English Channel
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The English Channel (French: La Manche (IPA: [mɑ̃ʃ]), "the sleeve") is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 563 km (350 mi) long and at its widest is 240 km (150 mi). The Strait of Dover is the narrowest part of the channel, being only 34 km (21 mi) from Dover to Cap Gris Nez, and is located at the eastern end of the English Channel, where it meets the North Sea. During the period of ancient Roman hegemony the channel was known in Latin as the Oceanus Britannicus and up until around 1549 it was known as the British Sea.
The channel is relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 120 m at its widest part, reducing to about 45 m between Dover and Calais. From there Eastwards the sea continues to shallow to about 26 m in the Broad Fourteens where it lies over the watershed of the former land bridge between East Anglia and the Low Countries. The Channel Islands lie in the channel, close to the French side. The Isles of Scilly in the United Kingdom and Ushant in France mark the western end of the Channel. The French département of Manche, which incorporates the Cotentin Peninsula that juts out into the channel, takes its name from the surrounding seaway.
Formation
Before the end of the Devensian glaciation (the most recent ice age) around 10,000 years ago, the British Isles were part of continental Europe. During this period the North Sea and almost all of the British Isles were covered with ice. The sea level was about 120 m lower than it is today, and the channel was an expanse of low-lying tundra, through which passed a river which drained the Rhine and Thames towards the Atlantic to the west. As the ice sheet melted, a large freshwater lake formed in the southern part of what is now the North Sea. As the meltwater could still not escape to the north (as the northern North Sea was still frozen) the outflow channel from the lake entered the Atlantic Ocean in the region of Dover and Calais.
At some point around 6500 BCE, catastrophic erosion swept away the chalk to create the English Channel, leaving the iconic white cliffs of Dover. Wave action on the soft, chalk cliffs widened the Channel further, a process which continues today.
History
| This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands. —William Shakespeare, Richard II (Act II, Scene 2) |
The channel has been a key natural defence for Britain, allowing the nation to intervene but rarely be dangerously threatened in European conflicts, mostly notable in the fight aganist Napoleon I of France during the Napoleonic Wars, and Adolf Hitler during the World War II. Nevertheless, the channel has been the scene of many invasions and attempted invasions, including the Roman conquest of Britain, the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Spanish Armada in 1588, and the Normandy landings in 1944. The channel has been the scene of many naval battles, including the Battle of Goodwin Sands (1652), the Battle of Portland (1653), the Battle of La Hougue (1692) and the engagement between USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama (1864).
At times the channel has served as a link joining shared cultures and political structures, from pre-Roman Celtic society, the Roman culture, and the foundation of Brittany by settlers from Great Britain, to the Anglo-Norman state.
Today
Cross-channel trade has been a significant factor for societies on both sides of the Channel from prehistoric times, and a number of important seaports and ferry locations have developed in both England (Dover, Southampton, Plymouth, Weymouth, Portsmouth, Poole, Newhaven) and France (Calais, Caen (Ouistreham), Dieppe, Le Havre, Cherbourg-Octeville, Roscoff, Saint Malo).
Important ferry routes are:
- Dover-Calais
- Newhaven-Dieppe
- Portsmouth-Caen (Ouistreham)
- Portsmouth-Cherbourg
- Portsmouth-Le Havre
- Poole-Saint Malo
- Weymouth-Saint Malo
- Plymouth-Roscoff
The coastal resorts of the channel, such as Brighton and Deauville, inaugurated an era of aristocratic tourism in the early 19th century, which developed into the seaside tourism that has shaped resorts around the world.
Channel Tunnel
Nowadays, many travellers cross the English Channel under the channel through the Channel Tunnel. This engineering feat, first proposed in the early 19th century and finally completed in 1994, connects the UK and France by rail. It is now routine to travel between Paris, Brussels and London on the Eurostar train.
Channel crossings
| Date | Crossing | Participant(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 January 1785 | First crossing by air (in balloon, from Dover to Calais) | Jean-Pierre Blanchard (France) John Jeffries (U.S.) | — |
| 15 June 1785 | First air crash (in combination hydrogen/hot-air balloon) | Pilâtre de Rozier (France) Pierre Romain (France) | Attempted crossing similar to Blanchard/Jeffries |
| 25 August 1875 | First person to swim the channel (Dover to Calais, 21 hrs, 45 min) | Matthew Webb (UK) | Attempted crossing on August 12 the same year; forced to abandon swim due to strong winds/rough sea conditions |
| 25 July 1909 | First person to cross the channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft (the Blériot XI) (Calais to Dover, 37 minutes) | Louis Blériot (France) | Encouraged by £1000 prize being offered by the Daily Mail for first successful flight across the channel |
| 23 August 1910 | First aircraft flight with passengers | John Bevins Moisant (U.S.) | Passengers were mechanic Albert Fileux and Moisant's cat. |
| 1979 | First human-powered aircraft to fly over the channel (in 70-pound (32-kg) Gossamer Albatross) | Bryan Allen (U.S.) | Won a £100,000 Kremer Prize; Allen pedaled for three hours |
| 1997 | First vessel to complete a solar-powered crossing using photovoltaic cells. | SB Collinda | — |
| 14 June 2004 | New record time for crossing in amphibious vehicle (the Gibbs Aquada, two-seater open-top sports car) | Richard Branson (UK) | Broke record by about six hours. |
By boat
William Murdoch's The Caledonia became the first steamboat to carry out a cross-channel crossing.
The Mountbatten class hovercraft entered commercial service in August 1968 initially operated between Dover and Boulogne but later craft also made the Ramsgate (Pegwell Bay) to Calais route. The journey time, Dover to Boulogne, was roughly 35 minutes, with six trips a day at peak times. The fastest crossing was made in 1995 at just 22 minutes.
By air
In 1981 the Solar Challenger became the first solar-powered airplane to complete a crossing.On 31 July 2003, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner, wearing high-tech carbon wings, jumped out of a plane 30,000 feet (9,100 m) above Dover, glided over the Channel, and opened his parachute above Calais.
By swimming
The Sport of Channel Swimming traces its origins to the latter part of the 19th century when Captain Matthew Webb made the first observed and unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover swimming from England to France on 24-25th August 1875 in 21 hours and 45 minutes.
In 1927, (at a time when less than ten swimmers had managed to emulate the feat and a number of dubious claims were being made), the Channel Swimming Association (the CSA) was founded to authenticate and ratify swimmers' claims to have swum the English Channel and to verify crossing times. The CSA was dissolved in 1999 and succeeded by two seperate organisations: The CSA (Ltd) and the [Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation] (CSPF). Both organisations are registered with the international governing body for swimming [Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur] (FINA) and observe and authenticate Cross-Channel Swims in the Strait of Dover.
Although the swimming rules and regulations of the two organisations are virtually identical, the CSA has not always been prepared to recognise swims conducted under the auspices of the larger CSPF.
A comprehensive list of all registered and verified swims is available from http://home.btconnect.com/critchlow/ChannelSwimDatabase.htm
For a list of Channel Swimming Association Records for swims registered only under the rules of the Channel Swimming Association and verified by that body, go to www.channelswimmingassociation.com
- On 24-25th August 1875 Capt. Matthew Webb made the first crossing of the English Channel from England to France.
- On 12th August 1923 Enrico Tiraboschi made the first crossing of the English Channel from France to England.
- On 6 August 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the Channel, breaking the men's record of the time by two hours.
- On 24 November 1927, Mercedes Gleitze, the first British lady, swims across wearing a Rolex Oyster.
- In July 1972, Lynne Cox became the youngest person to swim the English Channel at age fifteen, breaking both the men's and women's records. She swam the channel again in 1973, setting a new record time of nine hours and thirty-six minutes.
- The oldest verified male swimmer to cross is American George Brunstad, who was aged 70 years and 4 days when he crossed on the 27th and 28th of August 2004, taking 15 hours 59 min.
- The oldest male swimmer to cross under the rules of the Channel Swimming Association is Australian Clifford Batt, who was aged 67 years and 240 days when he crossed on the 19th of August 1987, taking 18 hours 37 minutes.
- The fastest ever verified swim of the channel was by Christof Wandratsch in 2005. He crossed the channel in 7 hours 3 minutes and 52 seconds.
- The fastest swim of the channel made under Channel Swimming Association rules is by Chad Hundeby of the USA on the 27th September 1994. He crossed the channel in 7 hours 17 minutes.
- The titles "King" and "Queen" of the Channel, held by those with the most successful crossings, are taked seriously by the swimming community and there has been some controversy over the refusal by some to recognise others' swims.
- The undisputed "Queen of the Channel is Alison Streeter MBE with 43 crossings including one 3-way and three 2-way swims. The "King of the Channel" title is shared between Kevin Murphy and Mike Read with 33 crossings each.
- The Channel Swimming Association’s title of “King of the Channel” awarded to the male swimmer who has made the most number of crossings the English Channel as authenticated by the CSA, is held by Michael Read with 33 crossings.
- The Channel Swimming Association’s title of “Queen of the Channel” awarded to the female swimmer who has made the most number of crossings the English Channel as authenticated by the CSA is held by Alison Streeter with 39 crossings.
- Other swimming crossings include: Vicki Keith (first butterfly swim crossing); Florence Chadwick (first woman to swim the Channel in both directions); Montserrat Tresserras (first woman to swim the Channel in both directions, as verified by the Channel Swimming Association);Marilyn Bell (youngest person up to 1955); Amelia Gade Corson (first mother and second woman); Mercedes Gleitze (first Englishwoman, 7 October 1927); Brojen Das, the first Asian (August 23, 1958); Comedian Doon Mackichan has also swum the channel.
By the end of 2005, 811 individuals have completing 1185 verified crossings under the rules of the CSA, the CSA (Ltd), the CSPF and Butlins.
The total number of swims conducted under and ratified by the Channel Swimming Association to 2005: 982 successful crossings by 665 people. This includes twenty-four 2-way crossings and three 3-way crossings.
Total number of ratified swims to 2004: 948 successful crossings by 675 people (456 by men and 214 by women). There have been twenty-five 2-way crossings (9 by men and 7 by women). There have been three 3-way crossings (2 by men and 1 by a woman). (It is unclear whether this last set of data is comprehensive or CSA-only.)
On 4 July 2006 the British comedian David Walliams swam the Channel in 10 hours and 34 minutes for the charity Sport Relief (part of Comic Relief). [BBC report]
See also
External links
- [Oceanus Britannicus or British Sea]
- [Channel swimmers website]
- [Archives of long distance swimming]
- [Sponsor David Walliam's Sport Relief swim]
- [Channel Swimming Association]
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