Strong currents hamper Portuguese philanthropist’s attempt at English Channel crossing

A Portuguese woman who earlier this week attempted to swim the English Channel for a Bangladeshi children’s charity, was forced to abandon her plucky bid several hours into the crossing due to overpowering tidal currents, reports the Portugal News Online.

Determined philanthropist Maria da Conceição, founder of the Maria Cristina Foundation, had been swimming in the cold waters for seven hours when she was forced to give up on Tuesday morning.
Having fearlessly faced one of the busiest shipping routes in Europe, notorious for its jellyfish, it ended up being the treacherous, cold sea itself that put an end to her efforts.
The objective was to raise around €166,000, which would pay for the studies of 172 children supported by the Maria Cristina Foundation.
The 32km crossing from Dover, UK to Cap Gris Nez, France, had already been postponed from Saturday to Tuesday this week due to bad weather.
Ms. Da Conceição was attempting the crossing to raise funds for the Foundation, which supports 172 underprivileged children from the Gawair slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and provides them with access to education.
A statement on the Foundation’s Facebook page explained “unfortunately Maria has had to stop her swim after seven hours. The tidal current was too strong and it was difficult for her to pick up pace. She tried with all her might and determination, but took the pilot’s advice and aborted the swim to stay safe.
“In our eyes a seven-hour swim in cold open water against currents is an amazing achievement and there are not many people who could do it. We salute Maria for selflessly giving her life to the children of Bangladesh and doing all that one individual could possibly have done”, the statement praises.
Speaking to The Portugal News on Wednesday, Maria da Conceição was critical of the support team accompanying her attempt, saying: “I feel disappointed; I was swimming according to my swimming plan but I don’t feel I was given a chance to give my best. The pilot and my observer told me that I would fail and that is not positive psychological encouragement and reinforcement. There was a lot of pressure and insinuations that they thought I should leave the water. I was significantly influenced to leave the water”, she claims.
Having analysed her data after the swim, Maria da Conceição argues she is confident she could have made the crossing in 25 hours keeping the same pace, and “I was prepared to swim for that long.”
Next time, she adds, “I will be more careful selecting a crew that is fully supportive.”
Maria already has a number of remarkable achievements in aid of the charity under her belt, including becoming the first Portuguese woman to climb Mount Everest, three records for marathon running, and six Guinness World Records.
Maria da Conceição founded Maria Cristina Foundation in 2005 after witnessing the extreme poverty of Bangladesh while she worked as a flight attendant for a UAE airline.
After travelling to Bangladesh with her job for the first time in 2003, she says she was unable to forget what she witnessed and one month later she returned to Bangladesh determined to help the impoverished community.
In July 2005, with the support of family, colleagues and friends, Maria started a charity project to help the many families in Bangladesh, starting with a one-room school.
She has, since 2005, been developing and running humanitarian projects in Bangladesh focusing on providing free education to children, thus breaking the cycle of poverty.
For more information or to make a donation, Facebook MariaCristinaFoundation, or see website: www.mariacristina-foundation.org.