Channel Swimmers Monument - Dover, Kent.
Posted by: 
MeerRescue
N 51° 07.345 E 001° 18.920
31U E 382102 N 5664787
The Channel Swimmers Monument was erected along Waterloo Crescent at Dover, to honour all those swimmers who have attempted to swim the English Channel since records began.
Waymark Code: WMETC7
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/05/2012
Views: 6
The English Channel is
considered to be the most prestigious of open water swims and one of
the hardest in the world.
The 'Queen of the Channel' is Alison Streeter (UK) who has swum
39 successful crossings, whilst the 'King of the Channel' is Michael
Read (UK) who has swum 33 successful crossings. In 2006, Comedian
David Walliams swum the Channel for the charity 'Sports Relief' in a
time of 10 hours and 34 minutes,he raised over £1 million for the
charity.
If you fancy having a go at swimming the channel – you can’t just
strip to your 'cossie on the beach and wade in. You have to register
and book your swim with the Channel Swimming Association – a process
that has to be undertaken at not insignificant cost. One of the
requirements is to book a pilot to accompany you and sometimes need to
be booked a couple of years in advance. On 24th August 1875 Captain
Matthew Webb began his attempt to be the first person to swim the
English Channel, he succeeded on the 25th August 1875, after a swim
lasting 21 hours and 45 minutes. A statue/bust of Webb further along
the seafront is way marked WMDV3R.
On 24th August 2007, Bulgarian
swimmer Petar Stoychev became the fastest swimmer to cross the Channel
in 6 hours and 57 minutes. More Channel Swimming times and multiple
crossings details can be found on
wikipedia.