Grace channels energy into swim

GRACE Creati admits she is “not the best swimmer out there” but that has not stopped the determined 16-year-old signing up for a monumental challenge.

The Geelong Grammar student, from Highton, is part of a seven-person relay team preparing to tackle the English Channel in July.

“My dad always says, ‘There’s only one rule in this house and that is have a go’, so I’m just taking that and running with it,” she said.

Grace has been training hard, completing four open-water races including the Lorne Pier to Pub and Queenscliff Blue Water Challenge this summer, along with regular sessions in the pool.

But those swims will be very different from the English Channel, where temperatures average about 14C, waves can get above 2m and 600 tankers pass through daily.

“I’ve done a bit of research on how cold it’s going to be and how choppy. It is going to be very difficult,” Grace said.

“I’ve definitely become more confident in myself to get some experience in open water but it’s still going to be a challenge.”

Each person in the team will swim for one hour, rotating as many times as required to cross the 32km channel. If any of them touch the boat, the whole team is disqualified.

The fastest recorded swim was about seven hours but Grace hopes her team will do it in about 14.