P.E.I.'s Barbara McNeill looks back, 30 years after swimming the English Channel
'It was a rough swim. It was the only swim where I got a bit of a fright'
When Barbara set out to swim the English Channel, 30 years ago, she remembers beginning her journey in total darkness.
The Summerside native was 31 years old when she braved the waters of the English Channel in 1989. She swam for 60.7 kilometres and finished the swim in 17 hours and 10 minutes.
"I was just a young girl from Prince Edward Island that had a dream to swim the channel," McNeill said.
"We started with a good pace and I just did what I love to do," she added.
That fateful swim, on August 24, was McNeill's third attempt at making it across the channel.
McNeill had made two previous attempts to cross the channel in 1988.
On August 17, McNeill was pulled from the water after 17-and-a-half hours due to strong currents — the French shore a mere four kilometres out of reach.
A week later during her second attempt, Barbara was within five kilometres of France when she voluntarily left the water to aid fellow swimmer, Brazil's Renata Agondi, who had suffered a heart attack nearby.
Third time's the charm
Her third attempt would be the swim that would make her the first Atlantic Canadian to make it across the English Channel.
"It was a rough swim. It was the only swim where I got a bit of a fright because at the end of the swim the boat came very close to me, to protect me from the waves and a couple of times I was actually under the boat," McNeill said.
Saturday marks 30 years since her famous swim.
"I finally touched sand in the water and it felt phenomenal. I knew I was close and so I kept swimming and finally touched France," she said.
Once she touched France, McNeill said, she fell over with exhaustion — even though she knew she would have to stand up and go beyond the water for the swim to be official.
"All of a sudden I see this person running toward me with a flashlight and that was my official observer. I knew I was in France but I had to say, 'Am I in France? Am I (the) channel swimmer?"
"I felt so good but I felt so tired to comprehend it all," she said.
To this day, McNeill remembers feeling all of Summerside hugging her as she reached her goal.
On Monday night, the City of Summerside will be celebrating McNeill's feat at 7 p.m., inside council chambers at city hall. The public is welcome to attend.
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With files from CBC News: Compass