Courtesy of SwimTrek, a SwimSwam partner.
This Monday (August 25th) is the 150th anniversary of Captain Matthew Webb‘s English Channel crossing…
We know many of you will celebrate the occasion with your own salty adventures. So, we thought this would be a chance to learn more about the inspiring man who first swam unaided from England to France.
Icons like Webb helped popularise ocean swimming and inspired many exceptional feats of endurance. Also, the lessons we can learn from his life are still relevant today – useful for the mindsets of modern-day sea swimmers.
It’s true we owe a special debt of gratitude to pioneers of this sport we all love. They are partly responsible for inspiring those who arrive in yearly multitudes for long-distance events, like SwimTrek’s Caribbean crossing from Nevis To St Kitts and their annual Bosphorus River Swim at the heart of Istanbul.
Let’s look at 5 key lessons for endurance swimmers, inspired by the life of Captain Matthew Webb:
5. Share Your Love Of Water
Webb was a Shropshire lad who came from humble origins to become the toast of the British Empire. He was born in industrial Dawley, a former mining town, and moved close to the River Severn in 1856. After school, he and his mates used to run to the Severn, leap into its currents splash in the cold riffles.
It was said that from the age of 7, Webb was already able to swim. In fact, aged 8, he helped his older brother to rescue their other brother, Charles, when he was drowning. It seems part of the reason Webb fell in love with the water had to do with him sharing his swims with siblings and close friends at an early age.
4. Be Brave
For 10 years, Webb was a merchant sailor who followed trade routes to distant countries, including, India, Singapore, and Yemen. He performed two incredible acts of bravery during his service. The first occurred in the Suez Canal when he dove underwater and freed his ship’s propeller from an entangled rope, cutting it by hand.
The second is the more famous of the stories, which involved Webb leaping into the stormy Atlantic and attempting to rescue a crewmate, who was swept overboard in a gale. After 37 minutes in that cauldron of cold, salty water, he failed to recover the drowned man. Yet he was awarded the Stanhope Gold Medal by the Royal Humane Society for his attempt.
3. Fail Again. Fail Better
Samuel Beckett’s mantra is often quoted: ‘Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better.’
It’s an inspiring idea, embodied by Webb on his two Channel crossing attempts. Many are aware he eventually made it across and was the first to do so. Few stories are told of his training off the pebbled beaches of Dover – hours spent in the waves, battling the cold and currents with gritted teeth.
Also, it is often forgotten that Webb failed his first attempt to cross the Channel on August 12th in 1875. It is surely true we wouldn’t remember his name if he hadn’t returned 12 days later, lathered in porpoise grease, and dove off Admiralty Pier again on August 24th in search of distant France.
Sure, he didn’t ‘fail better’ and actually succeeded, but that effort for improvement is the point. It is an important source of motivation and a way to make future goals seem more manageable.
2. ‘Nothing Great Is Easy’
‘Nothing great is easy’ is a phrase commonly attributed to Webb. In 1909, his older brother, Thomas, unveiled a memorial fountain with these words inscribed in stone under a bronze bust of Matthew.
The greatness of Captain Matthew Webb’s achievements is still talked about in circles of long-distance swimmers. Fuelled by ale and beef tea, he spent 22 hours in the water to eventually reach French shores early on August 25th, 1875.
1. No One ‘Conquers’ Nature
Ultimately, the story of Captain Webb ended in tragedy. In the afternoon, on 24th July 1883, Webb leapt from a small boat into Niagara Gorge. He was struggling with poor finances and recovering tuberculosis at the time. His closest friends and brother were urging him not to proceed with his increasingly dangerous swims.
Within 10 minutes, Webb was dragged under the whirlpool rapids, below the waterfall. His body was not recovered until four days later whereupon he was buried in nearby Oakwood Cemetery.
What compelled Webb to enter that maelstrom? One factor is his extreme naivety of its power. Today, we better understand the force of the Niagara Falls. Every second, over 3000 tonnes of water is disgorged over the precipice – that’s equivalent to roughly 500 fully grown African elephants!
About SwimTrek
Run by swimmers for over 20 years, SwimTrek are the world’s pioneer of open water swimming vacations. In 2026, their award-winning calendar of adventures will expand to include 87 trips in 27 countries, from the Bahamas to Indonesia.
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