I made it to the final day and was still able to move and stand!
Gosh, I was utterly exhausted and in a lot of pain! Each day got harder to get up but actually on the final day, a small part of me was full of beans and raring to go because I was SO close, I was going to complete the 33.3km! No matter what happened, when I got on the transfer boat in the morning there was NO WAY I wasn’t going to finish 33.3km. It didn’t matter if it hurt, if I cried, if I got bored or if the weather was rubbish – I wouldn’t let anything stop me. No way José!
The final day was made up of 2 swims, 4.8km from the Croatian border to Dobrec and then a nice short 400m swim from Porto Novi Marina Wall to Porto Novi beach; a short swim to the final finish line picking up our friends, family and supporters from their boat on the way in!
The start was from off the boat again and it was also an exciting day as it was a channel swim, swimming from one country (Croatia) to another (Montenegro). We would be swimming towards the mountains and the shadow of other mountains thanks to the sun. It was just going to be another totally unique and special swim, totally unlike anything I had ever done previously, and I couldn’t wait.
The transfer boats were full of tired but smiling swimmers, all excited to swim. There was dancing, cheering, trying to be ‘the best boat’ (which was obviously T1) and it really was like nearly 200 adults from various places around the world were all being dropped off in Disneyland rather than it being 7am in the Adriatic Sea on the Croatian border!
I did get the feeling there were a few nerves around swimming across the channel but it was still like we were going to Disney, even more so when we were told the weather was good enough to swim through the rocks and into the submarine pen too!
I will freely admit I had a few nerves as I knew we would have little protection in the channel, and we were having to sight ourselves as buoys couldn’t be put in the middle of the channel. I think it was the slower swimmers, like me, that were more concerned as there was going to be more of a gap between swimmers as it was much easier to swim in the wrong direction when you have no one to follow!
Obviously, none of us could predict what boats were going to be coming up the channel (like the one in the image) or how bright the sun was going to be blocking our view of where we needed to aim for either!
To me, it was going to be a great end to a challenging few days, one epic final swim and a couple more firsts for me!
We had the final instructions and jumped into the water. Soon after James started the race. I’d obviously worked out where to start in the mass of people by this point. The rocks we were swimming through we could go through 2 at a time but they were far enough away from the start that the mass of swimmers had thinned out enough so there was no issue. As you came out from between the rocks and glance up, you can see Montenegro and see the stretch of water we were going to swim straight in front of us.
It was another beautiful swim and a fitting final tough swim of the UltraSwim33.3. Now it came down to using my sighting skills and open water swim knowledge to get me across the channel. I knew the current was going from left to right and knowing my speed and ability worked out that rather than aiming for where we needed to go I would aim for the next gap in the mountains to the left. This would mean I should end up where we were meant to be heading for. I was quite enjoying the swim, sighting to stay on track and keeping an eye on other swimmers and kayakers too.
As soon as I swam in their direction I felt the current they were in. I was still moving and still fairly comfortable but I could feel it was stronger there than where I had been and that instead of swimming straight to the headland I was going to miss it and end up having to swim up the coast to get around the headland instead.
I kept pushing and although fatigue was setting in, mentally I was fine and doing well, until the person I was swimming next to stopped and said “we are not moving anywhere, look at the lighthouse, we haven’t moved”. I hadn’t fully realised this but suddenly, I was acutely aware of it. I was swimming but started to keep an eye on the lighthouse when sighting as a point of reference and she was right, we weren’t moving anywhere. For a moment I thought about what it would be like to be pulled out or having to give up when I was so close to completing the full 33.3.
I gave myself a stern talking to but I was tired, everything hurt and my body was screaming at me to stop. I decided if I was to get round the headland I was going to have to swim strong and hard for at least 30 minutes. I stopped swimming for a moment and caught my breath before putting my head down and swimming as hard as I could, probably harder than I had in any of the other swims, even the 10km! I realised that every time I took a breath I moved backwards again so I changed my breathing pattern to every 5th stroke so there were more strokes and less breathing. I mean, breathing is important but at that moment, getting past that bloody lighthouse was the only thing that concerned me!
Finally, when I was breathing every 5th stroke I started to make progress and I ended up leaving the other swimmers behind but I couldn’t stop because if I stopped I would be pushed backwards again. I kept fighting and eventually I was level with the lighthouse and cursing at it.
I knew once I got round the headland I would be able to have a breather and was likely going to be able to relax a bit so the head went back down for a final hard push and I effectively felt like I was swimming as fast as I could for 15 minutes, I saw the pink triangle buoy and it was the best sight in the world because I knew that at it I could turn round and wouldn’t have the current against me in the same way!
Next stop was the submarine pen. For those that don’t know, along the coast of Montenegro are abandoned submarine pens, I believe left over from the Cold War and Second World War. Essentially they are submarine parking/hiding spots built into the cliffs and I was told that there are tunnels connecting them together too. It was just a short swim from the pyramid to get to the sub-marine pen and we had been told to swim head up in the tunnel, there was another pyramid at the end of it so we were to swim round that and back out again before following the coast round to the finish.
I got to the submarine pen and the first thing I noticed was the Family and Friends boat moored outside. All the family and friends were walking down the side of the pen cheering and playing music as swimmers went in and out! I can’t tell you the relief and how much seeing and hearing my sister made me smile. I didn’t stop because I thought if I stopped I wouldn’t start again but I did ask a question I never ask “how much further do I have to go?” my sisters response “not far, its just round the corner”. They all then cheered, played music and shouted encouraging words; it was lovely!
I headed out of the pen back into the blue skies and started heading round the coast. I was enjoying the swim, but I was just so tired and sore, I knew I had promised myself I wouldn’t get out but it was so tempting, I had just had enough. To make it worse (in some ways) I then saw the bloomin’ black and white lighthouse that I now have nightmares about. All I could think as I was going past it was “this is a heck of a lot easier swimming this way”.
I kept going and pushing and also cursing my sister because her “just round the corner” turned out to be a couple of kilometres. I just kept hoping I would see the finish line soon. I was in so much pain I was in tears and as I came round the final corner and got my first glimpse of all the boats moored I knew I was so close, I could make it, I would make it!
I could see the finish and could no longer work out if they were tears of pain or happy and proud tears that I had finished and by doing so I had become the first wheelchair user to complete the UltraSwim33.3.
As I was coming into the finish funnel there were people sitting on the wall next to it clapping and cheering me on, I could hear everyone encouraging me and the cheers got louder the closer I got to the finish, I had a huge smile on my face but at the same time I had absolutely nothing left in the tank and was still crying. Every stroke hurt, my arms felt heavy and were moving very slowly and finally, to a huge cheer and lots of clapping, I crossed the finish line! I looked at my watch as I crossed the finish line and realised I had ended up swimming 5.2km instead of 4.8km!
I couldn’t believe how proud of myself I felt, I didnt care how far extra I had swum, I had done it! I am someone that doesn’t often feel pride towards myself, but on this occasion I was full of pride and joy and happiness!
The only thing I wished was that my sister had seen me cross the finish line. She always supports me doing long swims and bonkers challenges but rarely does she get to see me finish as she is normally on the boat whilst I am getting out at the beach. I couldn’t wait to see her for a HUGE hug and also to moan at her for saying it was just round the corner when it was more than another 1km to go!
After I crossed the finish line I was immediately approached by the media team in a kayak for an interview but I am still waiting to recieve it and will share it here when I have it.
After the short interview I headed to the beach. They had put a carpet down on the beach, which I was relieved to see because it meant I would be able to crawl out of the water and sit for a while before I stood up using my crutches. The medical team brought my crutches over for me and got me a drink before helping me up to go and sit on the wall to rest/recover for a bit. They got me more drink and also some biscuits. It hurt a bit eating them and they tasted strange as a result of the salty tongue but I was starving so glad they were able to get me some. Once I had a drink and a bite to eat I put my tow float behind my head and just lay back using it as a pillow.
My body had had enough. Everything hurt, my legs felt like someone had poured boiling water on them, my ankle was starting to twist in and lock and all I could do was lay back and try to breathe through it. After a few minutes one of the helpers came over, partly to make sure I was ok but also because I was one of the last to finish and we had a boat trip to the official finish, celebration and award ceremony!
The options I had were to walk round to the Jetty shown in the image but it was quite a long walk and then a big step down onto the boat. I didn’t think I would manage it, instead I swam out to the boats so that I could get on in the same way I had after other swims.
Being as tired as I was, I wasnt thrilled at the idea of climbing the ladder but it was easier, less painful and used less energy than walking round would have and as the boats already had lots of people on so I was able to get plenty of help to pull me up.
Everyone was smiling and chatting and admiring the view as the boats took us to Porto Novi. I can’t remember exactly but I think it took around 20 minutes to get there and we travelled as a fleet of boats so we got to wave and cheer to the other swimmers which was pretty cool. We arrived in Porto Novi Marina and were told to jump off the boat one final time and if we had anyone on the friends and family boat we could pick them up just before the finish line so that we could finish together.
Everyone was buzzing and couldn’t wait to get off the boats so I let everyone else go first and it was rather amusing for me because every time someone jumped in you heard things along the lines of “Holy S**t this is cold”, “oh my god, its freezing” and “what the hell happened to the warm water?!”. It was finally my time to jump in and admit I was one of the “what the hell happened to the warm water” group. I swam over to the family and friends boat where my sister was waiting and she jumped off the boat and was a little bit surprised and shocked by how cold the water was and informed me I could have warned her it was cold. At which point, I said “You shouldn’t have lied to me that it was just round the corner and not far left to swim”.
I had my GoPro with me and as we swam to the finish line together chatting and smiling and laughing, it was such a special moment for me. Crossing the finish line with my sister, without whom I would not have been able to do any of the swims, let alone all of them was just a moment full of love and joy.
It often doesn’t seem like she does very much to help me at swims, but it’s not just the physical side of things she helps me with, it’s the mental side too. She helps to keep me grounded and focused on swimming rather than accessibility. It reminds me that my job/role is to go and do the swimming, hers is to help me so I can do the swimming.
From pushing my wheelchair, reminding me to take medication, carrying things for me so I can push my chair, all the way to helping to put suncream and grease on and cheering me on in the submarine pen; I wouldn’t have been going across that finish line if it wasn’t for her. We got some great finish line photos and I collected my medal.
I won’t lie, I struggled on the beach. It was a very soft sandy beach but it felt like sandpaper on my feet and where my ankles are quite weak it made walking and using my crutches quite tricky. We went and got a glass of champagne/juice to celebrate and then found all my stuff, including my chair but it was up some big steps. My sister and Zoe helped me up and got my bag so I could get changed. However, the celebrations were on the beach, not in the hotel restaurant. I bum shuffled back down the steps onto the beach and we brought one of the dining chairs out with us so that I could sit down at the same level as everyone else.
It was then time for the award ceremony. For most, this wasn’t a race and was about finishing and the UltraSwim33.3 have an amazing way of celebrating everyone. You don’t have to have completed the full 33.3km to get your medal, if you have completed even one swim then you receive one. However, if you did complete the full 33.3km you got an extra water droplet to add to your medal. They announced every single person and we went up one at a time to get our droplets to cheering and celebrating so much that I couldn’t even hear the names being read out. Poor Zoe announcing ended up reading several names, taking a huge breath and announcing a load more!
After the celebration and a marriage proposal on the beach it was food time!
There was a buffet but there wasn’t much room to manoeuvre my wheelchair around the people, tables and chairs so my sister just got me a bit of everything on a plate. I wasn’t actually that hungry so I didn’t eat very much but what I had was nice. After we had eaten people started walking down the marina wall to get to the boats to transfer back to our hotel. We stuck around a while so that we could watch Andy Donaldson swim past the beach on his epic 33.3km Ultimate swim.
Once he had gone past we headed to the boats. I had a look at it and it was a HUGE step down onto the boat and there was no way I could manage it, it was just too unsafe.
As a result we went to plan B, which was the organisers getting a taxi for my sister and myself. We waited outside the restaurant and it was a rather bizarre place. There were speakers in the street playing lift music, hardly anyone around, no cars and it just felt like we were in Duloc – the town from the film Shrek! I ended up nodding off whilst sitting in my wheelchair, I was exhausted and the lift music was sending me to sleep. I was holding my crutches but as I nodded off for the first time, dropped them so my sister held them for me. The second time I nodded off I dropped my phone on the floor – my body had just totally crashed and I had absolutely no strength or energy left.
We waited for about half an hour but still, no taxi turned up. Eventually we decided we would try to get on the last boat back to the hotel. We went up to the marina and found the boat, the skipper told everyone to get on first and for them all to sit on the far side of the boat; I had no clue why. Once everyone was on the other side, obviously the boat tipped up meaning that there was no longer a huge step down for me to get on the boat – it was genius and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of doing it before!
It was a nice boat ride back to the hotel, not too bumpy and the views were mesmerising. Once back at the hotel the boat dropped us off at a slightly different place within the marina, which made things a little tricky for me.
Rather than pavement it was all cobbles so it was tricky to navigate without getting one of my castors stuck and nearly falling out of my chair. In the end, my sister gave me a push, I hate having someone push me, but I just didn’t have the strength and was too exhausted. It was early afternoon when we got back so we decided to go and chill by the swimming pool for a while. We knew that Andy and Rachel would be landing/ending their swims on the beach near the pool so decided to be there in support.
It was great to just have a lay down, soaking in the sun and good vibes from everyone’s achievements! Several of the swimmers had the same idea and it was great to sit and chat with some of them, one of whom I had met previously and who had the pictures of us together from just after my English Channel Swim which was pretty cool. I felt a little guilty that I didn’t remember him or his family (I met them too), but then I reminded myself it was only a couple of days after my epic 29 hour swim and I was still a little tired…
An hour or so later we began to see Andy swimming towards us with Zoe in a Kayak supporting him. All the swimmers nearby gathered on the beach to cheer Andy in after swimming 33.3km in one go around the coast of Montenegro. Once Andy had arrived and celebrated we headed back to our room. It was then that I found out I had completed the UltraSwim33.3 in 14 hours, 38 minutes and 33 seconds.
We had booked to attend the evening celebration meal in the beach/poolside bar. After a short rest we got showered and dressed and headed to the ‘party’. It was a bit strange seeing all the swimmers in clothes and I didn’t recognise a lot of them as I had got to know them from their number and swimming costume! We found a table with a few swimmers we didn’t know and also a friend my sister had made. It was such a lovely celebration and the food tasted really good too! Sadly, they ran out of pizza but what we had was scrummy.
Something you often don’t get to do after swims is celebrate with other people that have achieved something similar, or what you have achieved, so it was really nice to be able to celebrate our achievements together! We stayed around until about 9.30pm, when I could feel myself starting to fall asleep. It wasn’t because the people we were with were boring or because I wanted to leave, it was just that my body had completely crashed again and I couldn’t fight the fatigue any longer! I was also acutely aware we were flying home the following day and needed to pack. We said our goodnights and headed back to our room to pack.
I started to get my suitcase out and put things into it but I couldn’t think straight and although I had loads of room in my case on the way to Montenegro, I couldn’t get my stuff in my case. I wanted to pack so we wouldn’t have to worry about it in the morning but I just had no energy, I felt like I had run into a brick wall. Eventually, my sister convinced me to give up on packing and to go to bed, I tried to disagree with her but in the end I gave in and just collapsed in a heap on my bed and the next thing I knew, my alarm was going off in the morning!
It wasn’t an early start like we had, had for the last few days, but it was earlier than planned since we had to pack our cases. Once we had packed we headed down to breakfast, we were running late so it was grab and eat what we could as quickly as we could. Zoe appeared and we discovered she was joining us on our transfer to the airport and once in the car we discovered she was also on the same plane as us! The drive to the airport was beautiful. When we arrived we had done the drive in the dark so couldn’t see anything but the views of the mountains and the sea were absolutely stunning. After arriving at the airport we went and checked in, I got everything sorted and signed off in terms of my wheelchair and TriRide coming on the plane. We were through security quickly and then just had to wait for our bus to get us to the plane. One of the members of staff came and found me and took us to the Ambulift. Ive used the Ambulift before, its basically on the back of a van/lorry kind of thing and it drives to by the plane before it elevates level with the plane door. On this occasion though, the Ambulift was going up at the same time as going forwards, it was an incredibly bizarre feeling! Once on the plane we were at the front and had a row to ourselves, the take off was bumpy but it was great to actually be able to see Croatia and Montenegro from the air. It was typical that it was a beautiful sunny day and we were leaving!
After the plane take off I fell asleep for the entire flight. When we arrived at Gatwick we were helped off the plane and met by my wheelchair and TriRide. We got through the airport and collected our luggage pretty easily, although it was quite a long walk for my sister. Once we were sorted we headed to the shuttle between terminals so we could get our trains. I was exhausted so took all the help on offer and then I don’t remember much of the train journey as I was asleep for most of it! When I was on the way home I did decide to phone my parents to see if they could pick me up and if I could go to theirs for a few days so that I could recover and to my relief, the answer was yes! My UltraSwim33.3 adventure was over, I was beyond exhausted, incredibly sore but also so incredibly proud of what I had achieved and of course, because Ive done one of their events, I now want to do another one!