Its only now our double channel swim stuff has been sorted and put to bed, that we can finally do some swim events reports that we have been at this summer , Ricks are not just about channel swims , far from it...most of our swims are done at events all over England...the 2nd big swim of year was the now famous Speed swim series at Eton Dorny on the 27th May
check in Time..
Ricks Swimmers Claire and David took part in the 3 k race at Dorney,
all the swimmers looking a tiny bit nervous maybe after being told the water is a chilly
15..
( big thank
to Matthew Alexander for some of the pictures ).
the is the big man, striding towards the start of the
3K...its
David,s 1st race of any type for years, Claire must in the scrum of
swimmers as well
(Dave is in the tight wet suit with red on the arms and legs )
2nd in age top effort Claire..
46.27 for 3k
The Big Man looking in good shape as he leaves the water Dave put in a top swim for his 1st races in yrs and yrs.. and came in 5th place in 49.07
The 5k Race there are many races at Eton over the day from the Big swimmers doing the 10k race to the swimmers having a pop at 750m swim
if only Signs could talk....!!! ""Come on...take on Me.....If You Dare.........!!!""
Finally after all our channel swims stuff 2013 has been sorted and put to bed can we do some swim reports from this summer , Ricks are not just channel swimmers , far from it...most of our swims are done at events all over England...the 1st one of year was the epic 2 swim4life event held at Guildford Lido...enjoy Ricks.
its 7.30am...on a beautiful sunny Friday morning
at Guildford Lido
you can see some of the tents that were put
up last evening in redness for today’s 2 swim4life ..but where are the swimmers..??
finally there is sign of life.!!!
its 8am..we have one hour ..to unpack , get ready , have a chat..
a loo break , make that 3 or 4 loo breaks before the 9am start..
the coffee and tea and hot chocolate are ready...
the Time Has Come to get this swim started..! its 9.am on 26th April 2013 at Guildford Lido.. and of 100+ solo & relay swimmers are about to undertake perhaps thee hardest sporting challenge in the UK..!! The "Swim4Life "challenge is to swim one mile every hour for the next 24 hours ...!! and just to make it extra hard it takes part in open air 50m lido in April ...
The count down to start is on., the 5 minute warning has been Given.! the nerves are showing for some, but not Super swimmer Kate Vines (pink Hat) she ready to go, but ricks Basher Bates seems to be his knees already, or perhaps a final pray for forgiveness for months joking around when he should have been training..to late now....!
the final safety message... and the 10 second countdown is started..!! 24 miles in 24 hours... enjoy.!!
This is the short Video of the Start of the 24hr event..,its worth checking out .
( just click on the arrow in the picture above ...if u dare...?.)
swimming god Oliver Wilkinson is pictured here on his 2 nd length of the 1st mile .. only another 768 to go................
Hour 2 Mile 2..@10.am The 1st drop of rain of the day is just about to hit us.. do we care Nooooo...!!
the amazing Swim Buddies,Counters and supporters .. without these guys there would no be Swim they work tirelessly for the swimmers
Mile 4, Hour 4..@12.00pm Ricks Basher jumping in along with all the other swimmers from the 2nd wave
mile 6, hour 6 @ 2pm. the Lovely Chris Goddard all smiles having finishing yet another mile someone shouts ..quarter of it done Chris..!! and the smile shows his pleasure at hearing that news
The 2Swim4Life tented village it felt like Glastonbury without the music and mud.!!
hour after hour the lifeguards keep watch.. they really did a superb job for 24 hours once again without these guys giving up their free time to help and look after us all, there would be No SWIM...! top effort
The Mighty Paul Smith some of the best open water swimmer in the country were swimming and supporting others Paul swam 6 miles/hours in a 4 man team , but also worked as a counter and buddy when not swimming..Captain Slap as he fondly known was a star .
10th Mile , 10th hour ' 7.pm Ricks Basher along with a few others is starting to suffer big time.. getting cold in the Water , in Paul case he was not able to get warm quick enough in between swims ..with the cold comes the sickness ;-(
12th hour 12th mile @ 9.pm Sadly Ricks Paul crashed and burned at the beginning of the 12 hour, cold , sick , injured and exhausted Paul was advised by his great Swim Buddy Annabel that it would be foolish to carry on...a wise decision from Bel he has already said he learned a lot from the day , hopefully he will learn from his mistakes and plans to have another bash at it 2015.......!
the 16th mile, the 16th hour @ 1.am and still they swim, many swimmers have withdrawn by 1.am but still many are swimming.. the warm steam of the water looks great , the problems come when you leave it , The air temp was dropping fast..4 degrees and dropping. the roles of the swimmers swim buddies are getting more and more important with ever passing hour
Basher did a short Video as he left at 12.40 am...think you get the feeling from his comments just how tough a challenge he thought the "2swim4life" really is, maybe the toughest sporting Challenge in the Uk ( simple click on the arrow in the picture above to hear Paul`s comments )
1am... another mile chalked off for the ladies
18th mile, 18th hour.. and still they swim
20th hour , 20th mile @ 4am.. and they still they swim..its maybe the worst of hours for the swimmers, as its hard see where you are swimming in the pool, light is at its darkest the air temp is at its coldest ..all the swimmers are starting to feel exhausted ,but also cold in and out ,but the finish is within sight...so no one wants to give in... incredible
and still the swim buddies and supporters count , watch and support thier and other swimmers, @ 4am, at this time of night, even the buddies are working as a team ,sharing counting duties , why others getting hot drinks and hot water for soups , and hot water bottles for each of the swimmers , we cannot stress enough how much all the swimmers on the day appreciated there work and support without them No swimmers would not have been able to complete the swim..;-) take a bow one and all
A place of warmth.. the heated tent was the place to be when the temperatures dropped in the wee small hours of the morning..
6 am Saturday morning , 3 hours to go...
23 miles , 23 hours done.. only one mile to do...
the 24th mile the 24th hour...@ 8am this is it, they maybe exhausted and cold ... but they have almost made it , only another 32 lengths to complete 24 miles in 24 hours.... what an achievement....... we can not name everyone who swam on the day , everyone of you has big ricks admiration for just attempting this challenge let alone the ones among you to made the 24hrs... congratulation everyone. These are a few of the swimmers who are friends of Big Ricks
super stars Ned and Rory.. these guys are 2 of the best open water swimmers in the world.!! it was pleasure to watch Ned (Denison) & Rory (Fitzgerald ) swim in the half hour before i got in , one of my only regret of the day , was that i was not able to chat to the guys.. they are pictured shacking hands after both completed the challenge . and if that was not good enough both did the whole thing in skin only
24 miles done..!!
what a star Simon is... he has guts , talent , will power , determination and many many more qualities by the
bucket load ... its was another great achievement, in his growing list of
already amazing achievements .. Lord Sumo Big Ricks idol..
for more info on Simon achievement for the Cedar house support group
its Over only 2 tents left , with a couple of solo swimmers catching up there sleep..;-) the 2swim4life is a amazing event...yes its brutal , yes it will hurt in ways you never thought it would but being part of it was something really special , something not to be missed..the fun , the laughs . the tears.i for one can not wait for 2015..Best wishes Paul ..Big Ricks
why did we put ourselves through all that..!! this i way..!
Click on the arrow above to see and hear the memories of a great day
Basher`s best (one of many) 2swim4life bit
Paul,s swim buddy Annabel made a one t-shirt in honour of the Day..;-)
Basher,s worst bit .!
Bahser,s wrist was touch a swollen & painful after the swim, but don`t worry his pride was hurting more ;-) Paul,s mile times....
1) 22.39
2)23.15
3)23.28
4)23.05 ( the great Paul Smith paced us on this mile )
5)24.30 ( Kate was talking it easy on this one )
6) 23.10
7)23.29
8)23.52
9)23.41
10)23.50
11) 24.30.....ish ( i was only thinking cold thoughts on this mile )
12)...........................Crashed out.!!!!
Game over...
Ricks had just landed in France and were starting our return
swim to Dover on Monday (15/7/13) afternoon when we were told by our pilot the
tragic news that our good friend Susan Taylor had lost her life during her solo
attempt the previous evening....to say we were heart broken by the news is a
total understatement everyone of the Ricks team knew Susan personally, its only
now we have a chance to say a few words about the lady we all grew to
love, admire and respected for her 100% commitment to her dream of swimming the English channel and to help the Diabetes
UK and Rainbows Hospice charities in every way she could .....She never asked
for anything..., she only ever gave everything...we have lost a good friend,
the world has lost a shinning star....x
Big Rick’s swimmer Paul knew Susan best, these are his thoughts...
We would like to take a few moments to say something about our good friend
Susan Taylor , Big Ricks feel very lucky that we got to know both Susan and
Stephen very well over the past few years , Susan had swam and trained
alongside us all last summer (2012) at swan pool in Sandwell valley , Susan and
Stephen would make the long trip every Monday night from Barwell in
Leicestershire to the swan just so Susan could train in open water in readiness
for her solo swim in 2013 ,we saw Susan in the matter of months go from being a
nervous 1st time open water swimmer ,swimming in wetsuit hating the cold , to
swimming in skin and doing hrs and hrs and hrs with ease, she was always
smiling, always asking questions of how she could do it better and faster..they
were a lovely couple to be around, always making jokes, especially when Stephen
decided to get a kayak so he could escort Susan around the swan and at the many
races Susan did throughout the summer of 2012 with British long distance
swimming association, think Susan was more worried about Stephen being safe in
the Kayak then she was in the water;-)..
This year Susan found somewhere local to swim in Leicestershire ,but we kept in
touch with one another through facebook and twitter ,she was always on the go
either training or working on how better she could help both Diabetes UK and
Rainbows Hospice charity, we last spoke last Friday afternoon, she was really
excited ,she had just received her specially made swimsuit for the swim., she
said it was that was finally piece in the jigsaw and she was ready to swim, her
pilot had called that morning saying there was every chance the swim would go
ahead on Sunday ..!!! we wished each other luck for our swims, and arranging to
all met up in the Channel Pub The White Horse on Tuesday afternoon to party the
afternoon away to celebrate our swims .I've shed many a tear over the past few
days, Susan had asked me to be on her boat last year to be an escorted swimmer
on her channel swim should she need one, but as the dates for both our swims
clashed I could not do it., ...Susan was such a lovely lady ...gave everything
to the swim and to the charities she supported ...I’m not sure Susan really
knew just how special she was to everyone who came into contact her, the
channel was only the beginning for this special lady,
Finally I wish to send out my best thoughts and best wishes, along with that of
everyone in big Ricks swim team, every one of the swimmers at swan pool and I’m
sure everyone in the swimming world to Stephen and Susan’s family and this time ......Paul & Big Ricks xx
Susan worked tirelessly over the past two years to raise much needed funds
for her 2 chosen charities
Diabetes UK and Rainbows Hospice
charity....,
She created a face
book page called Create
a Ripple Channel Swim, should you wish to donate to susans charities this
link below will take you her page for more details
this beautiful and peaceful picture was done by Susan’s Friends
at Stanton Lakes Open Water Swimming ,
It was where Susan spent many hours training over the past
year
It’s easy to forget when everyone is feeling so sad, just
how much fun Susan was ,
we always used to
have great fun Trainingat swan pool on monday nights, winding each other up, about how we many loops we
had had done, not letting who was coldest we were , or who was working hardest, this was a short
fun Video we did last yr, as Susan was finishing her Monday night swim.. ,just
to for the record we think Susan had done at least 3 miles this night...but a
little Ricks and Mr Taylor encouragement
is always good... ;-))
she was a star, Susan
is going to be missed so much by everyone....Ricks
Susan's song played at her funeral
Angels by Robbie Williams
Please take moment to listen if only for a few minutes .and just think to yourself , maybe smile, maybe shed a tear, to remember and to never forget a lovely lady who gave everything to help others x
