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WE WENT CHANNEL SWIMMING
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Little did George Gray, the Royal Marine sergeant who set out at Walmer on Friday evening to swim the channel from Cap Gris Nez believe that he would be returning home by road five hours later. Neither, if it comes to that, did the hundreds who lined the beach to aid him bon voyage, nor those who accompanied him in Mr A J Schermaly’s Victor. He certainly had a magnificent send off. His commanding officer at Royal Marines, Deal (Colonel H D Fellowes, DSO) with Mr Fellowes and several other officers and their wives, were among the well-wishers, standing at the starting base and indeed right the way along the beach to Kingsdown.
On the launch, Sgt Gray was accompanied by Captain Allan RM, several members of the Sergeants’ Mess from the Barracks, including RSM Clash; other personal friends: fellow members of Deal Dramatic Society and the Press. Coxswain Upton, with Mr Schmermaly, ‘Windy’ Hall, and Frank Knight came as crew; a sick-bay steward complete with medicine chest and oxygen cylinders came in case of emergency.
No one took much notice of the slight swell on the water as we left Walmer. When it increased as the Victor neared Dover Harbour, we were contented with opinions that it would calm down well before George was due to enter the water at about 11 p.m. At Dover, the Victor picked up about half a dozen young members of Dover Lifeguards’ Club. George was a member and recently won their Breakwater swim. It was on the way out of Dover en route for Cap Gris Nez that the ‘fun’ began for some.
With a 30-mile-an-hour northeasterly wind whipping up white horses, waves came crashing over the bows. It was when some nine miles out close to the Varne Lightship that George came out of the cabin where he was resting, to confer with Freddie Upton and the clerk of the weather. And it was about this time that we noticed lights ahead of us, instead of at the rear. It was not the French coast. We had turned back.
A channel swim in this sea was out of the question. There was no alternative but to return to terra firma. But this involved one or two complications. For instance, everyone had brought enough food and drink for 24 hours – quite enough. It was nine o’clock or later by now – suppertime, in fact. And so we ploughed back, like a cork, through turbulent seas to the calm and shelter of Dover Harbour. What was the next step to be?
If there was any change of an improvement, everyone was prepared to remain in Dover a few hours for another attempt early on Saturday morning. But the coastguards, and the meteorological office at Dunstable – Captain Allan phoned them – could hold out no hope of a clearance. So everyone adjourned to a nearby hostelry to drown their sorrows or celebrate their safe return as the case may be until transport arrived to bring them back to Deal. The Victor remained tied up in Dover Harbour until the following morning. Sgt Gray intended to make another attempt during the next few days when tide and weather permitted and Friday 12 September was the provisional date. I don’t think he tried again.
Bob Clash
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