Duke Dahlin - Preamble
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Duke Dahlin |
The story of setting a
new American record for swimming across the English Channel began about 26
years ago when I joined the Dolphin Club. I just wanted to get as far
away from Masters pool competition as I could. Outdoor swimming was more fun,
exciting, and challenging. I joined a swim pod that consisted of Laura Burtch,
Becky Fenson, John Selmer, and Heather Royer. Laura and John had already
successfully swum the English Channel. Then Becky followed soon afterward.
After Heather completed her Channel swim, I made my second attempt when I was
55 on August 8, 2003, and successfully finished in 14hrs 37mins. John
Ottersberg was my coach on the escort boat Sea Satin piloted by Lance
Oram from the Channel Swimming & Pilot Federation (CS&PF).
During the Polar
Bear season of 2015-16, I had just retired from work and was thinking of
another English Channel attempt. My goal was to be the oldest successful solo
swimmer. Before I did that, I figured I needed to see where my mind and body
were. In 2004, George Kebbe set a new PB record of 356 miles. Ralph Wenzel
(2007) and Peter Perez (2013) both tied that number I had been thinking about
breaking that record for years, but it would have to be by a lot. My goal was 400 miles.
After I set the
new PB record, I kept mulling over another English Channel swim. I had heard
several years ago that a 73-year-old man was the oldest successful Channel
swimmer. I thought, okay I’ll wait until I’m 75. Why 75? I liked how the number
sounded. In 2021, I started the process of booking my escort boat, the Sea
Satin. I wanted to go with Lance again. I was given a swim window of August
16-22, 2023. In order to be totally prepared in 2021, I reserved a pilot boat for
a Catalina Channel swim in 2021.
My organization
was coming together and I started to get excited. But my plans were thwarted by
medical problems. The San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center did some
tests and said I needed surgery on my left-rotator cuff, and repairs to the bicep.
I canceled the Catalina swim and concentrated on the English Channel. By July
2022, the PT for my shoulder was going great, but I now had shortness of
breath. I did a cardiovascular “stress test” and was diagnosed with Peripheral
Arterial Disease. My VA doctor discovered that 95% of my left artery was
blocked, and they put in a stent. The doctors signed off on my English
Channel solo swim, but my body and mind told me to reconsider.
After a lot of
thought, on December 16, 2022, I decided I wasn’t ready for a solo crossing.
With my continued shortness of breath, I moved forward with a backup plan—to
organize a 6-person mixed relay team of people 70 and over. Putting
together a 70+ relay team from the DC wasn’t as easy I thought it would be. It
wasn’t until May when the team was finalized and it was worth the wait. The
final team consisted of Sunny McKee, Tom Neill, Julian Sapirstein, Joni
Beemsterboer, John Hornor, and me. With no backups, this was our only shot at a
world record.
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Team Feet in Dover |
Both Sunny &
Joni had previous EC relay experience from the 80s and 90s. Tom had swum both
the Catalina Channel and the length of Lake Tahoe. Julian and John were a
little less experienced, but one hundred percent committed. Our training
started off rough. On March 11, three of our swimmers could not finish their
30-minute swim. But on the April 22 swim, everyone did a bit better. A rocky
start to be sure. Then by June 27 I was surprised and relieved when all of us
Old Goats completed the qualifier swim long before the conservative July 1
target date that I had set for us.
Julian
Sapirstein, my husband Joel, and I arrived at Heathrow on August 12. That
morning, I received a text from our pilot to ask if the team was ready. With
Sunny and John arriving early in the afternoon, and Tom and Joni arriving later
that evening, I knew we were. Lance asked that our team meet him at the Marina
gate in Dover at 10:15pm August 15. It was an incredibly nervous and excited bunch
of swimmers who met him that evening.
Once we got to
the Sea Satin, Lance explained the rules and regulations, and introduced
us to his crew, Tanya and Mia, and Martin, the official observer. We headed to
Shakespeare Beach – about 30 minutes from Dover harbor. As the boat started to
maneuver outside of the marina, we could feel it rocking dramatically back and
forth and side to side.
Duke Dahlin - 11:10pm
to 12:10am – 1st hour
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Team at the Sea Satin John Hornor, Joni Beemsterboer, Julian Sapirstein, Tom Neil, Sunny McKee, Duke |
I must confess, I do not like swimming in the
dark—especially when the water is choppy. The Sea Satin shined a beacon
of light onto Shakespeare Beach to guide me. As the first swimmer, it was my
job to find the beach, emerge completely from the water, and then officially
start the swim. Finding a beach in the dark of night wasn’t all that easy even
with the spotlight from the boat. But after a minute or so I walked onto land.
The lights on the Sea Satin flashed, signaling me to begin. Deep
breaths. Time to go.
The water
temperature was very comfortable, maybe 65F, but the conditions made it
difficult to stay calm and breathe comfortably. I thought about my commitment
to the team and told myself to just stay relaxed, remain calm, and keep
swimming. There were times when I was ahead of the boat, and times when I was
slightly behind. During the first half of my swim, I learned to adapt to the
speed of the boat and “go with the flow.” At the end of my hour, I was proud
that I had persevered.
Sunny McKee - 12:10am
to 1:10am – 2nd hour
The good news is when we met at 9:45 Tues.
night, Aug. 15, the winds seemed to dissipate. I remember sending a text to my
family that said “pretty clear and almost no wind.” The myth of “almost
no wind” was quickly dispelled as we left the calm waters of the protected
harbor. It was a beautiful clear night though.
After Duke had
swum for about 30 minutes, the observer went over the rules: the current
swimmers must swim for one hour. The upcoming swimmer must be standing on the
platform at 58 minutes, and when the siren goes off, the upcoming swimmer jumps
in and floats behind the current swimmer. The current swimmer swims to the boat
and exits the water. Any violation and it’s an instant disqualification.
The siren goes
off and I jump into the water. I have opted to have a spotlight from the boat
on me while I swim. This was a mistake because I was truly blinded. The time
signal that we had planned didn’t work because the spotlight was so blinding –
I would have to stop swimming to really see the whiteboard with the time.
My constant mantra: “I do not want to cause our team to fail.”
One hour later,
the siren sounds and I climb onboard so happy to be alive! The first person I
see is Duke and we both start laughing and embrace. I laughed so hard. This was
one of my favorite moments of this challenge.
Tom Neill - 1:10 to
2:10am – 3rd hour
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Tom in the Channel |
The pilot boat was not well-lit onboard, and
the darkness added to my nerves as I looked for
my equipment. It was simple:
Just a cap, ear plugs, low light goggles and swim suit. I plunged in the dark
choppy water.
I swam past
Sunny, as she completed her first leg and was left alone in the dark with a few
lights on the boat. Nerves and excitement pushed me along and soon I passed the
bow and kept swimming into the darkness. I focused on my stroke. My attention
was broken by shouts from the boat. I stopped and was told that I was swimming
towards England. The boat turned me around and we headed back towards France.
It seemed like a very long leg, and I became
impatient and tired of the repeated chop which caused me to exaggerate my
rotation for air and repeatedly filled my nose with sea water. Finally, my hour
was over. I did not hear the siren but did notice the light flashing across my
face. I was very happy.
Julian Sapirstein -
2:10 to 3:10am – 4th hour
That first swim was the hardest, starting in
the pitch black and rough water. The boat was going in fits and starts, so
sometimes it was ahead, sometimes behind and sometimes right beside me. Being
ahead of the boat was particularly distressing because I didn't expect it and
its location was not immediately obvious. The water was warm, so I didn't fear
hypothermia, but the stress of night swimming took a toll and I was shivering
when I got out at the end of the hour. The rough water and darkness had been a challenge,
but I felt good after finishing, knowing that my next swim would be in
daylight.
Joni Beemsterboer -
3:10 to 4:10am - 5th hour
As Julian climbed aboard, I headed into the
darkness. Soon the team shouted that I was too far out. The current made the
correction difficult. There were moments when it felt like the water calmed and
I could get into my rhythm only to be knocked by a wave or two. Some Channel
swimmers report lumpiness in the water—an apt description. The goal is to find
that swim zone that makes each stroke feel rewarding, satisfying and ideally
productive. Such zones were fleeting. It was so damn dark.
John Hornor - 4:10am
to 5:10am – 6th hour
I’d mostly recovered from partial knee
replacement (12/10/21) and rotator cuff repair (5/6/22) but recovery had
limited my usual exercise routine, so after I said yes to Duke’s invitation to
join the relay team I knew I had to get in shape. I joined the
USF Masters swim program at Koret with coach Chris Wagner, started weight
training, and stopped drinking alcohol.
The sky was
brightening with first light as I jumped off the stern of the Sea Satin
into the dark, 63-degree Channel. I swam into position behind Joni and
officially started my first leg. I was confident, happy to be finally swimming.
I got lost in my stroke, started daydreaming, and before I knew it Tom was
waving his arms.
Duke Dahlin - 5:10 to
6:10am – 7th hour
It’s so nice to swim in daylight! It
seems after John’s swim, the wind started to pick up again. From time to time,
I would swallow some Channel. The spectacular sun was rising on my left. I
could see Julian with the lap counter onboard the boat letting me know how much
time had passed. Having this information was a big relief. There were
times when I caught up to the Sea Satin, got ahead, and swam at the bow like a
dolphin. Then I’d slow down so I didn’t get too far ahead. My second swim was
about over, and it would have been bittersweet if we reached France before I
could swim another leg.
Sunny McKee - 6:10 to
7:10am – 8th hour
I entered the water and realized the wind had
picked up again. Bummer! And, lucky me, there were jellyfish! Some were very
long. One wrapped around me and stung my leg, and another got my neck. My first
thought was, “Great, I’m going to get stung so much that I’ll have a reaction
and die!” I wondered if I was allergic.
The channel was
so choppy, I spent the rest of the swim swallowing water and dodging jellyfish.
At least there was daylight. Again, I told myself to shut up and keep
swimming. I finished my second swim, happy to be done and still alive.
The jellyfish stings stopped hurting; they weren’t so bad in retrospect.
Tom Neill - 7:10 to
8:10am – 9th hour
I was eager to touch the water again and glad
to be swimming with the sun. Moderate wind continued and I struggled to take a
breath without swallowing water. I anticipated the end of my leg and slowed
when Julian passe by and I was quickly back to the stern, up the ladder, and on
deck where I was surprised to see how close we were to the lighthouse on Cap
Griz Nez, the point that reaches out into the Channel and marks the part of
France closest to Dover. I was hopeful that we would finish in the next two
hours. I went down to the cabin and lay on a bed in the boat’s bow. When
I returned to the deck an hour or two later to watch my swimmer, I noticed that
land looked further away.
Julian Sapirstein -
8:10 to 9:10am – 10th hour
My second swim was much easier—full daylight
and the water was much less choppy. I can't say it was fun though. It was more
a matter of just slogging along until the hour was up. I noted a few ships off
in the distance when I breathed to the right or when I breathed to the left when
I was ahead of the boat. I felt fine when I finished, not cold like after the
first time.
Joni Beemsterboer -
9:10 to 10:10am – 11th hour
At the end of my second leg, I maneuvered to
be close enough to the boat to make a quick transition so that the pilot could
speed on to the new swimmer. On this leg I lost my anti-nausea patch. Once
onboard I felt queasy and tried to stay horizontal. Sunny fed me ginger which
helped, as did mumbling to myself.
John Hornor - 10:10 to
11:10am – 12th hour
Sunshine! Warming water! Nothing to worry
about now—just the swim. I imagined looking down from space and watching myself
as a tiny dot somewhere in the middle of the English Channel. Suddenly shouts
of “you’re drifting too far away!” brought me back to earth. I focused on
form—not letting my left arm cross over the midline. I recalled Chris Wagner’s
advice: “Railroad tracks all the way to France” Suddenly Tom’s arms are waving,
and it's time for Duke.
Duke Dahlin 11:10 to
12:10pm – 13th hour
After Joni and John finish their swim, we can
see France. Martin tells us we are at a point in the Channel for solo swimmers
called “The Graveyard of Dreams.” It’s a place of strong currents and rougher
water, and you are being pushed north away from the closest point. Martin had told
us now we needed to swim hard as possible to make it to shore.
Again, I was so
glad to be swimming in daylight. It was kind of bumpy out there. I finally saw
the lap counter indicating I had 11 minutes left. And before I knew it, 2
minutes. I heard the siren and yells of my team mates to get out.
Sunny McKee – 12:10 to
1:10pm – 14th hour
I jump in and swim as hard as I can. It was
very choppy, and I ended up swallowing lots of water. I focused on the
whiteboard, never looking up at our destination. This leg felt different because I didn’t think I was
going to die. I was just concentrating on swimming as hard as I could. I really
wanted to get to France, but I felt like I wasn’t getting any closer. I pushed
myself to keep swimming, despite this sinking feeling, and soon it was Tom’s
turn. It looked to me like we were no closer to France.
Tom Neill – 1:10 to
2:10pm – 15th hour
I jumped off the boat on Martin’s signal and
swam past Sunny for my third leg. The water was as choppy as before. The boat
was not keeping a steady pace. I was at the bow and then the stern in repeated
cycles. At one point I was thirty yards ahead of the boat and I stopped because
I did not want to repeat my nighttime experience of swimming towards
England.
Towards the end of the
hour, I noticed that the captain was lowering a small, motorized inflatable,
which he had said he would deploy when we approached land. I was elated. Soon,
Martin signaled the end of my swim. I looked up to see the texture of French
black and white cliffs in great detail. I climbed the ladder and watched the
end of the swim from the deck.
Julian Sapirstein 2:10 to 2:19pm –
16th hour
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John and Julian in France |
Tom’s leg ended a few hundred yards from
France and I was ecstatic to be able to finish. This time I swam without the
boat beside me and headed straight for shore. We just missed a beautiful sandy
beach and had nothing but rocky shore for a landing. I didn’t care, but I
feared getting beat up on the rocks. The waves weren’t big, but they were
high enough to pose a risk so I was very careful. There were a lot of rocks
just under the water, which was going up and down, so I would grab a submerged
rock, stabilize myself and pull myself forward to the next rock until I got to
the edge of the water. By that time, I was pretty cut up and was bleeding a
fair amount but I was so thrilled to be in France that I didn’t care. John
Hornor joined me on the rocks and we celebrated. On the boat, I was
bleeding all over the deck but no problem. The deck is designed to take things
like blood and wash them off.
Official Time: 15
Hours 09 Minutes (CS&PF Website)
Oldest English Channel
Mixed Relay Team in the World
This swim wouldn’t be possible without the
support of our families, friends, members of the SF Dolphin Club and USF
Masters swim coach Chris Wagner. Thank you to the amazing Sea Satin
escort boat captain Lance Oram, crew Tanya and Mia, and official observer
Martin for keeping us swimming safely crossing the English Channel.