'Get it wrong and you're doing seven knots to Alderney'

FOR most people a 10-minute dip in the sea is enough, but not for John Nelson - he swam from Guernsey to Sark last Saturday.

Mr Nelson made the crossing from St Martin's Point to the island in just two hours and seven minutes.

He was accompanied by a boat and dinghy, which navigated the treacherous currents for him.

The 46-year-old Dixcart Trust director takes a dip regularly at the bathing pools but had wanted to do the Sark swim for two years.

He made the trip on a high tide, something that had not been done until recently because of strong currents.

'It's about eight or nine miles on a high tide, because you are going with it,' he said.

'A number of other people have tried and failed because if you don't get your timing and angles right, you end up heading to Alderney at about seven knots.

'It's the skill of Dave Wakeford, who skippers the boat and plots the course for all the successful swimmers,' he said.

Mr Nelson said the current got faster towards Sark but half a mile from the island it slowed down as the tide turned.

'The water was quite cloudy, but it was nice to do and it was a lovely evening.'

His wife, Nin, was proud of him for completing the journey, he said, adding that he had not been too concerned about the currents because he was accompanied and understood the weather conditions.

Various people have made the swim and the current record was set at two hours, four minutes by Paul Mason two years ago.