Just keep swimming: A New Jersey swimmer’s journey to the English Channel

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This week, professional musician and New Jersey native Andrew Robinson is in England about to embark on the challenge of a lifetime: swimming the English Channel.

The 20.5-mile swim is an iconic one for any open-water swimmer.

“There was just something very alluring about the idea of the English Channel, just because it’s probably the premier swim of the world,” Robinson said.

Swimming the English Channel requires months of preparation. Most participants sign up at least two years in advance. Swimmers have an entire crew providing navigation and food, since the swim can start at various times depending on weather conditions, including in the middle of the night. Water temperatures range from 57 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

Robinson says he’s ready to accomplish the swim he’s wanted to complete for so long.

“There’s a certain part of me that’s like, not to overstate, but it became a bit like my superpower as a kid. Like, this was the thing that I could do. And I just didn’t really want to ever lose that.”

Robinson has been swimming for 30 years. He competed at Fairfield University’s Division 1 program in Connecticut but didn’t keep it up as intensely once he graduated. In his life as a professional musician, he was surrounded by an environment where people treated their bodies in ways he was not used to before.

Robinson wanted a challenge. He kept up swimming occasionally and one day decided to randomly participate in an open-water 1-mile swim. He didn’t even register, he just swam the mile and ended up finishing far below where he thought he would.

“You’ll have something and then one day you’ll reach for it, and it won’t be there, and then you kind of spend the rest of your life trying to find it again. I was reaching for something that I’d always had, and I didn’t have it. And that kind of bothered me. So, in a weird subconscious way set me on a mission to go find it.”

A community that chooses the cold waves

To get ready for this feat, Robinson has been swimming 30 miles a week and training with a group of open-water swimmers on the Jersey Shore.

Even after training for hours in the pool, Robinson finds himself drawn to open water.

Brian Shea is the founder and head coach of the Jersey Shore Masters Swim program.

Every weekend, Shea brings people together — from beginners to folks like Robinson — to join mile-long swims across the shore. They’re in open water, running from the spring until November, and for people of all levels.

“Even the person that’s going to do an ocean mile swim that finishes dead last, you know, it’s like saying you’re the dumbest person at Harvard, you still got in, you still made the cut,” said Shea.

The joy of swimming in open water comes from the community it fosters. Not everyone wants to commit to open water swimming beyond a polar plunge. Shea mentioned the people who swim this intensely are driven by a desire to undertake a challenge when sticking to such a discipline.

“That’s the thing with the groups that I have, there’s nobody that has lax motivation that’s walking into my pool tomorrow morning at 4:45 a.m., everybody there is motivated by some goal.”

But for New Jersey–native Nancy Steadman-Martin, the discipline of swimming has always been a part of her life.

“For me, it’s always been part of my family and I think when I swim long distance, I can always hear my father, my coach saying, ‘Good job, Nancy,’” said Steadman-Martin. “I feel like it’s a part of me. I need to do it just the way I need to eat and sleep. I need to swim every day.”

This August marked 20 years since Steadman-Martin set the world record for the fastest woman over 50 to cross the English Channel. She swam the channel with her longtime swimming partner, Michelle Davidson.

The pair have been swimming together almost every day since 1996, and mostly without wetsuits.

Steadman-Martin turned 70 this year, and in no way is that stopping her from accomplishing new goals.

“There’s always something new. And there’s always somebody else out there doing something better too. So it kind of keeps you going.”

Steadman-Martin is an inspiration for the lifelong journey swimming can be, whether you choose to swim the English Channel, or spend time swimming laps and building strength. There’s always a race to complete, a temperature to adapt to, a channel to cross. She exemplifies determination and drive, motivating folks like Andrew Robinson.

“There’s sort of an endless pursuit when it comes to swimming, as well. There’s always something to work on. There’s always something that you can tweak or build into your practice a little bit,” Robinson said.

Robinson will swim the English Channel between Aug. 28 and Sept. 1, depending on weather conditions.

You can keep up with his swimming journey on his swimming Instagram account.