An Open Water Swimmer's Podcast

This first Episode of Season 5 is with a World Record holder who swam the 70km of Lake Geneva in 2024 in a staggering 22 hours and 48 mins... becoming the fastest female ever to do so. Among her other swims are some pretty fast crossings of Lake Windermere and a double crossing of Lake Bala, and she has even ticked off the Scottish Triple Crown in Loch Awe, Loch Ness and Loch Lomond. It's the...

Update on Season 5 and the bonus material that will be on offer for subscribers... very excited to share all the episodes with you all.

This second bonus episode is with the legendary Ger Kennedy. Ger was the overall captain and organiser of this mad and beautiful idea to put two five person relay teams together to swim the English Channel on a very cold winter day in January 2024. With the sea temperature around 7 degrees and air temp around 2 degrees, both teams set off in earnest, having done weeks of cold water preparation......

In January of 2024 two teams of five swimmers set off to become the first winter relays to swim the English Channel. With the air temperature at 2 degrees and the water around 7 degrees, the men's team were successful in 14 hours and 45 minutes. Each team member swimming at least three one hour rotations in just their trunks, goggles and swim hat, as per EC Swimming rules. Sadly, the women's team...

The final episode of Season Four is with a young man who has written himself firmly into the record books. Brian Foster, the 16 year old who in 2024 became the first man (second person) to swim the North Channel Double and also becoming then youngest ever soloist in the process. His double took him a remarkable 24 hours and 50 minutes... He also swam the English Channel and Catalina in preparation...

Today’s guest is with a former GBR elite athlete, who was originally a 400 IM swimmer, turned 10km OW swimmer. She talks very openly and candidly about her struggles with competing at the highest level of the sport, recovering form injury and also an eating disorder which very nearly took her out of the sport altogether. Once she had hung up her goggles from the sport, she decided to swim the Engl...

Episode ten of An Open Water Swimmer's Podcast, is with Paul de Waard. Originally from the Netherlands, he now resides in a corner of Ireland where very cold open water swimming is the norm for a large community of swimmers. Sandy Cove has become synonymous with a hardcore group of Irish swimmers, who train throughout the year - swimming lap after lap (one lap is roughly a mile). A former comp...

Episode 9 of Season 4 is with Halani Moss-Vete who is originally from Hawaii, and swam the English Channel in 2022. Her home waters were calling for her and she swam the 26 miles of the Molokai Channel in 2024; battling currents and jellyfish along the way in a staggering 29 hour swim. The currents themselves, while a huge obstacle, actually made her land somewhere special at the end of the swim,...

Episode 8 with the extraordinary Jonty Warneken. Jonty beautifully takes us through his journey as a Para-marathon Swimmer and Ice Swimmer. Dubbed "the first disabled Ice Miler", Jonty has completed some incredible swims including the 65km Round Jersey Swim, Windermere Solo and the first disabled relay to team to swim the North Channel. Jonty is a Guinness World Record holder for Para distance Ice...

Episode 7 is with the lovely Emma France. Emma runs the famous DCT group and has been instrumental in helping heaps of swimmers achieve their goals of swimming The English Channel. An Accomplished swimmer herself with three solos and twenty EC relays shew knows her onions... Was a pleasure chatting to someone with such a wealth of experience to share. Season 4 is in collaboration with Ocean Lube,...

The legendary Phillip Rush joins me for episode six... He had an illustrious career as an elite athlete and in 1987 he famously swam a three way of the English Channel: on that swim he broke 5 world records. He still holds the fastest two and three way crossings; his two way was a staggering 16hrs and 10mins (7.55 / 8.15) and his three way was 28hrs and 21mins. He now coaches and mentors many a ma...

Episode 5 of Season 4 is with the amazing Amy Ennion. Among her achievements are Lake Geneva (28 hours), the English Channel, Guernsey to France (becoming the first person to ever swim that route) and she is not done yet with more swims planned for 2025. We chat about training, mind-set and the importance of keeping the fun in swimming. Season 4 is in collaboration wit Ocean Lube the ocean-friendl...

Episode 4 of is with the one and only Neil Gilson: fresh from his record breaking 72km Lake Geneva swim, which he swam in a staggering 22hrs and 9mins. We chat about how he trained for such a long and fast swim, and how his delayed success on that swim got him over the finish line. eason 4 is in collaboration with Ocean Lube the ocean-friendly anti-chafing skin cream that protects your skin and sa...

Episode three of the podcast is with the youngest ever English Channel Swimmer, who swam the Channel in 1988 aged 11. A record he will have ad infinitum as the rules now stipulate that a swimmer must be over sixteen years old... His story is immortalised in his book "Boy in the Water", an incredibly moving coming-of-age story about his relationship with his coach and how he prepared for this swim...

Episode 2 of Season 4 is with a remarkable Australian swimmer, who in 2024 became the first person to swim the 77km from Italy to Albania, crossing that channel in a staggering 33 hours. She also became took the mantle of "earliest female Channel Swimmer" in the same year, making the crossing in early June, on D Day, in fact, in some very chilly water... Hope you enjoy. Season 4 is in collaboratio...

Excited to bring you the opening episode of Season 4 with Team GB's Hector Pardoe, fresh from his fantastic sixth place in THAT 10km swim... we chat about training and what it's like being at the sharp end of the sport. He's a remarkable athlete with a very bright future ahead of him. I hope you enjoy. Season 4 is in collaboration wit Ocean Lube the ocean-friendly anti-chafing skin cream that prot...

Bonus Episode! Sarah Thomas came to Sea Lanes in July 2024 for an interview in front of a live audience, hosted by me. It was such an honour to be able to speak to her face to face and hear first-hand her story and her recent epic swim around Maui... Apologies for the sound during the interview, I think you'll forgive me as it's a really great chat. I had the microphone placed next to a sp...

The final episode of Season 3 is with the Triple Crown and Original Triple Crown Swimmer, Martyn Webster. Martyn has completed numerous marathon swims over his illustrious time in the sport and is someone I am about to share a swimming holiday with in a matter of weeks... It was great to close the season chatting to someone who knows so much and had a plethora of knowledge to impart! Enjoy!

Today’s guest is one of the nicest guys you are ever likely to come across in the world of Marathon Swimming… a former top elite swimmer who ended up taking a little time away form the sport entirely; when he returned he embarked on his marathon swimming journey - he won the famous 25km Rottnest Swim in Australia, and then decided that he would aim to complete the famous Ocean 7 in one calendar ye...

I have been wanting to record today’s guest for quite some time… about 18 months ago I developed a shoulder issue outside of the pool which prevented me from swimming. Having never had any issues with my shoulders before in the pool and also having booked Jersey Solo and English Channel Swim attempts, I needed to fix it properly. I found a place many a Sussex-based swimmer has found solace before...

My guest today is a former elite swimmer - having held Danish and Nordic Records in the pool and representing Denmark at various European and World championships over the years; but you may know him more from a new brand of goggle that is being seen more and more on pool-side: he launched The Magic 5 with his business partner a few years ago and they are going from strength to strength - a custom...

Episode 8 is with the super human Kate Steels. Kate is widely regarded as one of the toughest and most skilled OW swimmers on the planet. She was the third person to complete the Ice Seven (an ice mile on all seven continents); she is also a Triple Crown Swimmer and was WOWSA Woman of the Year 2021, and nominated again in 2022... Kate has overcome a number of devastating significant challenges in...

I loved talking to today’s guest - she is an author, editor and podcaster. She co-hosts the "Postcards From Midlife" podcast and her first book 'Mum what's wrong with you: 101 things only the mothers of teenage girls know" was a Sunday Times top 10 best seller. She is a former editor of Cosmo, ELLE and Sunday Times Style and a mum of four children aged 10 to 19. She is currently writing a new book...

Today’s guest is a bit of a legend in the English Channel Swimming Community. A runner, who still professes that he isn’t a swimmer despite successfully crossing The English Channel (twice), Jersey to France, Round Jersey, Windermere and Lake Zurich among other significant swims… He also completed his first successful crossing of The English Channel on his seventh attempt: talk about perseverance!...

Episode 5 is with the incredibly inspirational Jessica Hepburn. This was such an awesome chat and I really don't want to give too much away on here. Jessica is an author ("In Pursuit of Motherhood" and "21 Miles") ... She is a Channel Swimmer and her swim story is a thing of beauty, that resonated with me on a very personal level. Enjoy!!