English Channel swim raises £28,000 for charity
A pair of friends swam the English Channel and helped to raise £28,000 for swimming lessons for disadvantaged children. Clare Kedwell, 50, and Sarah Branson, 53, from Hastings, entered the freezing water, braving strong tides, jellyfish, and exhaustion, as they swam from Samphire Hoe in Dover to Cap Gris-Nez in France.
The pair made the 22-mile journey across the English Channel as part of two relay teams. Kedwell’s group, Blue Tide, reached its destination in 16 hours and 15 minutes, and Branson’s Riptide Racers finished theirs in 17 hours and 34 minutes. Branson admitted just a year earlier that she could barely swim a length at her local swimming pool.
“I tore my meniscus a few years ago and wanted to show that, however old and broken, we can do hard things,” she said. “Swimming the Channel is not just about the physical challenge, but the mental belief that you can do this.”
“When our families met us back at Dover, it was a big emotional moment,” Ms Kedwell added. “Looking out to sea and realising I swam that gave me a huge sense of pride.”
Each of the two swimmers tackled single-hour stints in their teams, as they plunged into dark and unpredictable waters from their support boat, appropriately named High Hopes. Thanks to early morning sea dips, endurance training, and ice-cold plunges, they succeeded, saying that their friendship inspired them to continue.
The money raised will go towards SwimTayka, a charity that provides free swimming lessons and environmental education to underprivileged children who live along the planet’s coasts, lakes, and rivers.
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