After a back operation in 2022 I was told that swimming would be good for me for getting back to full fitness, so I started open water swimming and signed up to some open water events to give myself a goal.  

We have a lake near us and I swim on the south coast. I've also done open water swimming events in other lakes and rivers. I much prefer open water swimming to pool swimming (except for the winter time when it's too cold to stay in long). It's much nicer than being stuck inside and you don't have the constant wall turns.  I've swum in some great locations ranging from Durdle Door to the River Arun.  I have a lot of respect for the sea and find sea swimming much more of a tussle with nature than swimming in a lake or river. 

I found Aspire online after hearing through my osteopath that various organisations run Solent swims.  The work that Aspire does with those paralysed by Spinal Cord Injury means a lot to me.

After coming around from my back operation, the first thing on my mind was whether I could feel my legs. Thankfully I could but not everybody is so lucky. 

Swimming the Solent

My watch showed that my swim took 2 hours 23 minutes, but not all of it was swimming as we had several stops to allow us to regroup, as for safety reasons we could not be too spread out.  There was very little wind which made the crossing longer than normal, as we were directed out westwards in the expectation that the tide would carry us eastwards but we didn’t get the tidal impact because there was so little wind. That made the swim around 4 miles rather than 3.

It was great to be able to close out the challenge I set myself during my recovery. I felt like I could have gone on for longer, so the training helped.  I work for a champagne house so we cracked open a bottle when we got back to the mainland! It was great to be able to toast the swimmers’ success, the support crew’s invaluable help and all the great work that Aspire can now do with the funds raised.

Swimming the Solent was a unique experience that will live long in my memory. While we didn’t see any seals or dolphins on our trip, we didn’t see any jellyfish either thankfully. There was lots of traffic - ferries, hovercraft, leisure and commercial vessels - but we always felt safe with the experienced support crew.

It’s a well organised event for a very good cause, so if you’re looking for a challenge with a purpose, consider the Aspire Solent Swim.

My previous challenges for charity include cycling with colleagues from the UK down to our offices in the Champagne region of France and I am doing a charity cycle ride in France next month.  I'm very appreciative of everybody who has supported my swim. 

Sponsor Adam

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