It had been thirty-one years since the English Channel had been successfully crossed by a swimmer when Thomas William Burgess dove into the frigid Atlantic waters in August of 1906.
Starting off at approximately 7:30am, at a time of year when the Channel was warmest, Burgess felt optimistic about his chances of crossing. After all, someone had already managed it before. It stood to reason that it could be done again.
Burgess had done his due diligence, having already attempted to cross the Channel on a number of occasions. He had started early in the morning this time (which would give him the hottest heat of the afternoon just as his body began to succumb to the chill of the water) and had eaten a large English breakfast of ham and eggs, convinced that a large meal would bolster his endurance.