Swimmers brave the cold for Cheshire Home

Even more were down at Cobo Bay, but stayed wrapped up warm to watch and support friends and family.

With the sun out, a sea of red Santa hats braved the crisp, but cold air to run into the sea.

Despite a false start with a portion of the swimmers mistaking the countdown for a Mexican wave as the sign to run into the water, Sea Donkey Adrian Sarchet sounded the horn and the rest of the beach joined the eager swimmers in the sea.

‘It’s an absolute honour to be starting the swim,’ he said.

‘The Boxing Day Swim is probably the best community event of the year and it’s for such a good cause as well.’

Mr Sarchet, Guernsey’s most famous adventure swimmer, said he always enjoyed getting involved with the Boxing Day Dip every year. His family joined him at the beach and he also took to the water after starting the event.

The morning high tide meant the swim started later than normal at 11am, but this did not deter people from embracing what has become a festive Guernsey ritual.

They included a team of firefighters who had just completed their long Christmas Day shift.

‘We swam at the Bathing Pools for the Polar Bear Swim yesterday morning, and so this was the perfect way to end the shift,’ they said.

Each year, the Guernsey Cheshire Home must raise £600,000 from community events to support its residents with complex needs.

Rhona Humphreys, from the home’s fundraising committee, said that it was great to see the effort that people put in each year.

‘It’s fantastic that so many people have come out today to take part,’ she said.

‘Seeing everyone gathering on the beach in a sea of red is great, and it’s a lovely event.’

Many swimmers celebrated their Boxing Day achievement by warming up with a hot drink and a mince pie in the Rockmount as they collected their certificates.

The money raised from the event, which is sponsored by Skipton International, will be announced in due course, together with an estimate of the number of people who attended.