Visually Impaired Local Man Completes English Channel Swim
Mark Critchlow raises nearly £8,000 for children's charity The Amber Trust
Mark Critchlow braving huge ships in the Channel as dawn breaks
A local resident, who is visually impaired, has succeeded in his bid to swim across the English Channel, to raise money for a charity supported by St Michael & All Angels in Chiswick.
Mark Critchlow braved jellyfish, four-foot waves and huge vessels in the main shipping lanes as he and three international team-members swam the Channel in relay. Swimming in turn for an hour at a time, they completed the feat in 13hrs 31mins.
Mark says the worst moment was having to swim the first leg in pitch darkness because he couldn't see the pilot boat he was meant to be following. “I couldn't see a thing and I was really scared” he says. “They had a light on the boat for me to follow but it wasn't strong enough. I came to a halt. Eventually they used a flashlight which I could just make out.”
Fortunately the team on the pilot boat could see Mark because he had a white light on his goggles strap and a green light on the back of his swimming trunks.
Mark completed the swim last Saturday 26 August and returned on the pilot boat Pathfinder. The following day he was to be found in the Tabard pub opposite St Michael & All Angels, celebrating with friends from the church.
Mark and friends celebrate in the Tabard
Mark was swimming to raise funds for The Amber Trust, a charity for children who have severe and profound disabilities, and which uses music to provide therapeutic assistance. He has already raised nearly £8,000 from the swim and people can still donate on his VirginMoneyGiving page.
Mark, who is 56 years old is married with one daughter, and lives in the Southfield area. He is a member of the CC at St Michael & All Angels and an ex-athlete, and founder member of the West 4 Harriers, the Chiswick running club.
Mark was registered visually impaired in 2011 but it has not stopped him pursuing his charity challenges. He started charity swimming in 2013 and swam 1 mile in the pool. This progressed in 2014 to 3km in the sea. In 2015 he swam 5.6km in the sea and has now swum the Channel as part of a team.
The Amber Trust is a charity for children who have severe and profound disabilities, using music not only as a channel of self-expression, but to share their thoughts and feelings with people around them.
You can see Mark swimming on his team's Facebook page.
Find out more about Mark in this
interview with chiswickbuzz tv which he gave when he was swimming
in a challenge for the Mulberry Trust, another SMAA charity.
July 27, 2017