Swimming
This guy just swam the English Channel at night
Howard James swam in 13 degree water to break an English Channel record for the latest swim ever.
Howard James swims across the English Channel
© Danny Burrows
Fewer people have swum the English Channel than have climbed Mount Everest. In 2016, Howard James completed the swim not once but twice, and both times in nearly freezing water.
At 01:00am he stepped into the water and began his long swim from England to France, but it was just another step in a longer and more painful journey for James and his wife Esmari: in 2015 they lost their baby daughter, and part of the reason for James's two records was to raise funds for the charity they set up in memory of their daughter, The Alexa Trust.
This is the story of his latest crossing, and we must warn you, you're going to want to grab a warm blanket.
Out with the old, in with the new
An observer keeps his eyes on Howard James
© Danny Burrows
On November 3, 2016, English open water swimmer Howard James crossed the English Channel in 11h 38m. It was a new world record for the latest English Channel swim ever, breaking a record last set by Mike Reed in 1979.
Just water off the ol’ back
Preparing on the boat before the swim at night
© Danny Burrows
This wasn't James's first Channel swim. On May 16, he set a new world record for the earliest Channel crossing, with a time of 13h 13m, in water as cold as nine degrees celsius.
At these temperatures, without protective clothing, a person is expected to loose dexterity within 10 minutes, suffer from exhaustion and unconsciousness within one to two hours, and has an projected survival time of up to six hours.
No wetsuits allowed
James can only wear a swim suit – no wetsuit
© Danny Burrows
Contrary to popular myth, smothering one's body with goose fat doesn't keep out the cold and Channel swimmers can only wear trucks, goggles and a single swim cap for their crossing to count.
Wicked early, wicked chilly
Paul watches over Howard as the sun comes up
© Danny Burrows
When James dropped into the waters of Shakespeare Beach, in Dover, at 01:00am it was the coldest night of the autumn. "The first two hours were the hardest", James said. "It's when my body acclimatises and I'm settling into swimming, with the boat and the sea state, as well as fully feeling the wind chill on my back."
Food… lots and lots of food
Howard James stops for a snack during crossing
© Danny Burrows
Swimmers burn up to 1,000 calories per hour crossing the Channel, and as they can't touch a boat during the crossing, their support crew has to throw them food and drinking bottles, which are near on impossible to catch when there's no feeling left in a swimmer's hands.
James survived on a routine of feeds every 50 minutes, interspersed with a one minute sprint every 25 minutes, which in his words, "broke the monotony and kept the blood flowing."
Training in an ice box
Howard can be seen swimming from the wheelhouse
© Danny Burrows
Training in cold water is essential to complete a Channel swim, and James had set himself an intense regime while holding down his full time job as a scaffolder. "First off, I didn't wear a jumper when working," he joked before getting down to the nuts and bolts.
"On weekdays it involved evening swims for up to two and a half hours into the night to acclimatise to the temperature drop. On Sunday morning's, I was up at 5am for a four hour swim after a six to seven hour swim on a Saturday. It was meant to shock the system with an earlier, colder start."
The longest 33.3km swim
A chart marked with the Channel’s tides
© Danny Burrows
As the crow flies, the shortest distance between Dover and the rocky outcrop of Cap Griz Nez, France is 33.3km. But a Channel swimmer's passage is governed by massive tides, which draw a looping 'S' across the straits as they fight the ebb and flow of the cold water. This is where the knowledge of the pilot comes into it's own, and a swimmers ability to step on the gas when they need to break through.
All that traffic
James nears the Channel’s shipping lanes
© Danny Burrows
The English Channel is the busiest shipping lane in the world, with over 500 ships cutting through its waters each day. By the time James reached the shipping lanes, he'd burst through the pain barrier of the cold, lost sensation in his extremities and his form was gone, but was swimming hard.
So close, but so far
Howard James within stokes of finishing his record
© Danny Burrows
James was within the parameters of a 10 hour crossing, but when he passed the last marker buoy before Cap Griz Nez, the tide changed and he was trapped in a raging torrent that drove him North and away from his desired landing spot on the Cap. "I was hoping it was taking me in rather than past it, but it was moving quicker than I thought," he remembers.
Done and dusted
Howard James is helped aboard after finishing
© Danny Burrows
But James, standing 1.9m, with hands like shovels and a bottomless well of power, dug deep, broke through the current and landed on a white sand beach just North of the Cap 11h 38m after leaving the pebbles of Shakespeare Beach.
Just three more
Howard James arrives successfully in France
© Danny Burrows
"I think I have three more swims, three marathons left, in me," James said after receiving a pile of awards at the end of season gala dinner of the Channel Swimming Association in Dover. "Its not the ocean seven that I'm after, its my seven."