Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever
A group of 5 women who came together through the love of open water swimming. Campaigning locally and nationally for clean waterways & raising money for charity by taking on swimming challenges.
In the last 3 years we've raised in excess of £100,000 for a range of charities.
Donaghadee NI - Portpatrick, Scotland
North Channel
20-28 June 2022
The shortest distance across the North Channel in a straight
line is 34.5 Kilometers.
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All official North (Irish) Channel swims adhere to Irish Long
Distance Swimming Association North Channel rules.
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Water temperature will be between 11 - 13 degrees.
There are many jellyfish, including Lion's mane Jellies!
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The North Channel swim is considered the toughest of the seven ocean sea swims. The seven ocean swims include the English Channel between England and France and the Cook Strait between North and South Islands in New Zealand.
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North Channel is also part of the triple crown of channel swims, which is made up of English Channel, Bristol Channel & North Channel. Laura & Joan hope to complete all these, and become members of an elite group.
North Channel Team
Henley Mermaids North Channel team will be made up of
Laura Reineke
Joan Fennelly
Gary Robb
Max Norman
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Gary Robb
was born in Northern Ireland on the Irish Sea coastline and after moving away too far from the sea for too long moved to Exmouth eight years ago with my wife Lucy and our children Benjamin and Honor. We spend a lot of time in or on the water, be it paddle boarding, swimming or with Exmouth Beach Rescue Club, at which I coach the Nippers section.
I got into open water swimmer about 15 years ago through the Southampton Seadogs based at Shirley Pool. I have competed in many open water races including Henley Classic, River Itchen biathlon and 10 k Eton Dorney. Bigger challenges have included a relay team swim round the Isle of Wight for charity and Windermere one way. I also enjoy other swimming challenges such as the polar bear challenge and British cold water swimming championships.
I currently run swimming at Exeter School and enjoy building a strong and inclusive swim team and opening up a wide variety of swim events and experiences to the team.
Max Norman
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Grew up in Exmouth & has always spent a lot of time by or in the sea, surfing, swimming and paddle boarding. He also loves endurance sports and has completed a number of triathlons and Ironman races, long distance swims and also the polar bear challenges swimming through the winter. He's always loved the idea of a channel swim and can’t wait to take the plunge.
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