Jitterbugs 2025

The “Dovercoaster” is how Channel swimmers refer to the uncertainty around when—or indeed, if—they are going to get the call from their boat pilot saying they have a slot to swim. Time and tide may wait for no one, but many a Channel swimmer has waited for time and tide, only to be thwarted before they’ve even started. Sometimes the weather doesn’t play nice and the timing doesn’t work out and the…