Strong currents, cold water, causing hypothermia, and the constant navigation of jellyfish were among the factors preventing Jay Goss from completing his swim from Scotland to Northern Ireland.
But his good spirits and motivation already have him preparing to complete the challenge fully next summer.
Twice before he has travelled to start the swim, but weather conditions have not been on his side.
‘This time I went out with 24 hours’ notice and started the swim on Sunday,’ he said.
‘The conditions were perfect to swim from Scotland to Northern Ireland, rather than the other way like we’d originally planned.
‘The first three hours were fantastic, it was glassy water and the temperature was about 14-15C.’
Mr Goss had trained in 8C water in Guernsey in April, but after six hours, his speed started to slow.
He started at a pace of 3.5km an hour and had dropped to a 1.2-1.4km/h pace.
His predicted finish time of 21 hours was well above the 16 hours Mr Goss and his team had anticipated due to the currents, and it was decided that it would not be safe to continue.
‘It’s a 38km swim and at about nine hours I’d done 17 or 18km, and my pilot said I had another 12 hours to go with the conditions. It was already getting dark and I was getting so many jellyfish hits,’ he said.
‘I’ve been stung everywhere – my face, my legs, my arms, my chest, they were wrapping around me.
‘They were monsters and that was only 20% of them. The team were spotting about 80% of them and guiding me, but that would have been much more difficult as it got dark.’
Mr Goss said he would be in recovery for the next week, and then be back in the swimming pool shortly after to start working on his technique, planning to work with local trainers.
‘I’ve learnt a lot from this. I’ve done a lot of challenges and I know I’m not a swimmer, but I know now to improve my speed and technique,’ he said.
‘I knew I couldn’t do another 12 hours. I trained hard but I can train smarter over the next 12 months and try again.
‘It is really difficult. Even the record holder had to have two attempts to complete it.’
The challenge is in aid of the charity Safer, supporting adults and children who have experienced domestic abuse.
Mr Goss has already raised £27,000.
Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/page/northchannelswim-jaygoss.
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