Millions Of Jellyfish Couldn't Stop South Bay Swimmer From Conquering English Channel

HERMOSA BEACH, CA — Carly Miller had been swimming toward France for hours when the jellyfish began coming.

And coming...and coming.

The Hermosa Beach marathon swimmer knew there would be jellyfish in the English Channel. Still, she wasn't prepared for what she encountered during the final stretch of a grueling journey from England to France: miles of them, repeated stings and the growing realization that there was no way around.

After about an hour, Miller began to understand that the ordeal might last considerably longer.

“Of course you want to quit,” Miller told Patch. “But the pain of the jellyfish is temporary. The pain of quitting is forever.”

So she kept swimming. Eleven hours and 41 minutes after setting off from England, Miller reached the French coast Sunday, completing the approximately 20-mile English Channel crossing and, pending final ratification, earning one of marathon swimming's most prestigious distinctions: the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.

The Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation lists Miller's Aug. 23 crossing, accompanied by the Anastasia, piloted by Robert Thompson, with a time of 11 hours and 41 minutes.

Miller described the final portion as a roughly five-mile “jellyfish minefield.”

“I had anticipated jellies but not to the extent I experienced,” Miller told Patch. “After it had gone on for about an hour, I started to realize it may last for a while and after I got stung pretty badly a few times, it definitely affected my mood.”

But quitting would have meant something else: coming back and doing the Channel all over again.

“In the toughest moments during a swim, I always think about why I'm there and who I'm there for,” Miller said. “That helps get me through.”

Miller fights the current and the jellyfish along with her fear for her mother, Emily, who died after battling breast and ovarian cancer.

Racing To Reach France

The jellyfish weren't Miller's only adversary. English Channel swimmers contend with unpredictable weather, tides and currents, and simply getting an opportunity to attempt the crossing can require years of planning. Miller booked hers three years ago.

“I was afraid of not finishing before, during and after the swim,” she told Patch. “Almost more so than any other swim I've done, the English Channel is notorious for this due to weather, tides and currents.”

Some swimmers travel to England only to have weather prevent them from ever entering the water during their allotted window. Miller got her chance, but once she was swimming, another fear took hold. Missing France.

“I have long been terrified of missing France or getting caught in a current that forces your swim to last much longer,” Miller said.

So instead of simply enduring the Channel, she raced it.

“I swam faster than I normally do on a swim of that length simply because I was so scared of missing France and not finishing,” she said.

Her 11-hour, 41-minute crossing was faster than the 12 to 15 hours Miller had expected before the attempt. A month earlier, she told Hearst Connecticut Media that particularly difficult conditions could have stretched the crossing to as long as 18 hours.

From ‘Rock Bottom’ To The Triple Crown

The Channel completed the third leg of the Triple Crown, which consists of crossings of the English Channel, Catalina Channel and the 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan.

Roughly 400 swimmers worldwide have completed all three.

Miller completed the Catalina Channel in 2019. The following year, she circled Manhattan, with New York Open Water recording her Oct. 1, 2020, 20 Bridges finish at 8 hours, 25 minutes and 22 seconds.

But Miller's journey to the Triple Crown began long before she set foot in the Channel. Her mother died in 2005 after battling breast and ovarian cancer. Miller later learned that she carried a BRCA2 mutation associated with increased hereditary cancer risk and underwent a preventive double mastectomy in 2016.

Miller has spoken publicly about struggling with grief, depression and addiction before returning to swimming and eventually discovering open-water competition.

She now coaches swimmers and has used her marathon swims to raise money and awareness for FORCE, Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, a nonprofit supporting people and families affected by hereditary cancer.

“Mostly, it's a culmination of the last decade of my life and my journey as a marathon swimmer and coach,” Miller told Patch of completing the Triple Crown.

“It's prestigious, yes. But for me, it's more about inspiring the people around me and the athletes that I'm lucky enough to work with.”

Her message to them is simple. “That you can come back from rock bottom, that you can have big dreams and go after them, and that, if you want something bad enough and you're willing to work for it, anything is possible.”

Miller's other accomplishments include becoming the sixth person to complete the roughly 27-mile Santa Monica Bay crossing from Point Dume to Rocky Point and the 18th person to complete the California Triple Crown, consisting of the Catalina Channel, a Santa Barbara Channel crossing and the length of Lake Tahoe.

This summer, she also completed the five distinct Lake Tahoe routes known collectively as the Five Tails of Tessie.

And Then ... A Train To Amsterdam

After swimming nearly 12 hours through one of the world's most famous stretches of open water, fighting currents and being repeatedly stung by jellyfish, Miller finally reached France.

But there was no luxury hotel waiting on the beach. There wasn't even much time to celebrate.

After reaching land, Miller had to swim back to the Anastasia and make the three-to-four-hour boat journey back across the Channel to England, all while dealing with the jellyfish stings and nausea that followed the swim.

By the time she returned to the harbor, it was around 8 or 9 p.m. Then came an Airbnb hot tub. And the following morning? A train to Amsterdam.

“Little to no celebrations yet,” Miller told Patch. “Those will come when I'm back home.”

She did, however, emerge from the English Channel with one additional piece of advice,“Pro tip: international travel isn't ideal for channel recovery,” she said.