Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,794
He Was The First...!
On the morning of the August, 25, 1875 on the beach of the French city of Calais, a swimmer comes out of the water ...:
... helped by other people ashore ...:
That alone would not be a topic for a bust!
But - maybe - it will if you add that he went into the water exactly 21 hours and 45 minutes ago - on the beach of British Dover!
The swimmer is former captain Matthew Webb, making Webb the first person to swim through the 33-kilometer English Channel alone and without any aids!
He was - for his protection - only accompanied by a few small boats and supplied with hot tea on a regular basis ...:
Webb had tried it on the 12th of August a first time, but had been driven off too much by the infamous (and dreaded by channel swimmers!) strong current that prevails in the waterway and had to give up ...:
Even in his now successful attempt, the current drives him far, he has to swim twice the way of the linear distance - but this time he has calculated it.
The record-breaking Webb - which becomes world famous for its prolific canal tranquility! - from now on let go.
Yes, it will even cost him his life!
In 1883, he drowns in trying to be the first person to swim through the "Whirlpool Rapids" of the Niagara River ...:
In Dover, on the Embankment, I recall a statue of Captain Matthew Webb - and he deserves it, I mean ...:
And a bust...?
What do you mean?
Cheers
On the morning of the August, 25, 1875 on the beach of the French city of Calais, a swimmer comes out of the water ...:
... helped by other people ashore ...:
That alone would not be a topic for a bust!
But - maybe - it will if you add that he went into the water exactly 21 hours and 45 minutes ago - on the beach of British Dover!
The swimmer is former captain Matthew Webb, making Webb the first person to swim through the 33-kilometer English Channel alone and without any aids!
He was - for his protection - only accompanied by a few small boats and supplied with hot tea on a regular basis ...:
Webb had tried it on the 12th of August a first time, but had been driven off too much by the infamous (and dreaded by channel swimmers!) strong current that prevails in the waterway and had to give up ...:
Even in his now successful attempt, the current drives him far, he has to swim twice the way of the linear distance - but this time he has calculated it.
The record-breaking Webb - which becomes world famous for its prolific canal tranquility! - from now on let go.
Yes, it will even cost him his life!
In 1883, he drowns in trying to be the first person to swim through the "Whirlpool Rapids" of the Niagara River ...:
In Dover, on the Embankment, I recall a statue of Captain Matthew Webb - and he deserves it, I mean ...:
And a bust...?
What do you mean?
Cheers
