On Saturday 19 September 2009, we left Dover Harbour to swim the channel. It was a wonderful sunny morning with very light wind. Four of us; Matt, Kerry, Richard and I were swimming on the Spring tide. The weather had been foul during the Neap tide when we'd originally been scheduled to swim.

Once out of the harbour, we made a fast trip round to Samphire Hoe and waited while Matt swam to shore to start our swim. He cleared the water, climbed up the pebble beach a few yards, turned and waved to us and walked back into the water and started the swim to France.

We took it in turns swimming one hour each. The conditions were amazing all the way across with some swell but not much. Despite this, our pilot was worried that we still might take 18-20 hours to finish, so we swam harder.

Each swimmer did two stretches in daylight before dusk descended into darkness. The water was like glass for much of our night swim and the sky was the clearest I've seen it in years. Swimming at night was like magic. To my left, complete darkness; up above, stars and to my right, the lights of the boat and my team. I swam through a school of sand eels, feeling only a slight flutter along the left side of my face and then they were gone. I had no idea what the it was until I was back on the boat. The sand eels were skimming the surface all around me.

On Richard's third swim he had to give it everything he had otherwise we were very likely going to have to swim another six hours because of the change of the tide. We cheered and cheered him on until it was Matt's turn, our fastest swimmer. Then Kerry's turn and then finally, mine.

I swam with the boat until it could go no more and I continued on into the darkness aiming just to the left the lights from the houses on shore. Our pilot shone a powerful light towards the beach where he wanted me to swim and soon I heard the splash of the three other swimmers jumping in so we could all swim to the beach together.

I stood up first and walked up onto the beach then, clear of the water, turned around and wave back to the boat with the powerful light casting our shadows. We ran around on the beach, laughing and jumping, thrilled that we'd arrived. It was now about 1:15 am, and we were on Wissant Beach, 14 hours and 16 minutes after we left Samphire Hoe. As the chill set in, we ran into the water and swam back out to the boat and we were back in Dover Harbour at 3:30 am, exhausted but exhilarated.

Julie Pickard