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Monday 27 August 2012

and then


A knackered but happy Wayne back at home.
Once he's recovered sufficiently to be able to string a coherent sentence together, we'll be posting his recollections about The Swim, along with some photies.

The Evidence

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19388990

Sunday 26 August 2012

He Did It!!!!!!!!!!!!

At 23:33 (approximately) Wayne touched down just outside of Ballycastle, Ireland - making him the first person ever to have swum this section of treacherous water.  Well done Wayne - you deserve a big pint and a warm steak and Guinness pie.  You are an inspiration to so many!

500 metres to go


They are about 20 minutes on the outside from landing!!!!

Paul just commented that this was definitely his last stint as 'Handler' - this stuff is just too stressful!

Looking for a landing spot...


The second boat has gone off to look for a suitable landing spot and is guiding them in!!!!

They are aiming to land at Port Campbell, just west of Ballycastle. I have checked for this on the map but can't find it, but will keep you posted!

Night swimming

With all the drama of the last 2 hours I have completely missed the point that Wayne will be swimming in the dark now.  This is a notoriously low time for swimmers, as they lose the sun on their backs and it is quite common for a bit of a depression to kick in.  

In terms of logistics, the crew will have passed Wayne a glow stick to his swimming trunks as well as to the side of the boat.  Wayne will focus on these glow sticks in order to position himself in the water, as there is nothing else to use in order to find your bearings.

Wayne was very keen to do as little as possible swimming in the dark...  Hopefully we can finish this soon then!

Hour 12


Some good news at last...

They are almost due north of Ballycastle right now and the conditions have improved dramatically. When I last spoke to them it was mayhem on the boat as they were experiencing big winds, strong currents and struggling to keep steering in a way that helped Wayne in his swim - as opposed to I guess steering over him?!

From the latest update from the boat all seems to have calmed down, the tide has slackened dramatically and they seem to be 'picking' where they would like to land - the discussions were along the lines of 'Shall we go straight into Ballycastle, or just to the right of the beach?'

They estimate less than an hour's swim - but bear in mind folks, he has been in the water for 11 and a half hours already!

Watch this space - the boys have proven that they could be chucking a few surprises our way before we get to celebrate...
Wayne likes pork pies and Guinness. He likes routine and predictability. He loves his family. He's 40+, short(ish), balding and battling with waistline expansion. He's been known to occasionally play a good round of golf, likes to tinker with 'stuff' and has rescued a group of friends from the African wild by fixing a Land Rover with a jellybaby.

He's never been a great fan of physical exertion. In short (apart from the jellybaby incident), Wayne is an ordinary person. And he's about to do something really amazingly, astoundingly and astonishingly extra-ordinary. He's going to swim the the treacherous, never-been-swum-before channel between Kintyre (Scotland) and Ballycastle (Ireland). For charity. This is his story.