The superb Dan Dares write-up and video of the second swim at Brighton on Saturday is now available.
Thanks very much to Dan and Charlotte for coming down to Brighton and making this. Hopefully Dan’s account of the swim and Ryan’s commentary will encourage more people to sponsor me.
If anyone fancies joining me for the next swim in March let me know!
I decided to head for Brighton for the second challenge in my Big Swim 4 Magpie as it seemed like a good excuse for a family day out at one of my favourite resorts in the country. I love Brighton as it has a great atmosphere and it has maintained its identity as a popular seaside resort without being tacky and catering for the stag and hen crowd. I was a little worried about the weather as just 48 hours earlier there had been 10 inches of snow in the area. Thankfully, as we drove through Sussex towards Brighton the conditions were much better than on the way to Broadstairs on New Years Day. There was no visible ice or snow and at one point the thermometer in my car reached 3°C!
I was joined in the swim yesterday by Dan Keel, a journalist from one of our local papers, The News Shopper. Dan is set daring challenges which the paper run as a ‘Dan Dares’ feature. Previous challenges have included wing walking, watching war documentaries with no sleep for 34 hours and having his head cut off by a magician. We met up just before midday and headed straight for the beach and filmed a quick interview for the Dan Dares film which will be on the News Shopper website. He told me that out of all of the challenges he has been set this was the one that he was most dreading! He isn’t a big swimmer and hates being cold and he hates cold showers or cold water generally so he wasn’t convinced that he would succeed.
Although clearly nervous Dan hit the water first and as the photos below show he dived straight in which was a great effort. The water was nowhere near as choppy as it had been at Broadstairs but it was still freezing. Straight away the nerves in my fingertips and toes started burning. At least this time I could make a bit of an effort to swim and stay warm. It was great to have someone else there to talk to and we helped each other stick it out for the planned five minutes.
After watching us swim, my little boy Ryan spent most of Saturday afternoon saying “Daddy and Dan are mad!” It’s not the most politically correct thing for the son of a Head of Communications at a mental health trust to say, however he’s not yet two so I think it was a pretty good summary of Saturday’s activities.
This swim was not as hard as the first one due to the conditions – the sun actually came out a couple of times and the lack of hail and snow was a big plus. However there is no getting away from the fact that in the water it was bitterly cold. I think if we had stayed in there much longer our bodies would literally have started to freeze. I was really impressed that Dan managed to see out his challenge and am happy that I have done the second. Hopefully it will be a bit warmer in March. The News Shopper’s support so far has been brilliant and the film and article in this week’s paper will help with my fundraising and to spread the Magpie word.
Following the swim I quickly wrapped myself up in several layers, said goodbye and thanks to Dan then jogged along the seafront to thaw out and bring my feet back to life. Then Nichola, Ryan and I had an enjoyable lunch and a pleasant walk along the pier before heading home.
I will add a link to the News Shopper video and Dan’s column when they are available.
In case you don’t know I am doing this for a really great charity. I have seen the huge difference that Magpie Dance make to people with a learning disability. Unfortunately they receive no ongoing funding so each year have to raise £250,000. This year this is proving harder than ever. If you haven’t already please sponsor me. So far I have raised enough to pay for one member of Magpie’s Youth Group for a year. Please help me raise enough to cover the costs of two members of the Youth Group. To find out more about Magpie go their website.
That’s right, now that the weather has taken a turn for the worse I’m off to Brighton this Saturday (13th) for the February swim.
This time I won’t be on my own. Dan Keel, a journalist at the News Shopper who have been really supportive, will be joining me for a freezing midday dip! Dan is set a different Dan Dares challenge every month and this month he will be joining me. You can read Dan’s column for more details.
The great news is that I have already passed my first fundraising target which was £1,270 to cover the cost of one member of Magpie’s Youth Group for a year. So far I have raised over £1,400 which is brilliant. Thanks so much to everyone that has sponsored me so far. My new target is £2,540 to pay for two members of the group for a year.
If you haven’t sponsored me yet please do so: www.justgiving.com/RCartwright
The money is going to a really good cause – I’ve witnessed how much of a difference Magpie make to people with a learning disability. They need to raise £250,000 each year and are finding that very challenging at the moment.
I’ll load some photos up on the weekend of the Brighton swim and a link to the News Shopper’s video when it is available.
Big Swim 4 Magpie 