1875 Captain Matthew Webb swum the English Channel 21.7 miles at its shortest point.

800 people have successfully crossed (including 'King of the Channel' Kevin Murphy with 34 crossings and 'Queen of the Channel' Alison Streeter with 43) out of 2500 people (approximately) that have tried (figures correct 24 July 2006).

It is cold, unpredictable, littered with shipping wrecks, jellyfish and lots of ships.

As a challenge it's as big as they come.

In 2002 I successfully swam the English Channel with the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation. Read more about this swim here.