Herm swims make more than £21,000 for two charities

SWIMMERS have raised thousands for local charities.

Swimmers who completed the delayed Guernsey Swim Adventures Herm crossing a few weeks after a group of five swam to Herm, circumnavigated the island and then swam back to Guernsey.

Over two events in August and September, swimming group Guernsey Swim Adventures raised more than £21,000 for The Guernsey Society for Cancer Relief and This is Epic.

First was the 18:18 Epic Herm overnight swim on 5 August, in which five participants swam there, circumnavigated Herm and swam back.

A total of 43 swimmers finally had their opportunity to swim from Guernsey to Herm a month later than anticipated, after their scheduled date in August was postponed due to high winds.

‘The conditions were fairly challenging for both swimmers and kayakers,’ said GSA organiser Jacqui Hunt.

‘The force 3 south-westerly winds made it tricky for kayakers to hold a southerly course and most swimmers covered an extended distance, giving their sponsors more miles for their money.

‘The GSA thanks the 10 guard boats and 40 kayakers who supported the event and were on hand to survey the group, which included three relay teams.

‘Everyone made it across the Little Russel, arriving into Herm in times between 1 hour 18 minutes to just over 2 hours.

‘Swimmers were elated to complete their adventure and received a fantastic welcome from family and friends supporting.’

Marcus Jones was the first swimmer landing on Herm in a time of 1-18.47 closely followed by Murray Gilson and Sarah Holland arriving in 1-19.19.

The youngest swimmer at the age of 13 was Thierry Le Cheminant, coming fifth in a time of 1-21.59.

For many swimmers this was their first Herm swim and a challenge of a lifetime.

Pauline Hubert, the oldest at 67, has been dreaming of completing this swim for 10 years.

She was accompanied by her son, Lee, who held a great line and brought Pauline home well ahead of where she was expecting, right in the middle of the pack in a fantastic time of 1-39.30.

Pauline’s immediate thoughts were: ‘Thank goodness that’s ticked off’, but only 24 hours later was looking for a new challenge for 2019.

After a well-earned celebratory drink, swimmers were brought back to Guernsey with a complimentary ride on Travel Trident.

n The JustGiving donation page is still open and donations can be made at https://bit.ly/2MizbUx.