A cancer fundraising cross-Channel scuba swim will take place next summer, after bad weather forced its postponement this September.

The Cross Channel Scuba Challenge, in which seven divers will fin from Shakespeare’s Cliff near Dover to Cap Griz Nez, is in aid of the Orchid Cancer Appeal. The appeal funds research into testicular cancer at London’s St Bartholomew Hospital.

“We are looking to help the battle against male cancers, as it is far from won,” says diving team member Colin Osborne, who founded the appeal in 1996 following his own experience with the disease. “2005 is my tenth year in remission. This is not a day I thought I’d see when I was told I had three months to live ten years ago.”

Despite the fact that “it will be cold and the logistics immense”, the cross-Channel scuba format was chosen, says Colin, because it has not been done before. Although the appeal remains its most important aim, the swim will represent a new category for the record books.

The divers will fin in 30-minute stints at a depth of 10m, the swim having been nick-named 10,000 Millimetres Under the Sea! The team is made up of divers drawn from scuba diving business, diving media and the Royal Navy. Surface support includes two more divers and a nurse.

The main support vessel will be St Cicala, a former Royal Naval fleet tender converted for marine research and diving charters. Also present will be Sea Venture II of The Channel Crossing Association, whose officials will observe the swim.

Although September’s swim was postponed, a fundraising raffle, originally planned to run in tandem with the swim, has been held. Prizes were donated by diving businesses and more than £4000 has been raised for the Orchid Cancer Appeal. Winners and prizes are listed on the website below.

Related links
Orchid/Scuba Challenge website

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