Some sponsorship...

When I first decided that I was going to swim the Channel I realised that it was going to be a very expensive goal. I thought that it would be a good idea to get alot of the funds I needed from a corporate sponsor. I recently wrote a letter to Riordan's SuperValu, Fermoy, explaining what I was doing and that I would be very happy if they could help me out a bit. Two weeks later, I got a cheque for €1,000 in the post. Since then alot of people have said that they would like to sponsor both the charity and my own expenses. So with a few extra hours at work I should do fine.

So it's thanks a million to the Riordans and evryone who has helped me out so far... Also, I would like to wish everyone a [belated] Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

SAVE FERMOY WEIR...!

Everyone, please help save the weir that makes the beautiful River Blackwater what it is! Without our weir, Fermoy would never be the same. No more swimming, no more rowing, no more diving, etc, etc, etc... We have to stop the Dept. Energy, Communications & Natural Resources before they take away our beautiful river.

The proposed plans for the weir will destroy everything that makes Fermoy special. For one, my training for the Channel Swim will be severly hamperred and many fond memories will be lost. There are far more practical, cheaper and above all, safer allternatives available. Check out the website: http://www.fermoyweir.wordpress.com/ for more information...

Don't make us say goodbye to this...!

November...

With winter beginning to set in the time has come to start into some serious pool training. It is also time to start bringing all of the l;ogistics of making a Channel Swim together. One of the things that alot of people choose to combine their swim with is raising money for a chosen charity. I had always intended to do this but was having trouble picking out the charity that I wanted to support. Well, on the morning of Thursday 6th November 2008 my mind was made up for me.

On the 1st October my Grandmother was informed that she had cancer that had spread throughout her body and that there was no treatment available. The only thing to do now was to bring her home and make her as comfortable as possible. There were a few people who this would not have been possible without. My Grandfather, her husband of 44yrs who gave her 24hr attention, my mother, who was able to understand and administer all of the medication, our family doctor, Dr. O'Grady, who came at least twice every day, and the Irish Cancer Society, who's Night Nursing service proved to be invaluable.

The Irish Cancer Society is funded totally by voluntary donations and receive no government funding. They are committed to finding new ways of preventing and curing cancer and providing the best care possible for those who are terminally ill. By being in the house at night, the night nurse gives the family a chance to have some rest and are there to support everyone when death is near.

I am swimming the Channel in memory of my Grandmother, who was looking forward emmensly to the event, and to raise funds for this worthy organisation. You can see their website by following this link: Irish Cancer Society, and you can visit my fundraising page at http://www.mycharity.ie/event/ec4cancer. All donations made on the MyCharity.ie website are very secure and are very much appreciated.

Thanks for your support.

Party in Monkstown...

Last week I went to a party in Ned's house for all of the Cork people who swam the Channel in 2008. Aside from all the previous Cork soloers, there were some very distinguished guests. I got to meet David Yudovin IMSHOF, I won't even go into all of the amazing swims that he has done, I'd be here all day, let's just say that it was amazing to meet him. Also Dave Whyte was there, he piloted all of the previous Cork swimmers but unfortunately he is retiring this year. He is also the newest inductee into IMSHOF. It was great to meet someone who had so much experience in Channel swimming. David and Evelyn of Varne Ridge Caravan Park were there also. They were very nice and I am looking forward to meeting them in Dover next year.

As part of the evening we also got to see all the inspirational photographs in Rob Bohane's swim from Sceilig Mhichíl and Ned's swim around Valentia Island. Eilís Burns, who coached all of the Cork soloers, gave a nice speech about all of her swimmers and gave them some amuzing presents that represented there character. Rob received a certificate form IMSHOF recognising his Sceilig swim and I also got one for my Crosshaven to Blackrock swim. Overall it was a fantastic evening, and needless to say, Anne's cooking was top notch!

Blackrock to Cobh Swim...

Last Sunday saw the second annual Blackrock to Cobh Swim take place under beautiful sunshine. This year Fergus Galvin organised the swim. The course measures over 12km but due to a strong tidal push, the actual distance swam is much less. The swim starts from the slipway in Blackrock, quickly passing the Blackrock Castle Observatory and into Lough Mahon(boring), then it turns south into the Passage West channel(strong tidal assistance), around the Cork Dockyards and into the town of Cobh.

On the morning of the swim the sun was shining and the water was a balmy 14 Celsius. Due to some wind there was some chop on the Lough and out in the Harbour. However, as the swim progressed the conditions improved. The start of the swim was delayed by the late arrival of two large Japanese trawlers and a small cargo ship. Once the boat traffic was clear we got the go-ahead from the port authorities to proceed with the swim.

Mike Harris and Róisín Lewis started on go, followed by more swimmers on 10mins, more on 20mins and finally myself, Julianne Galloway and Colm O'Neill, North Channel Swimmer, on 30mins. From the beginning the assistance from both the river and the outgoing tide were noticeable. Almost immediately we passed the impressive Blackrock Castle jutting out into the river, then it opened up into the vast expanse of Lough Mahon. Here I managed to pull ahead of Colm but Julieanne was steaming ahead. This section of the swim was very long and drawn out, the monotony broken only by the occasional passing ship and one feed of High5.

Once the corner of Cobh Island appeared in front, I knew that we were getting close the Passage West. Once we rounded the corner we were flushed down the Channel passed Glenbrook, the Rushbrooke ferry and into Monkstown. I followed my tactics of keeping a wide corner around the Dockyards so as to avoid the eddies and avail of the current. However, a marauding tug-boat put that plan to bed and I was forced to take a tighter line around the final corner.

Once Cobh Cathedral was in sight I searched below for the line of blue barges and tugs where I knew the finish was. I sighted the entrance to the finish area and put my head down and swam hard. I could see that I was making good progress as the Cruise Terminal and train station flew by. Between the last two tugs we tuned in to the little alcove to finish. All that was there was very high walls and a long flight of steps to the top. After a long swim there is nothing more relieving than a good flight of steps to climb.

There were lots of people at the finish, as there always is in a seaside town on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Once I managed to haul myself to the top of the steps I got dressed, the sun made this a whole lot easier. Once dressed it was great to watch the other swimmers finish. Last in was Mike Harris, this was a big swim for him, he seemed quite disorientated at the finish. When I went to congratulate him on finishing his only words were, "Come back in another fifty years and you try it!"

Thinking back on the swim, I realise how important it is to know the course. Although I had Donal Clancy, an excellent kayaker, with me I still had to have my own ideas which made the swim alot easier. Last year I did crewing for this swim. I learnt alot that I was able to put into practise this time round. For example, I knew that it was not a good idea to stay in close to land when rounding the last corner just after the Dockyards, last year, lots of people got caught in a negative flow here and made very little progress. Also, I knew exactly where the finish was for the swim, most people would not have had a clue as it was a very unusual spot, I was able to make a good line for the finish from the last corner.

There was also a great gathering of swimmers at this event. Julieanne Galloway drove down from Dublin that morning and still managed to finish in under 2hrs 15mins, she is signed up for the English Channel next year. There were also two other Cork swimmers there who are signed up to swim the Channel on the same week as me, Lisa Cummins(who feels no cold) from Sunday's Well and Sylvain Estadieu. Colm O'Neill from Dublin was also there, he swam the North Channel a few years back and also Charles Harper, who one the Liffey Swim and is swimming the Channel next year.

News from the Pool...

Well the summer is pretty much over now. It's time to start putting in some serious work in the pool. Since the beginning of September, I have been training with Fermoy Swimming Club, but it's not really enough hours, though it is very good quality training. With the help of my coach and the manager of the swimming pool, I have managed to secure free swimming until this time next year. So, anytime that there is a public session on, I can just swipe my card and swim... This is fantastic news as the cost of all of the pool sessions starts to mount up and it can get hard to finance when you're only fifteen!

Sandycove Island Challenge 2008

At last, I have decided to write up about the race last week. The Island Challenge is an annual race around the island. This year, nearly 200 swimmers from all over the world competed. We were very lucky with the weather on the day, after the worst summer in recorded history, we got a beautiful day and the water was at it's warmest in over a year. Everyone was in a good mood and decided to turn up on time and the whole event ran very smoothly.

As the first group lined up along the slipway, the tension was high, everyone had set there eyes on a suitable rival and nobody could wait until the klaxon went. As I dived into the water, I got an enormous shock, I hadn't swam in more than 13 degrees in the last month. I immediately set about my strategy of taking the shortest course possible and swimming as if I were doing a 1500m in the pool.

Once we had rounded the first corner, there was nobody else in sight, Chris Bryan from Ennis was way up in front and everyone else was falling behind. It was my job to make sure that nobody passed me from here on. The whole lap seemed to just fly by. Of course I nearly cut myself to shreds going over the rocks on the far corner. When I saw the Pink House out of my right goggle, it was time to sprint.

I was lined up with the finish and sprinted like hell for 150m. By then I realised that I was slightly off course, but just a quick adjustment and I went in for the finish. Once again I nearly injured myself while trying to reach up to the touch pads. I was so paranoid that the timing chip didn't register, but they managed to convince me that it did. I took a look around and was delighted to see that I came in second.

My mentor and biggest rival, Ned Denison, was well behind me, mission accomplished. As usual the atmosphere afterwards was fantastic. This year the afters were held in the Trident Hotel in Kinsale. This was great because it meant that we could have a meal and then head up to the function room for the prize giving. I was very happy with my lovely Kinsale Crystal bowl and there was an added bonus, I received a nomination for the Mike Harris Trophy. This is awarded to a person who has made a valuable contribution to open-water swimming in Cork. I felt really honoured to be nominated for such a prize.

All in all, it was a fantastic day out. Hopefully all of the Island Challenges to come will be as good as this one!

Oysterhaven to Sandycove - Hell...

On Sunday, a group of five started the first swim form Oysterhaven slipway to Sandycove. They were Imelda Lynch (EC Solo 2005), Ossie Schmidt, Lis Cummins (fellow aspirant), Sinéad Sheridan and myself. Sinéad started first with her husband Aidan in an inflatable, followed 15mins later by Imelda, Ossie and Lisa with Jim McGrath in his kayak, and finally I left after another 20mins accompanied by Ned in his motorboat.

At the start of the swim I felt good, the water felt about the same as my Crosshaven swim. Then I realised that I forgot to put in my earplugs, my ears quickly filled up with water (which I hate).Things were stil going good until we got out around the headland. There seemed to be alot of debris in the water.There was a small jelly near the surface but I forgot about it. Then I saw one huge jelly below, that freaked my out and I felt very wary in the water. I think that this made me slow down my stroke rate, then I started to get cold. Not only was the water really cold, but to make it worse there was a horrible swell and it was raining.

When I couldn't see myself making any progress I felt a bit crap, but I just aimed for the next feed. When Ned told me to pick up my stroke rate I tried it but I think I was still tired after my pool session. I started complaining and Ned told me to count 100 strokes, I motivated myself by only counting right arm strokes so I was going further without noticing. Then my fingers wouldn't close, I did the clenching fists thing and that got me another couple of hundred metres.

At the next feed Ned said "France in 1.5miles". I thought of I go hard for half a mile then it's just a lap of the Island left. When he said 1200m to go I counted another 100 right arm strokes and we were coming near the island. When we got to the island I tried to forget the rest of the swim and pretend I was just swimming around the island. Then came the pink house and I felt fantastic that I had finished it after feeling so bad earlier.

I found it hard to understand that I felt so good all through my 5hr swim and felt so terrible after less than an hour.But the feeling I got after finishing was worth all the pain. I could never have done it without the motivation from Ned though. Then, on the walk in my feet touched the ground and I said "finally that's it, no more pain". I spoke too soon. I tripped on a stone and tore open the side of my foot and my knee, Lisa's car was all blood.I am still limping in my shoes today. No fins in the pool for a while!

I never felt so glad to be finished a swim before. I was hell bent on getting in teh boat halfway through. I will try and remeber everything that motivated me and use them in future swims.