Johnny Came, Focused and Conquered !!

Johnny Came, Focused and Conquered !!

By Karen Quartermain

May 2, 2022

Meet Johnny Gysin, a determined individual. With an English Channel Solo booked for mid-July, he was on a mission. There were lots of communications regarding this swim on the lead-up, mainly about the water temperature. With its unpredictability, it was a gamble.

Johnny had limited options as he had gathered his crew for Monday 2nd May. We knew the temperature had been sitting at 10 degrees for a while, but slowly, very slowly, creeping up. After discussing Plan A through Plan D, the decision was made to just go for it and focus on training his crew and getting his feeding on point.

We were very pleased to tell him that the temperature had averaged 12.5 degrees on the way from Bowness to Fell Foot where his swim would start, which was a major relief. Johnny had always said if it was 12 degrees he would be fine. He was better than fine; he was awesome. There is no doubt there were times when he had to dig really deep, but he was consistent and he did the task in hand.

The booking was not just about swimming Windermere; it was about getting his 6-hour qualifier done and about Uswim Adventure teaching his crew everything they needed to know. Johnny was also very inexperienced, so there was so much to learn from the day. Both crew members were also brand new to being support crew, but full of enthusiasm and drive for Johnny's big swim. We discussed everything from fuelling and managing vomiting to managing themselves and what to expect on the day.

6 hours and 53 minutes later, Johnny had achieved his qualifier and the first—and likely coldest—Windermere Solo of 2022. Excited to follow the journey!