Swimming the Channel for Home Port

I am so overjoyed to have the opportunity to swim the English Channel while the US Navy has my family living in the UK for three years. I am quite fond of swimming, and the idea of swimming 20+ miles from England to France is my kind of challenge! But, would you like to know what costs a lot of money?

Swimming the English Channel!

The training alone adds up quickly with gear, childcare, safety equipment, proper long distance swimming nutrition, transportation, training camps/coaches (cost thousands), and supervision for all long distance training swims. Then, for the actual event, hiring a pilot boat to accompany you across the channel starts around £2500 (about $3750). There are also hundreds of dollars in fees to be paid to the Channel Swimmers Association to provide an observer to ratify the swim as an official channel swim, and make sure no rules are broken.

My swim is booked and the deposit has been made for me to swim the third week of July 2017. A year and a half may seem like a long time out, but the process has already started, as pilot boat drivers get booked up years in advance. Training also starts now.  :)  Please consider helping me to achieve this huge once in a lifetime goal!

As expensive as swimming the channel might be, would you like to know what else costs lots of money?

Being a missionary.

Paul and Stacy Cassidy are missionaries with Cadence International, an organization that sends missionaries all over the world to minister to American military personnel stationed far from home. The Cassidys have been with Cadence for 20 years and are currently located in Hawaii, catering to the the Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force folks on the island of Oahu. They hold a dinner and bible study in their home every Friday night. They serve the base by putting on events like Christmas morning breakfasts in the dorms and they orchestrate volunteer opportunities and mission trips every chance they get. They are also involved with the local community, addressing issues such as homelessness and human trafficking with outreach events. They are amazing at loving people, bringing people together and guiding people closer to Christ.

Their ministry is called Home Port Oahu, and it was a huge part of my family and my life while we were living in Hawaii. The impact this family and this ministry has had on me is substantial and lasting. And, of course they have a financial need to keep their ministry going strong.

I want to swim the English Channel with Home Port in mind. I want to raise awareness and funds for their mission, which is so dear to my heart. It is beyond amazing to find a place that feels like home, and people who feel like family, when the military takes you far from those comforts. Cadence is giving that to people every day.  

So, half of each dollar you donate will go to Home Port Oahu, and the other half will be helping me fund my channel swim (or half of whatever is left of your dollar after Go Fund Me takes their due).  If enough is raised to cover my channel swimming expenses,  100% of the excess will go straight to Home Port.  I will provide an update closer to the swim date that details the costs associated with the swim, as well as posting regular training updates to this page to let you know how I am preparing myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for this challenge.

If you are not interested in helping contribute to my swimming costs, but are still willing to support HomePort or Cadence, you can donate directly to them by following the links below. 

If you have made it this far, thank you so much for even reading this. If you are considering donating, please know that your contribution will be very appreciated and wisely applied to help meet the end goals!

Any amount you can spare will be greatly appreciated by both me and the Cassidy family.  If you are able to donate $250 or more, you will have a portion of my swim dedicated to you and the dedication will appear in the resulting channel swim video.

If you are unable to donate, but want to support me and/or homeport prayerfully, we welcome prayers for my physical and mental health...and for the overall wellness of the Cassidys and their mission.

Thank you!
visit the Home Port website here
donate to Cadence here