So, I have talked about it for long enough and decided, at long last, to actually put my money where my mouth is and have signed up to swim the English Channel this coming July (2014).

Since committing to this huge venture, the size and magnitude of what I have taken on is slowly sinking in. To add to the challenge, Andreya and I have just had our second child, Reggie and our (sometimes Tasmanian Devil-esque), but always wonderful Herbie is now 3 years old and keeping us on our toes! However, I was not going to let these crazy times put me off this once in a lifetime challenge.

So, some details about what exactly I am undertaking:

• It's about 22 miles between England and France at it's closest point, however, taking into account the huge tides and currents it is not uncommon to have to swim nearly double this distance

• This stretch of water is worlds busiest shipping channel, which sadly makes it one of the most polluted, and therefore not the most pleasant to swim in

• To date, only 1426 swimmers have successfully swam solo over the Channel. To put this into context… since September 2011, over 3,100 people have successfully climbed Mount Everest…

• Some say swimming this distance is the equivalent (expending energy-wise) of running 10 back to back marathons

So, putting these obstacles aside, I do enjoy a dip so I am going to give it a go!

There are no guarantees of success (there is about a 1 in 10 success rate), but I promise I will give it my all; early morning training after mid-night feeds and late night training after a day on the market as I hope I can be one of the few people to complete this challenge.

As I am sure you have all guessed, undertaking something of this scale definitely warrants trying to raise some cash too. In light of Vida Vida’s links to certain areas of India, I have decided to support UNICEF.

UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation for children. They work with families, local communities, partners and governments in more than 190 countries to help every child realise their full potential.

UNICEF is a UK registered charity, supported entirely by voluntary donations and they do not receive any money from the UN.

UNICEF works on many projects in the area near our workshop in India and with specific goals of giving girls to have the opportunity to attend school and also bringing child labourers back to school which we feel very strongly about.

If you would like to make a donation no matter how small please go to the link below:

http://fundraise.unicef.org.uk/MyPage/Matts-Channel-Attempt#.U0Qc-hZgPzI

the more we raise the better and it will help me swim stronger and faster to achieve this massive goal!

I promise to keep you updated with the highs and lows as I prepare to undertake this huge feat. Please do follow me on Twitter: @EnglishChannel2

 or at Vida Vida's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VidaVida.co.uk

- check me out I’ve turned into a techno genius!

Thanks,

Matt