Place of Birth: Dublin
Current City: Dublin
Swimming Biography
Pat is currently a member of half Moon Swimming Club in Dublin but it was as a young lifeguard in Butlins Mosney summer camp that he had the dream to one day swim the English Channel.
Pat trains regularly at Seapoint and has competed in may East Coast sea swims; he participates in the annual Liffey swim. He has completed the Irish Long Distance Championship in Lough Erne (10.5 miles/ 17k), Cleggan to Inishbofin (9 miles/14.5 k) and in 2002 Rottnest Island to Perth, Australia in eight hours and thirty-three minutes.
Whilst training at Seapoint prior to his Channel attempt, he received a nasty bite from a curious seal.
Swimmer's Report – English Channel
Direction: England to France
On the 2nd July 2001 at 8:49am Pat entered the water at Shakespeare Beach in an attempt to achieve his dream. The weather conditions were good, sea calm, wind 1-2, water temperature 16C/61F, air temperature 28C/82F, dropping to 15C/60F at night.
Pat was progressing well until the third hour, when he had an encounter with some jellyfish. As a result, of the stings, his stroke rate dropped. This pattern continued as he suffered further jellyfish stings during the next six hours.
At approximately 7pm weather conditions changed. It became cludy, the sea became choppy and the temperature dropped as darkness fell. This continued until Pat got into the shelter of the French coast.
Unfortunately, he missed the tide by half an hour and was pushed northeast of Cape Gris Nez and landed at Wissant Beach at 2.53am on 3rd July 2001.
The time for the swim was 18 hours and 4 minutes.
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