Swimming the Channel
by Robyn Rime
It all came down to luck.
On July 7-8, Bridgette Hobart Janeczko 鈥84 made her first attempt to swim across the English Channel. A longtime distance swimmer, she had previously earned the U.S. Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming (Tampa Bay, Manhattan Island, and the Catalina Channel). To complete the World Triple Crown鈥攁n honor held by fewer than 80 people in the world鈥擧obart needs to conquer the English Channel.
It鈥檚 a formidable feat. The English Channel swim is 30 to 40 miles, depending on currents, with early July water temperatures in the low to mid-50s. But Hobart wasn鈥檛 cowed, and her swim last summer started strong.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe how awesome it was swimming in the channel, and how fast time was going between feedings,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was just so excited to be there鈥33 years after I first said I was going to swim the English Channel one day.鈥
Hobart felt confident and energetic. Everything was going well 鈥β and then suddenly, it wasn鈥檛. About halfway between England and France, she encountered the jellyfish.
鈥淲hen I spotted my first one I recall thinking, 鈥楬uh, jellies in the channel鈥擨 thought they liked warmer water,鈥欌 Hobart says. She felt the stings but dismissed them, assuming she felt little pain because she was numb from the cold temperatures. 鈥淚 last remember swimming through what seemed like endless jellies and thinking, 鈥榃ow, so many and so cool.鈥欌
But the stings took their toll. Disoriented, unresponsive, and having difficulty breathing, Hobart was pulled from the water by her husband Bob, the lead man on her crew.
鈥淚 always hoped when the day came for my first DNF [did not finish] that I鈥檇 handle it well, and I think I am,鈥 Hobart said a few days after the attempt. 鈥淚 honestly feel mentally and physically great and feel nothing but gratitude for Bob鈥檚 call. I was feeling nothing but pure bliss for my entire swim, and I just felt so strong and positive.鈥
Post-swim, Hobart offered a special thanks to her parents and in-laws for their constant support. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure they thought their worries were over when we became responsible adults, and now they find themselves following a GPS tracker in the middle of the ocean and wondering what went wrong when the boat suddenly turns rapidly back to shore and we鈥檙e out of cell range!鈥 Though she regrets those few hours of stress given to loved ones, Hobart left England healthy, injury free, and content鈥攁nd ready to try again. Her next English Channel swim is scheduled for September 17-18, 2014.
Robyn Rime is the editor of Connections.
Bridgette Hobart Janeczko 鈥84 midway through her English Channel swim.