Channelling Great Dreams

Gerrard's First 'Solo' Marathon Swim

13 Aug 2023

Gerrard's first ever 20km marathon swim was around Great Keppel Island, Qld.

This annual swim is organised by Val Kalmikovs and boast a vibrant & friendly atmosphere of marathon swimming enthusiasts all with the common goal of circumnavigating the island, weather permitting.

Great Keppel Island is located off Yeppoon, a town where Gerrard went to school and where a park is named after him.

Having been a runner all of his life, Gerrard admitted that he never thought he would one day swim around Great Keppel Is. A light laugh escaped his lips, along with a gentle shake of his head when he realised in disbelief what he had just accomplished. Gerrard now holds the title of “World's first blind swimmer to swim around Great Keppel Island”.

Not one to do things by halves, Gerrard had also enlisted Kerry-Lee Gockel and her husband Paul Gockel to complete a para-relay around the island. Kerry-Lee was born without arms and Paul has Spina-bifida. Gerrard swam the first leg (10km) of the relay before 'passing the batton' onto Paul. Paul and Gerrard both stayed in the water, Paul swam the second leg (5km) of the relay while Gerrard continued his circumnavigation of the island. Paul handed over to Kerry-Lee to swim the last leg (5km). Kerry-Lee was joined in the final 100m by Paul to swim up to the finish line in a touching moment with supporters cheering their success. Kerry-Lee, Paul and Gerrard hold the title of “World's first para-relay to swim around Great Keppel Island”.

The four swim guides assisting on this swim were; Jo Smallacombe, Rosie Ning, Chris Rose and Andrew Dayney.

The First Team Challenge

3rd December 2023

This was the first time the entire team; Gerrard, swim guides and Great Dreams, pulled together to accomplish a incredible feat, an independent 20km swim off the Noosa Main Beach.

Marathon swims take a high level of organisation - safety checks, weather and sea monitoring, route calculations, dangerous marine life monitoring, ensuring suitable water craft and the presence of additional people monitoring the activity from the shore – it's no wonder that quite a few marathon swimmers opt for pre-organised events given this long list.

The weather was diverse on the day, starting with early morning electrical storms which then cleared leaving satin smooth water for the start of the swim. About one third of the way through, the rain came back with the swimmers exiting the water due to concerns of lightning strikes. Fortunately this storm passed quickly and the swim resumed however the water had changed pace with larger swells rocking and rolling the swimmers even when off-shore. Glenn and Eliza from Great Dreams joined in the swim, both looking strong in the water. Alexis and her sister Leah also joined in for a five kilometers of the swim. At a later date Alexis will join the team as a guide swimmer but at this stage she was guest swimmer.

Gerrard and the swim guides used this swim to practice their one hourly change-overs and feeds. The guides also used this as the first stepping stone to understanding our own team dynamics. How to raise concerns? What are the expectations from the other guides? It was the first time the rose coloured glasses came off and the start of facing the hard work begun with the biggest ticket item of concern being Gerrards swim efficiency. The guides knew that if Gerrard could get this swim done, that would mean he's completed 20km swims twice and that would be enough of a momentum to take the next step forward from.

It was clear to see that the swim was not an easy swim for Gerrard to complete. The chop, the swell, the rain, the wind all took it's toll. In addition, there was additional energy costs to Gerrard as he had to adapt to the quirks and swim styles of each of the six guides.

The sweet finish line was a welcome reward for everyone. The beach crew organised a line of honor for when Gerrard exited the water. The relief and the belief was written on the faces on everyone there that Gerrard's great dream of being the first completly blind swimmer to cross the English Channel was on it's way to being a reality.

Great Dreams team members: Charity founders, Glenn & Eliza and their friends Harko, Pat, Cathy & Bayden who stepped up as event co-ordinators, boat captains, paddlers and beach support crew

Swim guides: Hayden Armstrong, Jo Smallacombe, Phil Edwards, Rosie Ning, Chris Rose and Jenn Reed

Guest Swimmers: Alexis Tannock and Leah MeGuire

The First Cold Water Swim

3 February 2024

A 15km adventure swim down the Derwent River in water 17.5°C was on the cards for Gerrard'. This trip had everything; Courage, Dedication and Heartbreak.

The Cliff to Bridge Swim (15km) is the little brother version of the Derwent Big River Swim (34kn) both organised by Val K. Both swims start in the beautiful township of New Norfolk but one finishes early at Bridgewater Bridge while the other continues to the iconic Tasman Bridge, Hobart, Tasmania.

Five of the swim guides made it to Tasmania, with Hayden being the exception as he was traveling abroad. This was Rohan's first trip with the team having only recently joined the team. Guide swimmer Jenn made the request to be Gerrard's only guide on this swim, which was consented to by all. It allowed the other guides to form groups of two or three with other fellow Queenslanders Cliff Payne, Jalna Clair and Sam Penny. These small groups made their own way down the river, each with their own paddler in a kayak.

Swimming in summer in Queensland means enjoying 24°C water, swimming in summer in Tasmania is a noticeable difference being 7°C cooler. This was a swim that us Queenslanders needed to prepare for. We knew we needed the right nutrition and to have warm drinks on hand. The distance was not an issue, the distance in the colder water was.

The swim required courage and dedication from Gerrard and other the swimmers, but heartbreak was around the corner. Just before and shortly after this weekend, two of the swim guides, Chris Rose and Jenn Reed confirmed that they would not be continuing as guides. It was a great loss to the team.

The remaining members rallied and assisted Gerrard to understand what they as swim guides required from him. The first priority was improving Gerrard swim technique only time would tell if Gerrard was capable of making the changes required.

The First Cold Water Immersion Test

April 27 2024

To say that there was hype about the Melbourne Qualifying swim is an understatement. Taking place at Half Moon Bay in Melbourne, Gerrard along with four of his swim guides were ready to take on the 16°C water for six hours. The guides, Hayden, Rosie Jo and Lexi had planned to swap in on the hour while Gerrard stayed in for the full six hours. Gerrard wouldn't be the only one staying in for the full course, around twenty other swimmers were hopeful of doing the six hours immersed in cold water, a pre-requisite to qualify for the English Channel Swim.

In the six months between the Cliff-to-Bridge swim and this qualifying swim Gerrard had enlisted Tracey from Swim Mastery as his channel crossing coach. He had been working on his swim technique, putting on weight, and practicing nutrition on boarding whilst swimming.

He and his team knew it would be tough, and they knew he was up for the challenge.

Until he wasn't.

The siren sounded and all twenty swimmers plus swim guide Hayden entered the water, setting off in the early pre-dawn, with water temperatures around 15°C. The plan was to swim laps up and down the bay. Each time a guide swimmer was tethered to Gerrard, they were in charge of monitoring the time making sure that they looped back to the jetty at Half Moon Bay on the hour to swap out the guide swimmers. Hayden was the first guide swimmer in the water. As he and Gerrard approached the jetty, Rosie jumped in ready to go.

“He's cold,” were Hayden's words. Rosie misunderstood replying, “I agree, it's cold.” Hayden shook his head and repeated, this time with his eyes glancing at Gerrard, “He's cold.” Rosie and the team on the jetty heard Hayden very clearly this time around, all eyes went to Gerrard. He looked hypothermic.

What hadn't been clarified before now, but the scenario every swim guide dreaded, was hypothermia and what to do if Gerrard became hypothermic on the English Channel swim. If you have spent any time with Gerrard, you will know that he is ultra resilient and it was unknown if he would make the call to pull himself out of the swim in the event of being unwell or hypothermic.

In Half Moon Bay, one hour into the swim, Gerrard looked hypothermic but who was going to make the call to continue or pull the pin. Unlike the other swimmers attempting to qualify that morning, Gerrard must have felt accountable to the swim guides who had journeyed with him. In the end, Gerrard made the call to come in after swimming for one hour.

It took quite some time for Gerrard to warm up. Under the watchful gaze of people who cared for him, all the guide swimmers and Anthony agreed he had a mild onset of hypothermia. Why? That's an un-answerable question. The only explanation that stuck was that people are allowed to have an off-day. It happens and it's well documented. For reasons un-discussed, Gerrard was depleted and being in the cold water for six hours was not on the cards for him that day.

Once he was warmed up and was back at the accommodation, Gerrard apologise to his swim guides and they in turn expressed their relief. Relief that in the face of true harm, (hypothermia), Gerrard had proven that he would keep himself safe thereby taking that responsibility off the shoulders of the guide swimmers. It was a huge step forward. It also opened up a conversation about what needed to happen between now and the next cold water qualifier attempt, namely putting on weight and for Gerrard to speak clearly about his energy scale before getting into the water.

This swim was the first true defeat Gerrard had faced in his attempt to become the worlds first completely blind swimmer to cross the English Channel. He didn't wait until the next day to dip his toe back in the water. He went back in that same afternoon showing the resilience that he has cultivated over years. It was visibly hard for Gerrard to get back in the water, the tension was all over his face and body but he had a plan. By the time he had finished the afternoon training swim Gerrard had set that new plan in motion. Would he be able to do a six hour cold water immersion swim? To be honest, no-one knew for sure, only time would tell.

The Pressure Test

1st June 2024

Doing a six hour immersion in water less than 16°C is a requirement before anyone is allowed to swim the English Channel. It shows that person has the capability to withstand the cold. Gerrard's first attempt in April was short lived, this swim at Manly Dam was his next attempt and the pressure was on.

Gerrard started his athletics carer as a runner - middle, long and endurance distances. He has a runner's physique; long, strong and highly efficient. Most marathon swimmers have a very different body composition with an adequate thermoderm layer that keeps their inner body warm from the persistent cold water. Hypothermia is a real risk to Gerrard given his physical composition. So the question was raised, is he capable of doing the required six hours in cold water? No-one knew for sure.

On the back of his experience in Melbourne, Gerrard upped the ante again by increasing his calorie intake to put on weight. In addition, he continued with his cold-water training and improvements with his swim technique thanks to his work with Swim Mastery.

Manly Dam was chosen as the site for this qualifying swim, it measured 14.9°C in the shallows. The plan was for Gerrard to feed on the half hour, keeping up his calorie consumption as his body will be burning energy much faster in the cold water than water 18°C or more. The guide swimmers would swap out every hour, meaning each swim guide would do 2 x 30min laps before swapping. The guide swimmers were Hayden, Jo and Rosie with Anthony Gordon on hand to film and also provide assistance with feeds.

Gerrard and Hayden set off on the first lap, looping back for Gerrard's first warm drink feed. Gerrard was already shaking when they set off again for the second lap. At the end of this lap, Rosie swapped in as swim guide and realised that Gerrard was potentially heading down the same pathway as he had in Melbourne. She kept a close eye on him whilst they were swimming and noticed that his swim technique was holding up just fine.

As they approached for the end of the third lap, it was decided that Gerrard would be able to continue but he needed more calories than previously thought. His body was burning through a lot of energy in an attempt to keep warm. Anthony and the swim guides (out of the water) did what they needed to do to collect more food supplies. Throughout the course of the remaining swim, Gerrard was given feeds without consultation, which he consumed without question.

Gerrard successfully completed the six hour cold water immersion swim at Manly Dam in water that was colder than 14.9°C, especially in the deeper water sections. Gerrard recounted that he knew immediately if he was swimming in shallow or deep water, the difference in temperature was marked. In addition to the cold water temperature, a storm had settled over Sydney for the entire time that Gerrard was swimming, meaning he was at risk losing more body heat to convection.

This swim was the huge leap forward that Gerrard and his team needed. Without this swim under his belt, serious questions would have been raised as to whether Gerrard was ready to do the English Channel swim in August, only two months away.

As it was, every heart was filled with pride as Gerrard emerged from the water's edge, job done. Mentally and physically he is one tough cookie and this swim was a pressure test that he passed with flying colours.