We made it........!!
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| Cap Gris-Nez beach in France...20/7/11 This is the story of Big Ricks Channel Crossing |
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| 1st In for Ricks was Basher... |
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| we Think Paul was a wee bit nervous about jumping into the sea in dark at 1.15am, and then having to swim into Samphire Hoe Beach alone walk out of the sea , before then waiting for the signal from the Boat to start swim.! |
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| 2nd in was The Gimp...Doug 2.20am |
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| Doug put in a great swim in the tough conditions.. it was almost impossible to get any rhythm in the rough sea. but Doug managed 2 miles..Top effort.. |
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| 3RD in was Super Chest ..Darran..3.20am |
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| Darran like Doug did a great swim in tough conditions. Daz was just a little unsure before he went in.but did a great swim |
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| 4th in was The Badger.....Gary 4.20am |
The Badger swimming as dawn breaks over Dover..its about 5.am
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| Finally the sun started to raise about 5am...it was beautiful sight to see. |
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| Gary looking good and strong. Gaz had a very tough hour as the dark turned to Dawn |
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| 5th in was The Don...Richard..5.20am |
 that came his way after The Evergreen Tanker went past..;-))  |
| Richard Looking great...the big man always give 100 %. |
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| Paul trying to get some sleep or he is feeling seasick and needs to lie down |
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| 6th In The Captain...Rob .6.20am |
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| Rob swimming great....6 hours in i`m not sure any of us have ever swam harder in our swimming lives than we did in those 1st 6 hours |
with Richard, Rob,Paul ,Doug and Gary swimming.  |
| Don`t you just love him...20 minutes after he had finished his Hour swim, big Richard was on the Bacon Butties , Not sure Gray and Nicky approved as they were feeling just a little Rough at the Time |
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| Nicky does not look amused at Richard cooking Bacon |
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| So You thought the channel was easy..!!Gaz taking a well earned rest before doing his next hour later in the morning |
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| Paul on the 7th hour leg 7.20am ... Paul had a good swim apart from 1st choking on the waves from yet another Tanker and then being sick from inhaling the diesel fumes from the Boat for an hour....What a wimp.. |
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| Paul,s fore mentioned Tanker..!! |
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| Doug`s away on the 8th hour..8.20am |
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| Doug was off like a shot... he swam his heart out this hour.. 2 to 2 1/2 miles against tide was a great swim, he could hardly drag himself out after ..he was that exhausted |
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| Super getting ready for his 2nd hour of swimming at 9.20am ,Darran won 1st prize in who could wear the smallest pair of trunks on the day competition ..!!;-) |
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| Darran put in maybe the swim of the day...he worked his mini trunks off. not sure how far Daz did in his Hour, but for sure it was the fastest swim of any of us. Super was gave everything and like Doug could hardly get out after the hour |
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| Gary getting ready for his 2nd Hour at 10.20am.. for this hour gaz would have some company in form of ricks super reserve Nicky |
Nicky picked a tough hour to swim, she was aloud to swim,but could not swim in front of Gary, as he was the official swimmer for that hour .Sloppy swam great , we are sure at some point in the future Nicky will do a solo swim of the channel
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| Gaz Away on what would be a bloody tough Hours swim for the Badger.. Gary had to swim full on against the tide and currents ..,but Gary stuck at it , and brought us within 4 miles of the french coast..top swim big man |
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| The Don. Richard getting ready for his 2nd hour, at 11.20am, we are were only 4 miles from France could The Don be the one to take us into the beach....???? |
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| Richard swam his heart out for this hour, and i mean he gave everything. Fred ( our pilot) said this was the toughest conditions of the swim. but the big man never gave up and got us with in touching distance of France.!! |
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| The Captain.. 'Cometh the hour, cometh the Chunky Monkey'. Rob knew it was down to him to get us into France, not matter how long it took, the Masterpiece could not get get any closer to shore so it was down to the Captain to do the last mile or so into the beach..Come On.... |
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| WE MADE IT..... Cap Gris-Nez beach in France. Rob swam great to get into the beach, So finally after swimming through the night, over coming the strong tides, currents, swells, the tankers, The jelly fish .!!!..we made on to France soil 11hours 10 minutes after leaving Samphire Hoe Beach in England |
Video of all The Team Arriving on French Soil
11 hours and 10 minutes after leaving Dover
when anyone attemps the Channel , just be happy to finsh, because many have tried and Most have failed....!!! We had finished ,and We had done it for Mark......
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| Ricks Channel Team 2011 |
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| Any one fancy a Mug or 2 of Champagne.!! |
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| Doug,Gary,Richard and Rob....were all exhausted |
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| The Famous White Horse Pub in Dover its more commonly known as The Channel Pub..everyone who swims the channel comes here to record their swim on the walls of the pub..its an amazing place to be, its amazing to be able to put our names along that of Mark and the other Great Swimmers who have done it over the yrs |
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| Marks swim recorded.....it was a very special moment when we found it .. not one of us said a word...just looked at the words for ages, i,m guessing we all had our own moment to think about Big Rick..x |
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| A very Proud moment for us all when we wrote this... somehow it made all the hard work of the last 9 months worth it and so much more..!! |
The End..!
WE Salute you Mark...
you will Never be forgotten x
Mark Rickhuss
CHANNEL SOLO SWIM 29/7/99
E-F 9HRS 18 Minutes
Big Ricks Swim Team...
CHANNEL SWIM 20/7/11
E - F 11HRS 10 MINUTES...
Ricks team have swam the channel in memory of their Friend Mark Richuss and in aid of Cancer Research UK and The British Heart Foundation . We hope you have enjoyed our journey over the last 9 months.. If you still wish to Support us in anyway, THEN YOU STILL CAN , just by clicking link below it will take you to our Virgin Just Giving Page where you can Donate ,
Every penny you give will go to help save Lives..!!
Regards
Big Ricks Channel Team ..2011
