Solo swim from Jersey to France a first for Sarnian

After setting off from La Coupe point, a small beach behind St Catherine’s breakwater, Mrs Riley finished her long-distance effort in Portbail in France after seven hours and 34 minutes.

Mrs Riley said she was quite nervous about Wednesday morning’s swim because it was so dark when she set off at 3.45am.

‘I set off like a bullet with all the adrenaline rushing,’ she said.

‘Then about 10 minutes into the swim a fish swam in to me and made me jump.

‘The water was a little chilly but fine and the sea like glass for the first two hours, it then became a bit choppy for two to three hours.’

Although she had trained on long swims there was nothing that could prepare her for the nothingness of the swim and boredom.

‘I didn’t see anything other than jellyfish for the entire swim,’ she said.

‘No ships, no land, nothing, which makes you very reliant on your crew. [They] were amazing and kept me brilliantly entertained popping up wearing different hats, inflatable palm trees et cetera.

‘It was so uplifting when I saw them put up the tricolour bunting around the boat, I knew then I was getting close.’

The swim is generally a four-mile swim in a straight line but as any long-distance swimmer will know, swimming in a straight line is not something that anyone is able to do, so taking tidal movements into account, the distance covered can be about 15-18 miles.

The average swimmer takes around seven-and-a-half to 10 hours to complete the swim.

‘I tried very hard not to look forward during the swim, they say don’t look forward, don’t look back, just be in the present, I never looked back but coming in to the fifth hour of feeds I was

facing France and couldn’t help myself.

‘I could see the wind turbines on shore and was getting excited that the finish may be coming but didn’t want to be complacent as it’s hard to judge the distances from your angle in the sea.

‘Seeing the water changing colour beneath me getting into the shallows, then the texture of the sand, is such a great feeling.’

To keep her going her daughters, Delphine and Elodie, had also written short notes in sealed envelopes to be read at each feed.

‘That was amazing and such a boost,’ she added. ‘It really made me want to keep swimming to make them proud of their mummy.’

Mrs Riley swam ashore with the Guernsey flag flying so that she could proudly capture the moment the first Guernsey person completed the swim and thanked everyone for all their support, from family and friends as well as swimming friends in Jersey and the swimming community in Guernsey.

With a celebratory gin and tonic in hand after months of being tee-total in preparation for the swim, she now has another swimming challenge to prepare for, the English Channel, provisionally set for September next year.