Grainne Moss

We were up at 2.30am and out of the B&B about 20 minutes later to see a spectacular clear starry sky. We drove on dark country roads the last 13km to the pier in Baltimore arriving a little before 3.30am. We could see a the “Radiance” with its lights on and we headed towards that. Off we sailed toward the Fastnet Lighthouse. I lay down on the boat and tried to conserve my energy. An hour and half later I got the shout to start getting ready. I jumped off the boat and plunged into the darkness. I swam towards the commanding rock on which the lighthouse stands. The “whistle blew” and I was off. Its hard to put into words the wonder I felt out there in the dark, miles away from land, swimming from the most historic and iconic lighthouse in Ireland. A couple of hours into the swim a golden sun had risen and I asked, “who turned the heating on – this is great”. I deliberately didn’t try and guess how far I had come. I find it avoids disappointment – knowing how much longer it will take won’t get you any closer to the finish. I continued to swim hard and began to realise that I was getting close to the finish, passing the boats moored in the harbour. I could see the slip way that I had to walk up to finish the swim. As I came to the slip way and came out of the water there was Noel Browne, who gave me a great big hug and said, “Congratulations you have set a new women’s record!” At this point my face crumpled and contorted as I became overcome with emotion and was overwhelmed thinking about both the swims I had completed over the last two weeks and how I travelled across the globe back home to complete them. For more information: Fasnet- The History and Heritage Swim – IrishKiwiSwims (grainnemoss.com)