Justin bosses 55km swims around Jersey

Justin Meades, 44, the boss of an electrical contracting business, has raised more than £7,500 for cancer charity the Teenage Cancer Trust in the process.

Mr Meades set off from the Elizabeth Castle breakwater in St Helier at 7am on Saturday morning and swam anticlockwise around the whole of the island, completing the challenge in 10 hours 53 minutes. His time makes him the fastest solo swimmer of the route this year.

An avid swimmer during his school days in Australia, Mr Meades got involved with numerous swimming groups when he moved to Guernsey nearly 20 years ago. However, he only became accustomed to sea swimming in 2019 after being introduced to it by good friend Mark Torode.

‘We just did more and more sea swims and kept increasing our distances,’ he said.

‘I’ve done Guernsey to Herm, around Herm and Pembroke to Portelet, and gradually realised I was comfortable swimming long distances.’

After considering swimming the English Channel, Mr Meades decided to take the plunge and sign up for the Jersey swim after hearing about it via a Facebook group.

As well as wanting to do it for himself, he thought it would be an appropriate tribute to his partner Jenny Phillips’ brother Andrew, who died of cancer aged 16.

This was also what prompted him to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

‘Andrew was a bit of a daredevil, so it seemed quite apt,’ he said.

As for the swim itself, Mr Meades got off to a strong start, recalling that he felt ‘really good’ for the first couple of hours in what he described as ‘amazing’ sea conditions.

However, challenges soon began to float his way.

‘Once I got in among the jellyfish things got hard as there were so many,’ he said.

‘Some were as big as a dustbin lid, they’re beautiful in a way, but not while you’re trying to navigate your way through them.’

A sting on his neck, as well as requiring ibuprofen to treat a sore shoulder, threatened to throw him off course, and this was exacerbated by the sea becoming choppier in places.

But he soldiered on, only stopping briefly each hour to take on liquid carbohydrates given to him by a support team aboard a vessel operated by Jersey-based company Lionheart Pilotage.

He admitted that he got close to giving up around the eight-hour mark, but said that receiving messages of support from family and friends – relayed to him by support team members – helped him towards the end.

‘Mark told me that I was one of the fastest swimmers this year and that I only had one more feeding stop to go.

‘After hearing that I decided to put my head down and go for it, I just wanted to get out of the water.’

Upon touching the Elizabeth Castle breakwater wall and completing the swim, Mr Meades said he let out a ‘woohoo’ before becoming quite emotional.

‘I was thrilled, then I got quite teary.

‘That elation of knowing I’d done it was just amazing, and the pint of Stella I had at the pub later on that evening was probably the best pint I’ve ever had.’

He said he was still considering his next challenge, but for the time being was looking forward to a visit to La Vallette Bathing Pools today, having recovered surprisingly quickly.

He hoped he had been a source of inspiration for those close to him, and was thankful to everyone who had donated to his cause.

‘It’s amazing what you can achieve if you put your mind to something, don’t give up and keep on going,’ he said.

n To donate to Mr Meades’ JustGiving page, visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/justinvsjersey.