Former paratrooper Karl Bushby has learnt it is illegal to swim the English Channel from France
Karl Bushby in Panama in 2001(Image: Karl Bushby / SWNS)
An east Hull man who is 28 years into a walk around the world has hit another hurdle as he plans the final stages of his journey. Karl Bushby, 57, was recently denied entry to the Channel Tunnel, or its service tunnel, to get back on home soil on foot.
His back-up plan, which involves swimming the Channel – one of the busiest, and deadliest, stretches of open water – is now in jeopardy after discovering the rules governing crossings. Karl, who set out from his home in Newtondale, Sutton Park, Hull, in October 1998, has faced a jungle swarming with crocodiles and anacondas; a freezing crossing of the Bering Strait and 57 days in a Russian prison, during his 36,000-mile trek.
In a post updating his followers on Facebook, Karl, still walking as he videoed himself, said he wanted to give the latest situation on “the swim thing”. He said: “Probably a lot harder and more complicated than we imagined, than anyone probably imagined, unless you’re someone who knows swimming in the English Channel.
“Problem number one, there is a two-year waiting list for people who are swimming the Channel. The thing is, that’s a certified swim with these various organisations like the Channel swim authorities etc.
“We don’t necessarily need a certified swim – just wanna get home, man. Problem number two, it’s illegal to swim from France.
“Back in the 90s, the French put in a law that basically says no one can leave from the French coast. That’s like, kayaks, swimming, things of that nature, so two somewhat difficult obstacles.
“The problem with the swimming, the two-year waiting list is because there is only a limited number of pilot boats with the necessary qualifications to legally support or escort swims and they’re pretty much all booked up. There’s people swimming the Channel almost every day, for most days.
“The other day I was checking and there were six people out on the water; it’s a busy thing, and a lot more complicated and a lot more regulations than one might have immediately assumed. The thing is, we’ve found a boat.
“That’s a huge piece of the puzzle, a boat that can operate with us in October. That’s a big deal.
“Big thing – the French laws. We have to somehow manage to convince them to give us some kind of release on that law and that’s a problem.
“Speaking to people who work on the English Channel, especially those who use the boats, they’ve worked with various expeditions and challenges that have tried to swim from France and all have been denied – at least nine I know of – so it’s a challenge.
“Paperwork’s in, the French government has responded – [we’ve gone from] the coastguard, Navy, into the French government. Their response said, ‘we have your paperwork; we are reviewing the case’.
“In the meantime, focus on the swim, if we have to. Still haven’t given up on the Tunnel, by the way, still trying, so hoping someone could maybe cut us some slack, here, considering the challenge we’re up against.
“We have to get home this year, right? We gotta find a way.
“The only way we can figure out how to get around this rule … well, I’ll hold for later, I’ll keep that for later, but there might be a way. Let us work on that.
“So that’s where we’re at. We’ve found the things that we need. We found the people that we need to be talking to. It’s a conversation and a decision that’s now above our heads.
“So let’s just chill, focus on that. I think we have a plan – don’t like it, extra time in the water, longer distances, convoluted back and forth to get here, there and around things, hate it – but we’re getting home this year.”
Followers of Karl’s exploits have responded to his post. One said: “You got this, your sheer determination will see you get home.”
Another person commented: “I have been amazed that someone could consider such a huge challenge and to have committed to so many years of your life walking, and succeeded. The fact that you are now having to deal with all this red tape at the end of your ordeal incenses me and I wish that I had the power to do something about it on your behalf.
“To me you are a national treasure and I am so proud of what you have achieved.”
One person, a little tongue-in-cheek, said: “Is it beyond the realm of possibility to apply for a job with eurotunnel that would gain you clearance to the access tunnel? All you’d need is a couple of ‘training days’.”
With an alternative suggestion, one follower said: “Swimming from Belgium would bypass the stupid French law. It just doubles the distance in the water.”
Other replies included: “Good luck mate. Any which way. You will do it”; “Love your mindset here Karl – am in no doubt you will find a way” and “You’ve crossed the Bering Strait, conquered the Darien Gap, and walked across continents. The English Channel is just the final chapter. You’ve got this, mate!”
When Karl set out to become the first person to walk an unbroken path around the world, he thought it would take him 12 years. The Goliath Expedition that began with a bet in a bar has taken more than double the time.
In a rare interview the Hull Daily Mail managed to get with the explorer, then in Mongolia, during Hull’s reign as the City of Culture in 2017, Karl said: “I can still remember leaving my mum’s house in Hull in October 1998. It’s going to be very emotional walking back along that road.”
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