Fancy an 11 hour swim? Sam Abeshouse takes the challenge
For the most enthusiastic Jewish sportsperson, you can rarely go past a triathlon. Chickenfeed for Sydney’s Sam Abeshouse who has just swum the channel separating Northern Ireland and Scotland in a gruelling 11 hours and 16 mins.
Making progress -Sam Abeshouse heading for Scotland
Sam entered the water at Donaghadee in Northern Ireland and swam to Portpatrick in Scotland on this world-famous North Channel Swim.
He told J-Wire: “My first big swim was the Rottnest Channel in WA, a 19.7km race event from Cottesloe Beach in Perth to Rottnest Island.”
But the big one was in Sam’s sights and in July 2018 he made the International Crown 33km across the English Channel. He said: “Because of the currents I swam about 55km. It took me 13 hrs 21 mins in water measuring 16.5 degrees.”
In 2019, Sam circumnavigated the island of Manhattan in New York which is also an International Crown called 20 Bridges. He told us: “It was a 50 km swim with a very strong tidal assist. East river to Harlem then down Hudson. Just over eight hours with the water temperature being very warm.”
Sam reased up
This week, at the beginning of his North Channel crossing, the water started out at 14.5deg for the scheduled 34.5km crossing. Sam said: “The current forced me to swim about 40 km finishing in the dark at 10.09pm.”
Giving a caring eye on Sam
J-Wire asked Sam what preparations he made for the swim. “I was training 5 days in the pool at Des Renford Maroubra squads. Normally I swim about 15-20 km per week. About 6 months out I start increasing mileage to peak at 50 km per week then taper down and simmer down to 30km till the event.
I usually did 5-6 km every morning in the pool and then 10km in the ocean on the weekend.
This particular swim needed intense training focusing on cold water. It’s arguably the most extreme of all the ocean 7’s. Many say it’s the English Channel on steroids. Finding cold water is hard in Sydney. All ocean training was at Brighton Le Sands where at 5 am the water can get to 13 degrees until the sun is up when it warms up 2 or 3 degrees. Manly dam can get good cold water and I took a few trips to Wentworth Falls near Katoomba where I could swim in water at 6 degrees.”
The North Channel is not a normal swim so Sam resorted to unusual training.
He explained: “I invested in a large chest freezer which I kept at the back of my house. I sealed up the inside and filled it with water. I keep the temp steady 10-11 deg with a timer. I was dunking in the freezer, every morning after swim squads for about half an hour. It’s an extreme swim and therefore the training is extreme.
The main reasons this swim is so extreme are the very low water temperature and there are many jellyfish. I got a few stings but it didn’t stop me from the end goal. In hindsight, I had a good preparation period.
A North Channel swimmer has to have fat to insulate from the cold. Eating is a must. He told me: “I ate ice cream after breakfast and after dinner every day. He ate as much as possibly could. I found it hard to put on weight with all the training. After a while, it’s sickening but necessary.”
No 106 to make the swim. A proud Sam Abeshouse
The flooding in Sydney had forced Sam to do so much preparatory work in the pool.
A tradition to sign your name at Pier 36 pub in Donaghadee in County Down after completing the swim. Sam signed off as number 106 to cross.
And what did Sam’s wife Laurie think of his swim? She was on the boat cheering him on.
This super athlete in his early 50s will now take a well-deserved rest. In the meantime the training freezer at home awaits.
What a sensational achievement. Mazeltov!!