High school teacher Sam Garrison after completing a treacherous 35 plus km swim across the English Channel. Courtesy photos.
A local man has survived a fundraising swim across the treacherous English Channel to raise funds for charity.
The South Etobicoke high school teacher spent some of his summer swimming across the dangerous English Channel to raise $8,000 to help feed the needy who use the Daily Bread Food Bank.
Sam Garrison, 42, returned to Canada on August 6 following a gruelling 35-kilometre July 27 swim from the busy Port of Dover in England, to Wissant, France, in choppy, cold and current-stricken waters. The non-stop trip took him 16-hours and 15 minutes to complete.
The Grades 9 to 12 teacher at Martingrove Collegiate Institute, has been teaching for 17 years.
Garrison swimming through the busy and cold English Channel dodging a massive cruise ship.
He said he had reached a point in his career during the pandemic and ‘needed a goal that would force him to change his life.’
“The swim was an endurance challenge that they call the ‘Mount Everest of swimming,” Garrison said. “It was a life-changing event and there were so many things I could not control.”
He trained for three years, by even swimming in the winter at Marie Curtis Park, in preparation for the challenge.
“The English Channel is supposed to be the toughest swim in the world,” Garrison said. “It is long and the busiest shipping channel in the world and the water is cold and filled with jelly fish.”
In preparation for the swim, he spent countless hours in the pool, in the lake, and in the ocean. “I swam in the cold water in winter to get used to frigid temperatures. I also had to figure out how to eat while swimming.”
It took Garrison more than 16 hours to swim across the English Channel which can range from 35 to 60 kms depending on the currents.
The Burnhamthorpe Road resident had to hire a British captain, boat and three-member crew, who were from Toronto, to ensure he was safe during the cold crossing in the dark and while on the lookout for ships.
He said the rules that govern the cross-Channel swims are strict as swimmers are not allowed to touch their vessel during the journey and are thrown fruit and other goodies for food at intervals while swimming. Notes with instructions were written on a large chalkboard which he read from the water.
“It’s all been a life changing experience, with so many firsts – and along the way, I’ve met amazing people who have encouraged, guided and inspired me to keep going,” he said.
The Etobicoke native was told by swim officials that about 2,000 swimmers had made the gruelling trek in the last 150-years. He was among 35 Canadians to have successfully completed the journey.
The Martingrove Collegiate teacher took off from the Port of Dover in England and swam to Wissant, France.
“The end of the swim was very emotional when my hand touched the sand,” Garrison explained. “I didn’t think I would make it and all the effort was worth it.”
He was videotaped at the finish of the swim, during which his journey could be followed online in real time by supporters.
The swim raised almost $8,000 in an online Go Fund Me in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Sam for his generosity and dedication. Swimming the English Channel is an extraordinary physical and mental challenge, and to take it on in support of Daily Bread is truly inspirational,” said Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington. “His determination to make a positive impact is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we come together to fight hunger.”