It has been a cold but exciting start to our New Year, with the fantastic success of Nicholas’s Freezing Swim for Sharks!
Nicholas prepared to brave the cold waters (9-10C) of Padstow Harbour at noon on New Year’s Day in just his swimming shorts, rash vest and hood and was greeted by overcast skies and a brisk wind. It really wasn’t the weather for swimming but a fun crowd gathered to watch and cheer Nicholas on. Amidst this encouragement, Nicholas quietly and quickly jumped into the water next to his safety boat and swam with his fake silver shark fin on his back as if his life depended on it.
I have never seen Nicholas look as cold as he did during those first few lengths and I was concerned as his swimming faltered at first. It was obvious that the cold and the shark fin were restricting his ability to gain his breath but he soldiered on and soon found his stride. It was great to hear the cheers of encouragement from family and passers-by and it made a huge difference to Nicholas when he began to tire. I couldn’t believe his stamina as I watched the minutes tick by on our stopwatch and Nicholas just kept on swimming.
He eventually retreated to the safety and relative warmth of dry land and could barely speak when he got out because of the cold. Nicholas was mostly purple and incapable of speech BUT it was all worthwhile.
Nicholas swam for….drum roll please…….
13 minutes and covered a distance of 550 metres!!!
He also raised over £1300 for Friends for Sharks!!
This is such an incredible achievement and the funds raised will go a long way towards helping us deliver our shark conservation events to adults and children during 2015. The total amount raised will be confirmed once Nicholas has recovered/warmed up and we will also be posting a video of the swim itself in due course.
For now we would both like to say a huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone that has supported this swim with sponsorship, words of encouragement and cheering on the day. We would particularly like to thank Padstow Harbour Commission and The Old Ship Hotel in Padstow for providing event support on the day itself, Fourth Element and Shark Diving Xperts for providing clothing to keep Nicholas warm afterwards.
Happy New Year to you all!
(For anyone that would like to help us reach our fundraising target, every penny is appreciated and you can donate here. Thank you!)
Learn more about Friends for Sharks at: http://www.friendsforsharks.com
Note from the editor
I would just like to add my own personal congratulations to Nick. This was not an easy task and I am feeling extremely happy that my level of support for Friends for Sharks is restricted to sponsorship and “desk-bound” activities!
I have nothing but praise and wish you every success in using the monies raised to further the Friends for Sharks Cause. Well done from all of us at The Scuba News 🙂
Lee (editor of The Scuba News)
