The annual Open-Water Varsity Mob Match against Cambridge is usually held in Henley, racing the 2.1km classic upstream course, but with COVID and the dates for the Henley Classic not working for either team, this year the race was held at the London Victoria Dock. So, on Saturday 4th September, 10 swimmers from Oxford made their way down to London to take on Cambridge at the 1.5km Dock2Dock race in just their swimming costumes (no wetsuits!). Despite some threatening clouds, the weather, fortunately, held out for the race !!

This was the first time the Dock2Dock had held an Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Event. The race was judged by a combined time of the first 5 swimmers (of which 2 swimmers must be female). In true dark blue style, several swimmers from the Oxford team took to their legs at the start of the race and got an early lead from the Cambridge swimmers. Despite some issues with sighting and sticking to the route, the dark blues won with a combined time of 122:54 (over 20 minutes faster than Cambridge’s combined time of 143:23). 

Congratulations to all swimmers involved, Oxford had some great results. A special mention goes to Sophie Lawrence for winning the Oxford-Cambridge race in a time of 22:33, posting the fastest women’s time over 1.5km at the event and the third-fastest time overall out of the 200 swimmers competing at the Dock2Dock event. Andrew Hong and Bertie Ansell also made it into the top 10  in the 1.5km race coming 7th and 9th in times of 23:52 and 25:11 respectively.

The important open-water skill of drafting led the Oxford team to victory, with Joseph Read, Spencer Williams and Robyn McQueen all finishing within touching distance of each other in times of 25:21, 25:57 and 25:59 respectively. 

All in all, despite the cold water, it was a great race, and well done to Cambridge for being such great competition and to our Oxford swimmers: Max Underwood, Zoe Faure-Beaulieu, Claudia Murray and Afrah Shibu for also posting excellent results.

This year’s Varsity Channel Relay was particularly special as both teams were swimming in memory of the co-founder, Nick Thomas, and raising money for his chosen charity, Cancer Research UK. The team is extremely grateful for everyone who has supported them on their swim and its preparations, including friends, family, sponsors, our pilot – Neil Streeter and his boat Suva, and anyone who donated to the wonderful charity, raising over £2,500. We would also like to thank Cambridge for their valiant effort and a great race!

However, we could not have gotten to France without the support of our sponsors:

Medical Support Offshore (https://www.msos.org.uk) got us to the starting line in Dover. They provide comprehensive, worldwide medical support for an extensive range of clients, based on land, at sea and in the air.

Perkier Foods (https://perkier.co.uk) fuelled our training and our race to France with their delicious cereal bars and snacks. They are a British Independent company producing sustainable, palm oil-free, but highly nutritional gluten and dairy-free snacks.

After weeks out of the water due to COVID lockdowns, the team had a tough couple of months regaining swimming fitness and acclimatising to cold water in Queenford Lake and Port Meadow, and on Wednesday 25^th June we got the call-up for our swim. Delayed from 2020, due to COVID-19, the team for the 2021 Channel Relay we are raring to go.

The race was due to start at midnight on Thursday 24^th June, so the team had to rush straight from their pool varsity match down to Dover. Unfortunately, we had already lost a key member of our team, Spencer Williams, to isolation, so team spirits were low.

Despite having an exam due to be sat on Thursday morning, Jackson Spry was determined to swim the race and not leave the team one swimmer short. He started the race against Cambridge at 23:58 on the beach of Samphire Hoe. Jackson put a valiant effort in, getting Oxford an initial lead over the Cambridge team in his hour of swimming. Having never swum in the dark before, Jackson demonstrated huge courage commencing the race, being only lit by two flashing green lights on his swimming hat and speedos.

Next up was Sophie Lawrence. With little to see except the bright moon and the lights on the boat, the 1hr swim in the cold and darkness was as much a mental game as a physical challenge. The team had devised torch signals to give the swimmers time signals every 15 minutes through their swim and tried to keep spirits high by singing and dancing on the boat as well as cheering the swimmers on.

Third in was Max Underwood. With the race being so close to the summer solstice, his 2-3 am swim saw the initial glimpses of daylight. Max took the ocean with confidence and a very strong (and splashy) kick got the team well ahead of Cambridge.

Luiza Farache Trajano was fourth on a glorious sunrise swim and potentially the longest hour of her life. Convinced the team had forgotten all time signals and that she was nearly done, Luiza was heartbroken to find she was only 15 minutes into her swim. To make matters worse, Luiza then suffered a series of traumatic jellyfish attacks. Taking it like a true champion Luiza powered through the swarms of jellyfish and despite the odd squeal she kept her head down and demonstrated true bravery and showed us what a sacrifice for the sake of the team really means. Definitely a Type-2 fun swim!

At 4 am Andrew Hong leaped into the water. Having slept for most of the journey so far, he had a fantastic swim, battling the cold and a scary collision with some seaweed, but his impressive speed got us up to 26 minutes ahead of Cambridge. Andrew’s mental toughness surviving the cold through techniques of counting his strokes and focussing on his breathing meant he absolutely smashed his swim. In his words, the swim was a ‘complex melange of emotions: determination, elation, motivation, and comradery.’

The 6^th swimmer was the OUSC veteran and Team Captain Lara Reed. Having swum in the 2018 Varsity Channel Relay, it was not just her strong and very enjoyable 1hr swim but also her wisdom and insider knowledge that helped the team to victory. Lara’s true passion for open water swimming and huge levels of experience was vital in the team’s success.

At 6 am, after a short nap, Jackson was back into the water for his second swim. The sun was shining, and France was in clearer sights than the Cambridge boat, so the team spirits were high.

Sophie took the scenic route to France on her second swim, somehow ending up pointing in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean twice but fortunately, her cheering teammates set her straight so minimal time was lost.

By the time Max jumped in for his second swim at 8 am, France was in close sight. His huge swim with a big push to France resulted in severe cramps in both legs, but he powered through to the end of his 1hr stint and got the team so close to France that Luiza’s last swim was going to be a sprint finish to take us ashore.

The works of perception left us thinking we were extremely close to France when Luiza leaped into the water, and with the team cheering her on to swim faster she had a 13-minute sprint finish to take us ashore.

In a brilliant 9 hours and 13 minutes, the team made it to France 45 minutes before Cambridge, who completed their race in 9 hours 58.

Upon reaching France, the team was told that we would have to self-isolate if we spoke to any French people. Fortunately, the beach we landed on was only accessible by water, so we were safe! Exhausted, hungry, and desperate to be back on dry land, the team then made the 2-hour journey back to England and met the Cambridge swimmers for a celebratory pint in the Dover Wetherspoons.

In relief to everyone, the internet connection in the English Channel was strong enough for Jackson’s exam to occur, so while the rest of the team slept on the journey back to England, Jackson powered through and showed everyone that nothing is impossible if you truly believe.