Charlotte Samuels begins her swim, which is now scheduled for 6 p.m. UK time – 1 p.m. in New Jersey
Ridgewood teen plans to swim English Channel for Triple Crown today
SEPTEMBER 6, 2014, 12:32 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2014, 2:29 AM
BY ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Charlotte Samuels, the 16-year-old Ridgewood girl who wants to be the youngest person to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, will attempt the final leg on Sunday by swimming across the English Channel, her mother, Suzanne Samuels, said today.
Originally she planned to begin the 21-mile swim from England to France at 5 a.m. London time—midnight in New Jersey. But every swimmer in the Channel must be accompanied by a guide boat, and the boat assigned to Samuels was running late, pushing her start time back approximately four hours, said Suzanne Samuels, Charlotte’s mother. Her mother later said they rescheduled the swim for 6 p.m. in the UK – 1 p.m. in New Jersey.
“Delays of this sort are not unusual,” Samuels said, adding that the wait was caused by a British athlete attempting to swim across using the breaststroke. “Charlotte is understandably disappointed, as are we. But at this point, the weather conditions seem to be favorable for her swim.”
Last month, exhausted by an arduous 20.2-mile swim from Catalina Island to the coast of California, Samuels said she would not attempt the English Channel crossing this year.