"We're going to need a (bigger) boat"


There's a great scene in the Life of Brian when Brian approaches the secretive looking group sat on the steps; 'Are you the Judean People's Front?' he enquires, nervously. 'P***off. We're the People's Front of Judea.'

 There are more than a few passing similarities for the uninitiated Channel-swimming wannabes, desperately looking for a pilot to charter them across the busiest shipping lane in the world. Compared by one writer to 'like navigating a snail across the M25', it's fair to say the choice of pilot feels like a pretty crucial decision. There are two associations who provide pilots to get the aspirational swimmer across - the CSA and the CSPF. We were warned in very blatant terms by one pilot's mother to be 'watchful' - in her view, one offer we'd received from a pilot was surely too good to be true, and, she warned that "he must be from the other side".

 CSA or CSPF? Was one better than the other? Was there a 'right' organisation to go with, as one lady suggested as we phoned around? To be honest, every single pilot we spoke with directly was brilliantly helpful; there seemed to be good and bad experiences recounted on blogs with pilots affiliated with both; and ultimately, we just wanted to go in 2017, having geared ourselves up for doing it. We emailed, we joined waiting lists, we spoke to lots of them to get their take on the specific challenges of a 2-man relay.  

 And in the end, we got lucky: a slot one cancellation. In August. Judean People's Front or People's Front of Judea - we weren't too fussed; both seemed more than capable of helping us live the dream. We snapped up the cancellation offer, transferred the money and the final piece of the jigsaw was in place.


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