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Channel surfing AN OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR IS ATTEMPTING TO SWIM ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL THIS JUNE. By KM Bramlett
Go to Lake Thunderbird any day in any season of the year and you just might spot Piers J. Hale putting in the work. Most swimmers track their distance in meters or yards. Hale counts miles. At the end of June, weather permitting, he will swim across the English Channel. This feat, known as the “Mt. Everest of swimming,” is expected to take him just under 13 hours. The distance across the channel, depending on the tides and currents, could be anywhere from 21 to 35 miles. Hale, who is English, learned to swim at an outdoor pool in his hometown of Woodhall Spa. A retired Royal Navy veteran — or at least a man with lots of anchors, ships and a mermaid or two tattooed on him — ran an informal distance swimming club at the pool. Under his tutelage, Hale swam his first mile when he was 6 years old and has dreamt of this challenge for more than four decades. “I think it was the ultimate aim of all the kids who swam distance at the pool each year. I remember making plans with my neighbor back in about 1978 or 1979. We were going to be the youngest to ever swim the channel. Of course, this never happened, and I figure if I don’t do it soon, I won’t do it at all,” he said. Hale is an associate professor of the history of science at the University of Oklahoma where he’s been on the faculty since 2007. His expertise is in evolutionary ideas in 19th and 20century England and America as well as medical ethics. “I swim quite a lot given my other commitments. I swam just over 500 miles last year, for instance. I am currently ramping up the weekly yardage and currently fit in about 50,000 yards each week,” he said. That ends up being between 15 and 20 hours worth of swimming each week in preparation for both temperature and weather range in addition to the duration. There is no guarantee of success even for the best-trained swimmer. “Open water swimming is totally unlike pool swimming. High waves, swells and tides mean that the time can vary a lot,” he said. Hale is also conditioning his body
to tolerate the cold waters he’ll encounter. Luckily, winter is his favorite time to swim. “It is cold, but so very quiet in the lake. You can Kids’ Sailing Camp with Lake Thunderbird Educational Foundation, June 2021. Photo provided. hear the fish thinking … I have been working on cold limits, with plans to consume a highSarah Luthman, as well as Steven water acclimatization for several calorie drink every hour and suppleEnglish and John Krause, all of whom winters and am now comfortable ment with Snickers bars as needed. are also swimmers and active with swimming at [around] 60 degrees. The “The channel is the busiest shipping Hale with the Triathlon Club of water in June, when I will make my lane in the world with strong currents. Oklahoma City. attempt, will be between 57 and 59 A registered channel pilot is essential [They] will be my support crew on the boat. They are there to prepare and hand down feeding bottles, to offer moral support and to drink a beer or two with me in either celebration or commiseration afterwards. The most important member of the team, though, is the pilot. I have booked Andy King and his boat the Louise Jane. Andy has been a channel pilot for decades, and he will ensure I swim the shortest route. [He] will also pick what he thinks is the best weather window to make the attempt,” Hale said. Hale is using his effort and GoFundMe to raise money for the Lake Thunderbird Educational Foundation (LTEF), founded in 1998 to advance knowledge of water safety, and facilitate safe and environmentally aware recreational use of the Norman lake. For experienced swimmers interested in open water, Hale recommends joining one of the Triathlon Club of Oklahoma City group sessions that takes place at Lake Thunderbird at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. For people who are less experienced, an indoor Piers Hale in Dover, Kent, UK where his English Channel swim will begin. Photo provided. pool is a better place to start. Hale recdegrees. This is cold water to endure (and required) to make the attempt. ommends the YMCA or swim classes for such a long time.Hypothermia is Then it’s just a matter of booking acwith U.S. Masters Swimming coach one of the main reasons why people commodation, flights and talking David Gray in Norman. who make the attempt fail,” he said. some friends into making the trip who To follow his swim attempt, The regulation attire is minimal will be on the boat to help with the follow the Louise Jane Charters — just a cap, goggles and swim briefs hourly feeding plan. You also have to page on Facebook: facebook.com/ — and there are natural hazards like register your effort with the Channel LouiseJaneCharters darkness, jellyfish and small sharks. Swimming Association, who will “Swimming at night can be hard provide an official to observe the swim psychologically. The cold can feel and check that you abide by the rules,” colder, and the miles longer when all Hale said. around is blackness,” he said. The friends he has convinced to go There is also the need for food and with him likely didn’t need much water as he pushes his body to its coaxing. One of them is his partner,
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