SwimOut

In this edition of the SwimOut podcast we explore the joys of swimming in a Relay team. Join Mikey and Vicki as they talk about Relay swimming and the fun of it. Observer Deborah Vine answers listeners’ questions about the big day and the rules of the swim and Team Bits Missing discuss their North Channel relay swim. Plus we hear from Catherine Stefanutti, Dirk Gewert and more listeners about the joys of Relay swimming. For more information and longer versions please go to SwimOut.net

Our latest offering is a very special edition of SwimOut all about Peace. We welcome new presenter Jonathan Cowie from Outdoor Swimmer magazine spreading his podcasting wings for the first time. We are joined by the legendary swimmer and writer Lynne Cox. She first rose to fame when she broke the English Channel record aged 15, and went on to break many more. Her mission to broker peace between Russia and the USA by swimming the Bering Strait in 1987 remains a groundbreaking achievement. Still actively engaged with swimming she has just published a book about swimming with dogs as well as setting up a swim in April to help the people of Ukraine. We also discuss Ukraine and peace with the ever passionate Jackie Cobell who is raising money to help Ukrainians. And Vicki and Jonathan share their favourite swim spots.

Hunter and Vicki delve into The Mind. The mind can be your best friend and your worst enemy on a long swim. It can soothe and wash away your troubles; it can also disrupt and ruin your flow. In this episode we meet Cliff Golding; after 5 years and 6 failed attempts Cliff finally tamed his demons and successfully crossed the English Channel - he tells us his secret. Sarah Kennedy Norquoy lives in the Orkney isles and tells us how swimming helped her recover from grief and we catch up with Mental Health Swims about raising mental health awareness. Last but not least, we speak to two Paralympian's about their mental health journeys in the lead-up to Tokyo.

Vicki and Mikey explore Journeys. We hear from Cath Pendleton, who holds the Guinness World Record for the Most Southerly Ice Swim (female) in Antarctica, but she also likes Mermaiding and chitty chatting.  Mikey leaps out of his sound booth to present this week and speaks to Sal Minty-Gravett, the oldest woman to do a 2-way English Channel swim. John Coningham-Rolls from SwimQuest tells us all about his passion for empowering people to start their swimming journey and stop punching below their weight. We all did a Pier to Pier swim and Hunter pops in to tell his story. Finally Vicki wants to follow her father down the River Avon on a very special Journey.

Vicki and Fiona - our guest presenter - explore The Environment. We hear from Owen Hayman, a man who loves swimming in Reservoirs, on his mission to open up more water for us all to swim in whilst being kind to the environment. We catch up again with Calum McLean in the highlands of Scotland who finds awe in this magnificent scenery and is desperate to preserve it. We also bring you reports about the health of the sea from Papua New Guinea, a re-wilding project from East London and a Channel swimmer with a passion for collecting litter. Plus loads of ideas for great environmental projects to follow. BREAKING NEWS We are finalists in the British Podcast Awards Vote for us to also win the listener's choice award here  More info and longer versions of interviews at SwimOut.net We also love Likes and ratings on your podcast provider. Catch us on Facebook and Instagram too.

SwimOut is back! Vicki and Hunter are back for a second series exploring 'Uncertainty'. We hear from Jaimie Monahan doyenne of Ice swimming, about how she coped and what kept her occupied whilst stuck on Manhattan in 2020. We catch up with Steve and Norma talking about their fabulous entertaining Webinars which educated us on the technicalities of sea swimming. We also have Emma France from Dover Channel Training about how to cope with the uncertainty that IS the English Channel challenge. More info at SwimOut.net  contact us here. We also love Likes and ratings on your podcast provider. Catch us on Facebook and Instagram too.

ICE is the topic Vicki and Hunter explore, in this, the final episode of Series 1.  We hear from Jaimie Monaghan doyenne of Ice swimming, Ram Barkai who set up International Ice Swimming Association and Rostislav Vitek the fastest ice miler. We also meet Attila Manyoki, the fastest man to complete the Oceans Seven challenge who was hospitalised after a North Channel swim with hypothermia. Helen Smith helps Vicki prepare for an Ice mile swim next year and we hear from our listeners around the world about why they love ice swimming. It's ICEY !! Other material and episodes available at our website SwimOut  

This month Vicki and Hunter are joined by Chas Hamilton with a story about a charity which helps prevent drowning in Cambodia, which is the leading cause of childhood death in that country.  An RNLI beach lifeguard shares some tips on how to stay safe on the beach and answers some questions about what to do if you get into trouble. We also tell the amazing story of Guðlaugur Friðþórsson an Icelandic fisherman who survived after his trawler capsizes, with extracts taken from the book "Why I Swim" by Bonnie Tsui. Plus Mikey Tees shares the story of a very special relay swim across the English Channel.   

Introducing Episode 1 of the SwimOut Podcast with Hunter and Vicki! In our debut episode we spoke to SARAH THOMAS whose 4-way crossing in 2019 amazed us all, as well as the veteran English Channel coach FREDA STREETER who's not only trained hundreds of Channel swimmers but is of course mother to Alison Streeter - Queen of the Channel.

Mikey and Vicki discuss the wonderful world of swimming communities. They chat with Rachel Jones who edited Toes in the Water - stories of lives changed by wild swimming. Vicki goes to Mamma Swim and finds out all about their group for mothers who want to swim in the open water. Mikey talks to fellow swimmers at Brighton Swimming Club- the oldest swimming club in England. Bill and Jeff share with us about their project iSwim4 which is for people recovering from substance addiction and Vicki finds out about a film called Rave On For The Avon and its maker Aggie Nyagari and star Meg who decided to become Mrs Avon. Find out more @swimoutpodcast or swimout.net

Amy Ennion and Vicki explore training for the big swim. They discuss their approaches to training and talk to Shannon House Keegan who works with people remotely. Vicki goes to meet Ray Gibbs who films you in his tank Swim Canary Wharf. Amy discusses training camps with Anna McCarthy, a regular at the infamous Irish swim camps and Mandy Bodemeaid from Dover Channel Training tells us all about their training weekends. Plus we hear from Mark Sheridan about a pool based group which provides support and inspiration and Jonathan Cowie tells us about his struggles with his sofa.

This season has seen a bumper crop of swimming records, so Vicki and Amy have sought out the record-breakers. We have Andy Donaldson who swam all seven of the Seven Oceans in just one year and Sophie Etheridge chats with Jackie Cobell having taken her Longest English Channel Swim mantle away. Jasmine Harrison, who has two Guinness world records, talks about her adventures. We grab a chat with Anshuman Jhingran, the "Little Boy from Mumbai", who snapped up two records in his first year of marathon swimming and we join it all up with Julian Critchlow who gathers in all the English Channel facts and is himself a record holder. It's going to be a smashing episode.

Mikey and Vicki bring you a cornucopia of tales about Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to swim the English Channel. With a dramatized section and interviews with her grandson Andrew Pember and bathing historian Anna Maria Mullally the program celebrates this iconic swimmer. We also find out all about the “Swimming a Long Way Together” project, a tribute to Mercedes created by Vanessa Daws. We bring Mercedes' story to life and delve deeper into who she was and the legacy she has left.

In this edition of the SwimOut podcast we explore how swimming can boost our wellbeing and soothe our worries. Join Mikey and Vicki with special guest Amy – AmySwims as they talk about the challenges they have with how they look. We speak to Gill – Stoma Chameleon about her Channel crossing and Jamie from Blue Mind Men, a mental health swim for men. We find some great swimsuits which bring us joy, made by Usual Objections  and for the more environmental feel-good factor we talk with Angela from Swim Wild Wye who campaigns to keep her river pollution free.

In this episode Vicki meets Chloe McCardel who is the Queen of the Channel - she has swum the English Channel forty four times which is more times than any other person. Also she holds the record for the longest ever sea swim at 124.4 kilometers, taking 41 hours in the Bahamas. She is swimming royalty but also a passionate supporter of Women's rights, always ready to call out injustice.   Vicki spends a day with Chloe in Weymouth finding out about her swimming, her past and what she is up to in Dorset this summer with her new boat Channel Queen.

In this edition of the SwimOut podcast we explore the challenge of swimming in cold water. Join Vicki and Jonathan as they talk about thier swimming exploits in Morocco and Cheltenham. Vicki talks to Ger Kennedy about swimming in Antarctica and how it feels to be in water that cold and how to recover. Plus Jonty Warneken and Michelle Lane talk about competing in Team Ice GB.

In this edition of the SwimOut podcast we explore the people behind the big swim, the unsung heroes of open water who enable swimmers to undertake their amazing feats. Join Vicki Carter and Jonathan Cowie as they chat to Padraig Mallon - North Channel Pilot from Infinity Channel swimming, Ros Bailey partner of Hells Mouth Swimmer Frank Chalmers and Elaine Howley who likes to give back to the open water community and crewed for Sarah Thomas on her 4 way crossing. Plus listener and all round amazing swimmer Jaimie Monahan tells us where she likes to swim as does Fiona McDonald, previous presenter of SwimOut.

In the final episode of this series Hunter and Vicki are joined by the founder of WOWSA, Steven Munatones, and Gareth Jones who recently completed an EPIC 60 kilometre swim over Wales' wildest water. We're also joined by the the legendary Jackie Cobell who has the impressive (if undesirable) accolade of the longest ever channel swim. Plus, we catchup with our favourite fan Rick Cipolla. 

This month Hunter is joined by guest presenter Omie Dale to discuss access and inclusion in aquatics.  We hear from bathing historian George Townsend about sociological barriers, such as gender and race, in the 19th century. Omie talks to the founder of Swimunity, whose mission is to make the joy of swimming accessible to all communities following the Grenfell Tower disaster. And Vicki has a special report on the state of disability in open water aquatics. 

Hunter and Vicki explore how open water swimming can help with your Wellness. We cast our net far and near. Finding happy swimmers donning Burkinis in Sydney and wetsuits in Lake Geneva. We also visit top London swim spots at Hampstead and the Serpentine. We talk to the man who made the film The Ponds about the Hampstead Ponds and we sit on the Heath to discuss the impact Channel swimming has had on our Wellness. We hope that it makes you happy too.