I took on the Fastnet swim in 2019 as a personal challenge to myself. I think most of my friends thought I was mad. I was inspired by Stephen Redmond having read about his love for the place.
I boarded Radiance in the early hours of the morning and headed out to the Fastnet to begin my swim in the dark. No pressure! That was a lonely couple of hours before the sun came up!
After many hours and a magical dolphin encounter, I began to fade and eventually came up short and was pulled out. I was gutted but realised that I really hadn’t prepared nearly enough for this challenge. Tail between legs I headed home determined to come back and try again.
The following two years, with great advice and support from the swimming community in and around Lough Neagh where I swim, I worked my backside off to return in 2022.
Blessed with sunshine on my back and Nathan cracking the whip, I jumped back in to try again. I put my head down and went for it. The dolphins came back to help me along with another magical close encounter, which gave me such a lift. The last couple of kilometres were tough as I’d emptied the tank, but Nathan and my two great support ladies, both Sarah’s, yelled me home! I staggered up the slipway a very happy man after 7hrs 45 min of swimming.
It really is the most fantastic swim in such an awesome setting. I felt privileged to swim at the Fastnet and feel so lucky to have completed it. Support is everything and Nathan, Noel, Kieran & Jerry really made me feel so welcome and encouraged all the way. They are just the best and I’m extremely grateful to them.
