A TEACHER at Earlswood Infant School fought her fear of jellyfish and icy cold waters to successfully swim across the Channel.
In an 18-hour effort to cross from Dover to Calais, Rebecca Halsey covered 41 miles instead of the 21-mile direct route, as she swam with the spring tide.
The 45-year-old mother-of-four wanted to tackle the solo swim after completing a relay version across the same stretch last year.
She said: "After the relay, there were six of us on the team, doing two one-hour stretches in the Channel to get across. I booked the solo swim in September. I was in denial at first, then in January I started training."
Despite her demanding job teaching Year 1 pupils, Mrs Halsey swam five times a week as part of her training.
In May, she began practising in Dover every weekend, doing a seven-hour swim on Saturday and six hours on Sunday.
"I neglected my family completely," she joked.
On July 27, the day finally came for her big challenge, but she admits she didn't think she could do it.
"In the time I'd given myself I don't think I could have done any more [training]. But I didn't feel prepared – the maximum I had done in one day was seven hours. I didn't feel confident that I'd do it."
Despite negotiating choppy waters and getting stung by a jellyfish, Mrs Halsey soldiered on, supported by her husband and friends on a nearby boat. "I didn't know how long I'd been swimming for," she said. "I think if they tell you it can be demoralising.
"I found it difficult at a lot of points, I was constantly battling with my own mind to encourage myself.
"The hardest part was when France didn't seem to be getting any closer. I could see the lights, but it seemed like I didn't make any progress at all.
"I constantly said to myself some advice I'd been given on the beach: keep your head down, keep putting arm over arm, don't look forward or backwards, swim to the next feed until you reach France."
Each hour, Mrs Halsey had a few sips of an energy drink and tea with fruit sugar and, during the entire swim, ate just six jelly babies.
"I also said my children's names with each stroke. In training I said the names of my pupils but I didn't have the thought process when I did the Channel," she said.
"I knew the pain would all be gone by the time it was daylight."
At 2.25am, Mrs Halsey reached the French coast, where the boat sounded a horn to signal the end of her challenge. "That was a great feeling," she said. "I kept saying on the boat back, 'I can't believe I've done it'. My shoulders ached the next day but it was a satisfying ache. I felt elated all day."
Mrs Halsey, from Reigate, has raised £1,450 so far for Aspire, a charity supporting people with spinal cord injuries.
To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/rebeccahalseychannelsolo
