Swimcloud

Carleton Grad Completes Channel Crossing

Carleton College alum Dave Cameron '99 completed the grueling swim
across the English Channel on Tuesday, accomplishing the feat during a
12-hour, 36-minute swim.

Cameron, 30, joins a select group of swimmers who have traversed the
Channel more than once. He previously swam from England to France
three years ago, a journey that took him 13 hours and 9 minutes on
August 28, 2004.

He entered the water at 5:02 a.m. on Tuesday local time (11:02 p.m. on
Monday, Minnesota time). The start time was selected to best take
advantage of the ocean tides. He reached France at 5:38 p.m. local
time (11:38 a.m. on Tuesday, Minnesota time) in a crossing that was
done under official Channel swimming rules, which prohibit the use of
wetsuits and other insulating or speed-assisting equipment. Today’s
swim was performed with water temperatures in the low 60s.

A one-way crossing from Shakespeare Beach near Dover, England to
Cameron’s landing point on the south side of the Channel (a beach near
Wissant, France) is a trek of approximately 21 miles, although
currents and tides can force swimmers to go an estimated 25-30 miles
in a single crossing.

Cameron was not alone in his journey, as a support team with Carleton
College connections rode alongside him.

In addition to a local boat pilot, Cameron was assisted by Andy Clark,
the head coach for Carleton’s men’s and women’s swimming & diving
teams, and Paul Regan '99, a co-worker of Cameron’s at the YWCA and a
former Carleton swimmer. Not only did Clark and Regan monitor
Cameron’s pace and offer encouragement, they were also responsible
for ensuring Cameron was getting the necessary nutrition to keep his
body performing at optimal levels.

Cameron was fed and hydrated about every 35 minutes during the swim
with a diet consisting of warmed liquid carbohydrate and protein
drinks. He was also "treated" to the occasional PowerBar. Because
Channel rules do not allow anyone on the boat to touch the swimmer,
Cameron retrieved his food and drinks from a pole extended out to him
by those on the boat.

Cameron began the day hoping to finish the rare double crossing of the
Channel—from England to France and back to England—a feat that is
believed to have been accomplished by less than 30 individuals in
history, meaning more people have successfully climbed Mt. Everest
than have swum back-and-forth across the Channel. Unfortunately, the
difficult decision to cancel the return swim to England was made
jointly by Cameron and Clark after Cameron experienced problems with
his shoulders.

Waiting back on the English shore for Cameron were his mother; his
wife, Martina (Randall) Cameron '99; and the couple’s young son,
Daniel. The family resides in St. Louis Park, Minn.

While a member of the Carleton swim team, Cameron was a 15-time
All-Conference swimmer, a two-time MIAC Champion, a team captain, and
a three-event record holder. Two of those records have since been
broken.

Cameron hit the water today as part of "Swim for Change," a program
that the YWCA Minneapolis describes as an effort to increase awareness
of the racial disparities in swimming (especially the higher rates of
drowning among communities of color) and to provide swimming
opportunities for more underrepresented children and youth through
swim lessons, swim teams, and aquatics job training programs at the
YWCA of Minneapolis.

Part of that program means that this wasn’t even Cameron’s first
channel crossing this summer.

As the swim coach at the YWCA of Minneapolis, last week he was in one
of two boats guiding a pair of relay teams—one made up of eight
teenagers, the other consisted of five adults—that completed the
one-way crossing from England to France. Each swimmer went as far as
they could in one hour before the next team member took their place in
the water. Both teams completed the trek in about 12 hours.

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