Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel (Welsh: Môr Hafren, meaning 'Severn Sea') is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren) to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city of Bristol, and is over 30 miles (50 km) across at its widest point.
Long stretches of the coastline of the Bristol Channel, on both the South Wales and West Country sides, are designated as Heritage Coast, including Exmoor, Bideford Bay, the Hartland Point peninsula, Lundy Island, Glamorgan, Gower Peninsula, South Pembrokeshire and Caldey Island.
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Bristol Channel Swimming Association
The Bristol Channel Swimming Association ratifies solo and tandem swims across the Bristol Channel in the UK that was established in 2021 to ratify and document open water swims across the Bristol Channel as well as document swims that are not ratified (e.g., wetsuit crossings) under the leadership of Tom Chapman with the assistance of Ros Edmonds, Sian Clement, Stephen Price, Tracy Clark, Victoria Lea, Bryce Davies,Robin Griffiths, Andrew Wolf, Jacqueline McClelland, and Andrew Butler that works Marathon Swimmers Federation. The BCSA was established in 2021.
Original Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming
Swimming across the Bristol Channel is part of the Original Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. The swim route for the Bristol Channel should start or finish in North Devon.
The Original Triple Crown was defined as a solo unassisted crossing of the English Channel, North Channel and Bristol Channel in the United Kingdom. To date, the Original Triple Crowners include the following swimmers:
- Kevin Murphy
- On 11 August 1968, he complete the 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 15 hours 55 minutes.
- In 1970, he completed the 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 11 hours 21 minutes
- In 1971, he completed the 16-mile crossing of the Bristol Channel in 13 hours 54 minutes.
- Ted Keenan
- On 13 August 1972, he completed the 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 18 hours 11 minutes.
- On 11 August 1973, he completed the 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 18 hours 27 minutes
- On 17 July 1975, he completed the 16-mile crossing of the Bristol Channel in 14 hours 26 minutes.
- Stephen Price
- On 18 August 1987, he completed the 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 15 hours 4 minutes.
- On 21 July 2000, he completed the 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 16 hours 56 minutes.
- On 28 September 1991, he completed the 13.1-mile crossing of the Bristol Channel in 7 hours 45 minutes 18 seconds (in 1991), and also in 1992 and 1994.
- Siân Clement, first female
- On 1 July 2009, she completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 12 hours 48 minutes.
- On 23 July 2016, she completed a 25-mile crossing of the Bristol Channel in 14 hours 1 minute.
- On 10 July 2022, she completed a 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 12 hours 45 minutes.
- Elaine Burrows Dillane
- On 10 September 2019, she completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 12 hours 45 minutes.
- On 21 July 2021, she completed a 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 14 hours 54 minutes.
- On 21 July 2022, she completed a 27 km crossing of the Bristol Channel in 12 hours 52 minutes.
- Sarah Philpott
- On 14 September 2020, she completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 13 hours 48 minutes.
- On 22 June 2022, she completed a 27 km crossing of the Bristol Channel in 12 hours 21 minutes.
- On 10 August 2022, she completed a 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 16 hours 21 minutes.
- Martyn Webster
- On 25 August 2016, he completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 11 hours 42 minutes.
- On 13 August 2019, he completed a 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 11 hours 12 minutes 30 seconds.
- On 19 September 2022, he completed a 27 km crossing of the Bristol Channel in 9 hours 10 minutes.
- Pat Gallant-Charette
- On 22 August 2011, she completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 15 hours 57 minutes.
- On 24 August 2016, she completed a 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 14 hours 22 minutes.
- On 19 September 2022, she completed a 27 km crossing of the Bristol Channel in 12 hours 55 minutes 49 seconds.
- Fergal Somerville
- On 23 September 2011, he completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 12 hours 21 minutes.
- On 16 June 2013, he completed a 35 km crossing of the North Channel in 12 hours 21 minutes.
- On 20 September 2022, he completed a 40 km crossing of the Bristol Channel in 12 hours 40 minutes.
Ask Me Why I'm Stood Here
Ask Me Why I'm Stood Here: A Bristol Channel Swim Tale is a 182-page book written by British open water swimmer Alec Richardson that was released in 2018. The book tells the story of his crossing of Bristol Channel from Penarth to Clevedon in England on 16 August 2017 in 5 hours 58 minutes 3 seconds.
After 10 years of living with frequent discomfort and exhaustion from an unidentified condition, teamed with the struggles of balancing fatherhood and work alongside nagging doubts about his general place in the world, Alec Richardson found open water swimming. As a middle aged man, with three busy kids and a teaching job to fill his days, Alec returned to the sport that gave him so much pleasure as a youngster to try to re-find his sense of adventure, to give him a focus, and to give him an excuse to up his calorific intake (an extra layer helps with the cold apparently).
While gazing across the Bristol Channel from England to Wales one morning, he started to wonder if he was capable of swimming across this scarily difficult, yet enticingly challenging stretch of water.
This is the story of how Alec planned and completed the resulting swim from Penarth to Clevedon in a respectable time and recounts tales of sunrises, seaweed caresses, mermaids and mashed boiled eggs. A first-hand account of what goes into a journey like this, full of self-reflection and off-beat ponderings which are sure to strike a chord with anyone toiling through their own mid-life adventure, but also full of helpful tips and advice for anyone planning their own endeavours. Not just a book about swimming, a life affirming tale of frailty, endeavour and a man’s struggle to wear Speedos in public.
External links
- Doc Counsilman Helped Usher In An Increasingly Graying Trend In Channel Swimming
- Elaine Burrows Dillane Honored as the ILDSA Female Senior Swimmer of the Year
- The Original Triple Crowners More Than Doubled In 2022
- Pat Gallant-Charette Sets Another World Record
- Jasmine Harrison Continues On Her Way Along The Full Length
- Bristol Channel Swimming Association Is Taking Off
- Bristol Channel Swimming Association
- Alec Richardson Before, During, After The Bristol Channel - Ask Me Why I'm Stood Here
- Ask Me Why I'm Stood Here: A Bristol Channel Swim Tale
- British Long Distance Swimming Association
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- The Magic of Three: Triple Crown Swims
- Original Triple Crown By Kamil Resa Alsaran Is 2020 World Open Water Swimming Performance Of The Year
- Kamil Resa Alsaran Talks About Achieving Dreams On WOWSA Live
- Kamil Resa Alsaran Completes Very Rare Triple Crown Of Open Water Swimming
- Brian Keenan On His Father Ted Keenan On WOWSA Live
- Pádraig Mallon On Swimming In Unchartered Waters
- Gethin Jones Urges Others Across The Bristol Channel
- Darren Jaundrill, An Unlikely Swimmer Setting The Bar
- Ted Keenan, Doing Great With Much
- Top 25 Organizations And Groups In Openwaterpedia
- Mercedes Gleitze Honoured By Swimming Hall Of Fame
- Mercedes Gleitze To Be Honored In Scotland
- The Incredible Career Of Mercedes Gleitze
- Everyday Hero Duels Mother Nature In Triple Crown
- Kevin Murphy On Bristol, Isle of Wight And North Channel
- Marathon Swimming
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- Daily News of Open Water Swimming
- Sea Bull Completes A Canary Islands Crossing
