Jellyfish beneath a July sky

At 09:05 on 19 July 2021, Victoria Lea began swimming away from Glenthorne. The water was flat, the air already warm, and a bloom of baby moon jellyfish lay across her first five hundred metres. She settled into 68 strokes a minute. On the escort boat, Geoff Gardener began the observer log that would follow her all the way to Wales. ^[6]

The intended destination was Porthcawl. Eight hours and thirty-two minutes later she would be standing clear of the water near Witches Point, having crossed the Channel but finished east of that goal. Two years later she would return for Porthcawl itself. The surviving log shows how the first landing was chosen, and why both crossings belong in her story. ^{[6] [2]}

Swimming around a full life

In the Association’s 2023 committee profile, Victoria described a background in teaching and coaching swimming, Ironman triathlons and Channel relays. She also described the practical task of fitting training around children and family life. These were her own recollections, written as she took a role in the growing Association. ^[3]

That profile places an English Channel solo about two and a half weeks after the July 2021 Bristol crossing. The timing shows how closely the challenges followed one another in her account, although the exact Channel result still needs checking against the official record. ^[3]

A rhythm across the Channel

The early entries describe a swimmer in good spirits. Jellyfish appeared in scattered blooms, but the first hour’s notes record no stings. The sea warmed from 16.5°C at the start to just over 17°C. Her stroke rate stayed at 68, with only a little chop as the easterly freshened. ^[6]

Feeds gave the day its structure: warm drinks, banana, a Snickers and later peach slices. By lunchtime the sky was mostly clear and the sea calm. Victoria asked whether she was doing well; by early afternoon she wanted the feeds brought forward to forty-five-minute intervals. The observer’s description of the weather was uncomplicated: splendid. ^[6]

Shore in sight, work still to do

At 14:30 Victoria could see the shore and wanted to know which direction to swim. The crew asked for a harder hour around slack water. Her shoulder had begun to trouble her, but the log still describes her as cheerful. A seal was noted following roughly four hundred metres away. ^[6]

The afternoon became hot and almost windless. A chocolate French fancy had joined the earlier feeds; later came flat Coke and jelly babies. Lynne joked about swimming faster to create a breeze. The tide was now helping, and Victoria lifted her stroke rate to 72. With her shoulder hurting, the next feed was brought forward to half an hour. ^[6]

By 16:33 they were at the eastern end of Nash Sandbank. A little chop had returned and the log recorded rapid progress with the tide behind them. Wales was near, but the intended finish still lay farther along the coast. ^[6]

The decision off the Welsh coast

At five o’clock the crew stopped Victoria to discuss the landing. The log records that Porthcawl could mean another three hours of swimming, while the pilot was uncertain about the flows when the tide turned again. They also discussed earlier recognised crossings that had finished nearby. Victoria and the crew agreed to head for the nearest landing. ^[6]

At 17:37 she was on dry land, her feet clear of the water. Lynne swam in to congratulate her. The observer recorded a mirror-like sea at the finish and an elapsed time of 8 hours 32 minutes. The log names the landing Tywyn-y-Witch; the public crossing record places it in the Witches Point area. ^{[6] [1]}

Why return?

Victoria’s later swimmer report explains that she learned the first landing did not satisfy the Original Triple Crown course requirement she wanted to meet. Plans for another outer-Channel challenge gave way to returning for the Porthcawl finish. Training was fitted around injury, illness and family commitments. ^[2]

She started the 2023 crossing from Devon in darkness. The day brought prolonged chop and difficulty taking solid food, before conditions improved nearer Wales. Her account recalls feeling better after a flat Coke and being able to press on towards the destination. ^[2]

Past the earlier finish

Tom Chapman observed the return, Lee Johnson supported and Meuryn Hughes piloted. The observer’s account records the passage past Witches Point — the landmark associated with her earlier swim — and the final approach inside Tusker Rock towards Sandy Bay. Victoria cleared the water after 10 hours 32 minutes 17 seconds. BCSA ratified the crossing. ^[2]

That second arrival gave the story its resolution. The beach at Porthcawl was now the finish of a swim that had begun on the Devon shore. ^[2]

Legacy: returning with a purpose

Victoria also contributed beyond her own crossings. The Association’s 2023 committee page identifies her as secretary, bringing a swimmer’s experience and a teaching and coaching background to the organisation. That is a dated description of her involvement, rather than a claim about every later year. ^[3]

The archive keeps both Bristol swims in view. One records the first passage from Devon to Wales in 2021; the other shows why a swimmer might return to water she has already crossed. A more specific goal, rather than the erasure of an earlier achievement, connects them. ^{[1], [2], [3]}