cold water of The English Channel, first swum in 1876 by Captain Webb. The famous ‘White Cliffs’ of Dover serve as a backdrop. Total continuous time in the water: 0 hours 0 minutes.
8:39 AM: Art Wittmack (Charlie’s dad), Cate and ESPN’s Wayne Drehs watch as Charlie takes some of the first strokes of the day. Total continuous time in the water: 11 minutes.
9:30 AM: Art checks the nautical charts as Sue Wittmack (Charlie’s step-mom) cheers him on. The white cliffs are still visible on the horizon. Total continuous time in the water: 1 hour 2 minutes.
10:06 AM: Dr. John Quinn of Des Moines, Iowa serves as Charlie’s doctor for The Channel swim. During Charlie’s failed 2008 attempt to swim the Channel, he was pulled from the water 15-miles in with severe hypothermia and a body temperture dipping to 80F/26C degrees. Total continuous time in the water: 1 hour 38 minutes.
10:45 AM: Art phones in updates to Charlie’s mom Dee (at the house in town watching Charlie and Cate’s 2-year old son James) and Brian Triplett, who is back at the house manning home base and updating The World Tri social media and website. Total continuous time in the water: 2 hours 17 minutes.
11:10 PM: Charlie shows no visible signs of fatigue, cracking jokes with the crew at his first stop for food about an hour into the swim. Total continuous time in the water: 2 hours 40 minutes.
12:16 PM: Boat captain Andy King (right) steers the escort boat that leads Charlie across The Channel. King and his co-pilot, also named Andy, navigate the currents and tides, steer Charlie out of the path of the criss-crossing ferries and communicate with the coast guard to stay clear of the massive container ships crossing Charlie’s path through the water (The English Channel is ofter referred to as ‘the busiest shipping channel in the world.’). Total continuous time in the water: 3 hours 48 minutes.
1:22 PM: Charlie swims on a 3-breath cadence (a breath on every third stroke) at about 32 strokes per minute and averaged about 2-miles per hour on the open ocean. When the choppy seas pick up, he often needs to change his breathing to one side to avoid breathing in water. Total continuous time in the water: 4 hours 54 minutes.
The Dover Strait (the part of The English Channel Charlie crossed): Dover, England to Cap Gris Nez, France. The direct-line distance is 21-miles, though because of tides and currents, the swim is actually longer due because the swimming path is in an ‘S’ shape—making Charlie’s total swim distance 27 miles.
2:28 PM The rules of The English Channel swim dictate that the swimmer must stand on the beach in England and then raise his hands to show he is fully out of the water. Then, the escort boat sounds its horn, the clock starts and the swimmer steps into the water. During the actual swim the swimmer is not allowed to touch any surface (including the boat) to ensure it is one ‘continuous swim.’
At the conclusion of the swim, the swimmer will reach the beach in France and must step fully out of the water before the timer is stopped. A small motorboat is taken into shore (the escort boat can not get in too close to the beach due to rocks) and retrieves the swimmer back to the escort boat. The swimmer (and the people on the boat) must then make the two hour journey back to England, as they are not permitted to legally enter France through this route. Total continuous time in the water: 6 hours.
3:10 PM Charlie chats briefly with Cate on a scheduled stop for a drink—hot Cytomoax, a high carbohydrate sports drink used to try to maintain his internal body temperature in the cold water. Total continuous time in the water: 6 hours 42 minutes.
3:55 PM The water in The English Channel has an average temperature that hovers between 60-70F/15-21C. The average recreational swimming pool temperature is usually between 83-86F/28-30C. Total continuous time in the water: 7 hours 27 minutes.
4:36 PM Art religiously checks the navigational charts and monitors Charlie’s pace and stroke count, as his son swims alongside the boat. Total continuous time in the water: 8 hours 8 minutes.
5:15 PM Because Charlie is not permitted to touch the boat, food is sent out to him in a basket on a stick and his drinks in a bottle tethered on a rope to the boat. Here chocolate Ho Ho’s (little cakey things) and chunks of banana are sent his way. Total continuous time in the water: 8 hours 47 minutes.
6:02 PM The crew watches nervously as the team realizes that Charlie must make it out of the main channel quickly, before the current shifts, which would drag him farther out to sea (and increase the distance he’d need to swim by up to 6 miles!). Total continuous time in the water: 9 hours 34 minutes.
6:21 PM Charlie’s total food in-take for the day (including the 12 hour swim): Two bowls of Frosted Flakes (his breakfast before getting in the water), bananas, chocolate Ho-Ho’s, six mini-blueberry muffins, Red Bull, 8 quarts of Cytomax sports drink, and two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (after the swim). In this photo Charlie eats a banana laced with an Advil gelcap to help with the pain. Total continuous time in the water: 9 hours 53 minutes.
6:45 PM Two-thirds of the way through the swim, boat captain Andy brings out an American flag and hangs it from the side of the boat for inspiration. Total continuous time in the water: 10 hours 17 minutes.
7:06 PM: Despite facing extreme nausea and sea sickness (vomiting once over the side of the boat), Cate rarely leaves Charlie’s side during the final four hours of the swim. Total continuous time in the water: 10 hours 38 minutes.
7:31 PM As master of food feeding, Sue keeps an eye on Charlie and an eye on her watch, with short food breaks (of about 30 second to 1 minute) every 45-minutes. Total continuous time in the water: 11 hours 3 minutes.
8:02 PM: Charlie begins to show some fatigue in the final hours, but seems strong, telling the boat crew at his final food stop: "#1: I need two smiling faces on my side of the boat at all times, #2: I need you all to put away the charts and maps, and #3: no one should point at France unless its from my side of the boat.
As Charlie nears the beach in France, he blows Cate a kiss (without breaking his stroke) as tears of joy and relief can be seen on her cheek.
Total continuous time in the water: 11 hours 34 minutes.
8:27 PM: The sun and the clouds provided a beautiful backdrop as Charlie reaches France, completing 11 hours and 59 minutes of continuous swimming over 27 miles (23.5 nautical miles). Total continuous time in the water: 11 hours 59 minutes.
8:35 PM: After only a quick touch on the beach in Cap Gris Nez (see the cliffs in the background of this photo), Charlie is whisked away in a speed boat for the 2-hour boat ride return to England. Once he boards the escort boat, he heads straight for Cate, kissing her and saying ‘We did it,’ before they hug in a salt water drenched embrace.
Charlie is the first American to complete the ‘Peak and Pond’ (climb Mt Everest and swim The English Channel), successfully bringing the first leg of The World Tri to a close. Asked what his first thought was out of the water, he later reported, "I saw a flat beach and I saw people and I knew they had to get there somehow. And then I saw a path to the top of the hill. And I was like ‘We’re good.’ This couldn’t have worked out any better. Perfect place to start the bike ride."
Up next, a 9,000 mile bike ride from France to Calcutta, India, starting this Wednesday (Aug 10th).
Share
August 9, 2010
10:15 pm
Allen Hall
What an amazing photo essay. Thanks for allowing us to share in your adventure and your dreams. I hope to get to meet you when you return.
August 9, 2010
10:27 pm
Matt Johnson - Fort Dodge Toyota
Congratulations to Charlie and the whole team, really great photos!!!
August 9, 2010
10:30 pm
Joan Scharf
This essay brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for your excellent jounalism in capturing this outstanding feat. Charlie always tries to keep a happy outlook in tough times. I am so glad you are his very capable and talented comrade.
Joan Scharf
August 9, 2010
11:24 pm
Dave
Love it. Just awesome. I couldn’t be any happier for you. Now saddle up and get rolling. (But get some rest first)
August 10, 2010
1:17 am
Jennifer from Hailey
The water looks so cold, clear and refreshing (not like the Thames.) And Charlie looks so strong. Thanks, Andy, for “bringing us along.”
August 10, 2010
2:21 am
Maureen Murphy
So beautiful. I teared up as I watched this and saw Cate’s face as Charlie was in the water. Hope you eat and rest well before the next leg of your Tri! So proud of you, Charlie. Thanks, Andy for letting us all see this. Big hugs to you all!
August 10, 2010
5:50 am
Julie Tremmel
Wow! (With a happy tear in my eye. I can’t think of anything else to say.)
August 10, 2010
8:26 am
Andrew Marinkovich
Awesome. Very moving. Great work capturing the story man!
August 10, 2010
10:05 am
Bev Nielsen
Truly amazing feat! CONGRATULATIONS to all! We are so proud of your courage and fortitude to complete this portion of the world tri. The pictures and text are great. Thank you.
August 10, 2010
10:43 am
Teresa A.
Congratulations to the support team Cate and Charlie. Is Cytomax the equivalent of a can of “suck it up”? Way to go chief. We’ll be following you on the bike too. T
August 10, 2010
11:02 am
Fred James
Charlie – Outstanding and congratulations. John and I send our best.
August 10, 2010
5:57 pm
Andy
Thanks everyone for the comments, it was an amazing feat to actually see in person.
August 10, 2010
9:03 pm
White Ribbon Alliance Global Secretariat
Congratulations, Charlie!! What an incredible feat. We at the WRA Global Secretariat are so in awe of what you are doing and honored that you are doing it in support of our organization and our cause. Good luck on your bike ride – looking forward to joining you on the run segment.
August 10, 2010
9:49 pm
Katie Westlund Thrasher
I am so proud of Charlie! What an amazing job, so inspiring. Like others have said, I teared up with happiness and awe while reading this.
August 11, 2010
9:42 am
Jeff Slobotski
Sitting here in Omaha with an unbelievable amount of pride and excitement for what you’ve accomplished.
Not to count the number of tears and goosebumps on my skin…
August 11, 2010
3:00 pm
Hilarey Kirsner
Congratulations to Charlie and the team! I am so impressed by the determination and endurance- as always. Good luck on the next leg- everyone is rooting for you!
August 11, 2010
11:45 pm
Anita Scharf
Andy: I’m lovin’ your images, both moving and still. Looking forward to more. Annie
August 12, 2010
12:43 am
Ick
Truly awesome Charlie! Get on that bike.
August 12, 2010
10:11 am
The Brennan's
What a great start to an awesome journey! Congrats to Charlie, family and crew. We are all cheering you on!
August 13, 2010
11:38 am
Brandon Porter
Congrats, Charlie! What an amazing physical feat. To me, it is a true testament to the power of your will. I feel privileged to have witnessed your early days at the Wakonda pool and to see what you can do now! Swimming 27 miles across jellyfish infested waters with only a swimsuit, cap, and goggles is amazing! The hike to the top of the world, my only personal reference to that is that I’m winded going up 6 flights of stairs, well, that was amazing too. I think that I’m going to have to have a new definition for amazing.
Have fun biking and building your will!
August 14, 2010
11:53 am
Amanda
Amazing swim. Awesome attitude. Beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing :)
October 13, 2010
11:58 am
Simon Lewis
Super good pics…super good people