Butterfly with a sting in the tail - Sylvain Estadieu's EC swim

loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
edited September 2013 in Cheering Section
Forum member, Sandycove swimmer, deranged Frenchman and English Channel soloist @Sylle will tomorrow swim across La Manche toward La Belle France, doing butterfly...provisionally 9.30am start, possibility of a 12 hour weather delay.

His pilot will be Mike Oram, on Gallivant. Tracking as usual on the CS&PF tracking page. A stroke judge will be on board.

Irregular Tweets from crew and forum members @LECummins), @ZoeSadler and myself. Profile names link to Twitter accts.

Edit: main twitter account we'll be using is Sylvain's[/UURL.

loneswimmer.com

Comments

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    Good luck @Sylle!

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    Bon chance @Sylle!

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • Dawn_TreaderDawn_Treader Member
    edited September 2013
    I'll be at Varne Ridge by the time you get back to congratulate you. All the very best to you Sylle! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXUMXy16L9k

    Sisu: a Finnish term meaning strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    Still going strong, if I'm reading the tracker correctly.

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    #gosylle

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • owenswims93owenswims93 Fermoy, IrelandSenior Member
    @Sylle is flying, literally! Not much more than one [statute] mile to go now!!!
    dpm50

    http://fermoyfish.com – Owen O'Keefe (Fermoy, Ireland)

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    He did it. Awesome swim @Sylle!

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member
    Unofficial time was 16 hours 42 minutes.

    First male to swim the English Channel butterfly. First CS&PF butterfly solo.

    @loneswimmer accompanied Sylvain in for the last 100 metres to shore. We made him do butterfly - by this point Sylvain had tired enough for @loneswimmer to be able to keep up!

    An amazing swim by Sylle!
  • Can't wait to see a write-up and video of this epic swim! Massive respect to Sylvain!
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    edited September 2013
    [img][/img]Vive La France!

    l

    loneswimmer.com

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited September 2013
    I mentioned this elsewhere, but I'll repeat it here:

    I really admire when a swimmer undertakes a tough swim, and deliberately makes it tougher. This seems more in tune with the spirit of marathon swimming, compared with another approach I sometimes see, which is to seek out sneaky ways of making the swim easier.

    Relevant thread:
    http://www.marathonswimmers.org/forum/discussion/370/doing-it-tough/

    Way to go, Sylle!
    rlm
  • lecumminslecummins Charter Member
    Thanks @Niek, I was coming here to post now!

    I really am so much in awe of what @Sylle achieved yesterday, it was amazing to watch. I can't believe that someone could keep lifting their arms over their head for that long and still be able to move today!! So proud of you @Sylle :)
  • KarenTKarenT Charter Member
    This is beyond my imagination. Amazing. Many congrats @sylle .
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    In other news, @IronMike managed to do a SCM lap entirely in fly last week! w00t!

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • I still can't get my head around this, @sylle! Totally in AWE. You trained hard and stayed dedicated to this dream for years now... so no better man to be our first male butterfly swimmer! Next time we're all tempted to go one-arm fly, think of Sylvain! ;) Amazing.
  • jvjjvj Charlotte, NCMember
    Wow, I can't comprehend that swim. I'm ashamed to say that I scratched a 200m fly last year at a masters meet because I wasn't "feeling it". Never again!
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    A few pics I took of @Sylle are on the CS&PF site at http://cspf.co.uk/swim-story/sylvain-estadieu-swims-the-channel-butterfly. I echo what Lisa says, it was an honour and privilege to be part of his crew and to see his extraordinary achievement, and to see what a drunken conversation in a Varne Ridge storm in October 2010 ended up!
    More info coming on @Sylle's blog (and mine) soon hopefully.

    The 100 metres of butterfly I had to do at insistence of @lecummins when swimming him into Cap Petit Blanc ranks amongst my more unusual swimming experiences.


    (@lecummins: pop quiz: Port and Starboard again?)

    loneswimmer.com

  • heartheart San Francisco, CACharter Member
    Amazing!
  • mjstaplesmjstaples Atlanta, GA, USSenior Member
    Absolutely extraordinary! Congrats!
  • vvisevvise Member
    edited September 2013
    Just saw the pic posted by loneswimmer...Caption: "Every single stroke was judged to be proper ASA approved butterfly, which is a phenomenal achievement"
    Indeed! Congratulations!
  • I got that point too. Sylvain has shown us all the way ahead. Extraordinary is an understatement. I would add this: To anyone planning a second channel swim, don't do it freestyle next time.
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber
    I'd rather go out and back than to try and swim it butterfly! Totally incredible accomplishment. My arms hurt even thinking about it.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    @Haydn, I don't think Kevin Murphy, Ali Streeter, Marcy McDonald, Nick Adams, Stuart Johnson, Chloe McCardel, Mike Read and many others would agree with you. I think everyone gets to choose their own Channel aspirations.

    loneswimmer.com

  • SylleSylle SwedenMember
    Thank you all for your kind words :) I have yet to reply to everyone (not sure if it's manageable, I got so many messages of support, coming from many different spheres).

    My crew took great care of me, I am so very thankful for all they've done, I don't think I've done anything to deserve the love they've given to me. Many more persons are left to thank, but I hope I can do that in person for the most part.

    I'm off to bake some brioche now ...
  • I guess you are right Donal. But out of the thousands that swim the EC maybe less than 20 ? have got across non freestyle.......and that excites me.
  • JBirrrdJBirrrd MarylandSenior Member
    I'm off to bake some brioche now ...
    Finns där något du kan inte göra?
    WTG Sylle!
    (*) (*) (*)
  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member
    Interesting article here http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2013/10/list-of-butterfly-swims-in-open-water.html

    However, having been on the support boat and watching the swim I am not entirely convinced by the average speed stated for Sylvain's EC butterfly swim. I make it a fair bit quicker than 0.34mph!
  • jvjjvj Charlotte, NCMember
    ZoeSadler wrote:
    Interesting article here http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2013/10/list-of-butterfly-swims-in-open-water.html

    However, having been on the support boat and watching the swim I am not entirely convinced by the average speed stated for Sylvain's EC butterfly swim. I make it a fair bit quicker than 0.34mph!

    I believe that's a miscalculation. 21 miles in 16:41 would be 1.26 mph
  • SylleSylle SwedenMember
    I finally managed to put together a video of the swim, it's featuring a few forum members, see if you recognize them!

  • Sylvan, I love to watch this. It is very inspiring. You were magnificent as well as your crew. I am so touched when I watch it. Today after swim practice I did 50 fly for you.
    I hope to meet you again. What are your next plans?

    Sisu: a Finnish term meaning strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.

  • SylleSylle SwedenMember
    Thanks Kari! I'll be swimming across lake Vidöstern in 2014. Hopefully I can dial down the training a notch in comparison to last year :)
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
    I had the pleasure of sitting next to Sylvain at the CSPF Awards dinner. What a humble and sweet person. A wonderful achievement and the award could not have gone to a nicer person.
    dpm50
  • dpm50dpm50 PA, U.S.Senior Member

    Just amazing! I'm still working on my 50 fly, so this is beyond awesome!

    Bridget
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited June 2018

    Bump. John "Batches" Batchelder of Colorado attempting to become the first American to swim the English Channel butterfly. Tracker linked from forum homepage.

    thelittlemerwookierlmsosophiaphiassthomassuziedods
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    I kinda sorta miss the days when you waited for the person to call from the little red phone booth next to the White Horse... ( which is now gone as well)
    Hard fought battle @batches .

    thelittlemerwookieevmossthomas
  • sosophiaphiasosophiaphia Colorado USAMember

    I watched the tracker all day long. Well done. I'm inspired no matter the outcome.

    suziedodscurly
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