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It's the early hours of the morning of August 25th, 1875.

The small sailing boat struggled through the choppy waters off the coast of northern France.

As vicious waves slam against a creaking hole, the spray soaked men on deck stare anxiously

to starboard searching for a tiny speck in the dark water.

They're looking for 27-year-old captain Matthew Webb,

man attempting to become the first person to swim across the English Channel.

One of those on board is a journalist from London.

He's been sent by his newspaper to report on Captain Webb's foolhardy endeavor,

and he fully expects to be sailing back to England with a corpse of a drowned man on board.

His suspicions are seemingly confirmed as the boat's crew fails to locate any sign of the swimmer.

But then somebody cries out, there he is, I see him.

The journalist squints overboard and miraculously there is Captain Webb.

His brawny arms pounding the waves like a prize fighter in the ring.

But as the escort boat pulls closer, Captain Webb cries out in pain.

Assuming he's suffering from a cramp, the men in the boat get ready to pull him from the water.

But Webb explains to them it's not a cramp, he's been stung by a jellyfish,

and his arm has gone completely numb.

The men in the boat urge him to come aboard, to give up, try again another day.

Captain Webb shakes his head and insists that all he needs is a swig of granted.

...