9:50

On Sunday night Lynne spoke with her boat pilot and a 'possible' departure time of 2am was set. The weather forecast was still a bit questionable so the plan was to meet at the boat and decide what to do. In reality, the decision process never happened. We arrived, hopped on the boat, and ventured over to the start location without much question of what would happen.

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Those who have seen Lynne swim know she's a strong swimmer and endurance athlete. She's been preparing for this swim for years and Monday was a great reward for all the hard work. Her stroke count remained a constant 68 for about 98% of the swim. Although we knew she was working hard and exhausting her body she managed to make it look easy. Her time of 9:50 is currently the fastest solo swim of the season. It was impressive to watch the culmination of all the effort that went into Monday.

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My role for the journey was nutrition. The first feed, at 15min into the swim, was a slight blunder of coordination with the boat captain. Luckily, it only took a couple of iterations to perfect our system. Between feeds I was quite busy getting the rope and bottles ready for the next feed. Each feed lead to another trip down below to refill and by the end of the swim my arms were feeling a workout from carrying the bottles all day. It's amazing how draining it is to become a Sherpa for a day. A mere 3 water bottles and some string wore me out, I can't even imagine what the Sherpas on Everest must feel like.

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When I set off for England I wondered what I would feel as Lynne reached the coast of France. I wondered if it would give me the urge to try it some day or if I would feel a huge emotional response. In the end I was surprised by what happened... I was proud of Lynne for her swim and happy for her accomplishing her goal. Strangely, I did not feel the rush of emotion that I feel as I watch others finish an Ironman. It's quite odd but I realized something from this experience. Unless you have done the event or truly desire to do it also, I don't think you can fully feel the emotion related to the accomplishment. Each of us has our own goals in life and working towards your own goals is what will give you the greatest satisfaction. Too truly feel the joy of accomplishment you must achieve what is important within you.

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I think the most amazing part of the swim was the look on Lynne's face when she asked for permission to look ahead and saw France for the first time. She had been sighting off the boat for over 9hrs and wasn't sure how close she was until we told her it was the last feed.

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Congratulations Lynne, you worked hard and your focus and dedication was evident during your swim.