Дамы из клуба "Serpentine Swimming Club" переплыли озеро Лох-Несс!
В 4:30 a.m. 5 августа 2010 года катер "Atlantis" c капитаном Том Кеnt и его женой Маrgaret и лодка 'Pioneer' с его экипажем: веселые Jimmy и Ricky, отправился из Fort Augustus с 6-ю пловчихами "Serpentine" на борту, готовыми проплыть 23 морские мили в холодных водах озера Лох-Несс.
Температура воды была 9ºC - 12ºC.
Они это сделали! Anne MacAlpine-Leny - Team Captain, Jenny Rice, Kristy McIntyre, Sophie Rutenbar, Clare Doyle, Martha Fray. Команда проплыла за 13 часов и 23 минут на 5 часов быстрее, чем расчитывали.
Цель: Привлечь внимание общественности к проблемам матерей в Афганистане и собрать пожертвования в размере £ 50000
(Информация нам любезно предоставлена Clare Doyle)
'Serpentine Six' take on Loch Ness!
Not content with swimming the English Channel in a near record (long!) time in 2008, the 'Serpentine Ladies' are out to swim a similar distance in the cold, monster-infested waters of Loch Ness! All to help raise £50,000 to build vitally needed health care facilities for women in Afghanistan.
Details of the heroic work of this small but energetic charity - Afghan Mother and Child Rescue can be found on www.amcr.org.uk Details of the swim, the swimmers and their helpers can be found on the special website: http://www.swimlochness.co.uk/ If you would like to make a donation go to http://www.justgiving.com/lochnessrelayswim
Interviews, photo sessions, film clips, can be arranged through team member Fiona Gately on 07968962 or Martin Douglas (RNLI) at Loch Ness on 07788 414 254. There will also be live tracking and progress reports on both 'Face-book' and 'Twitter'.................................BE THERE! KEEP IN TOUCH!
The Swim
Next week, on or near 4 August, a six-woman relay team – all members of the Serpentine Swimming Club in London - will set out to swim one hour each in strict relay, from Fort Augustus to Loch End. They are hoping to take a little less than the near 24 hours it took them to cross the Channel in September 2008.
The distance is nearly 23 miles. The temperature will be between 5 and 10 degrees centigrade and weather conditions on the Loch can suddenly make a swim unviable. As Scotland’s own Robbie Burns put it: "The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft aglay”.
Last year, because of a storm that blew up out of nowhere, the best laid plans of the Serpentine women did go "aglay” – out of kilter! (And we were not intending to wear kilts!) The project had to be abandoned.
Everyone – accompanying crew and support team as well as swimmers – is gearing up for a second try and better luck with the weather. If Nessie makes an appearance and helps us along, all the better”! Anything can happen!
Team captain Anne Macalpine-Leny made a trip up to Inverness in July to meet with all concerned to make sure that all health and safety measures would be in place. Crucial for the success of the venture are local boat pilot Tom Kent and his wife, the Loch Ness RNLI Lifeboat Services, and the local Red Cross, who have supplied the team with hand held radios for shore contact.
The Swimmers
As last time, the intrepid team is made up of three American women, two English and one Australian. First into the water will be the energetic Devon-born graphic designer, Jenny Rice (24). Earlier this year she successfully completed a three-person team crossing of the English Channel and sees Loch Ness as another 'amazing' challenge.
Jenny will be followed by Australian-born 29 year-old accountant, Kristy McIntyre. Like Jenny, Kristy, from Newcastle NSW, was not in the Serpentine Ladies team crossing the Channel in 2008, but both are keen to make further efforts to support the Charity – Afghan Mother and Child Rescue.
Two of the swimming team are themselves mothers. Anne Macalpine-Leny from the USA (Charlottesville, Virginia), is captain and tireless organiser of the team's enterprises. In her 50s she has two boys finishing their education. Martha Fray - also in her 50s and also from the USA (Seattle, Washington) - has two studious daughters who are infinitely proud of their mother being the team member to set foot on the beach in France at the end of the swim in 2008.
Fellow American, Sophie Rutenbar 27, from Dallas, Texas, was the first swimmer in that relay and will be the last of the six in this one. Last Summer (2009), Sophie completed a solo Channel swim in the admirable time of 14 hours 33 minutes.
The oldest of the team, also as last time, is Englishwoman, Clare Doyle, from Hackney in London, now 66 but not lacking in those vital qualities for wild water swimming – adventurousness and determination to overcome all obstacles!
One of the key workers for AMCR, Roddy Jones, will be very much part of ‘the Loch Ness experience’. He is directly involved in ensuring that all money raised for the charity goes directly to the building and equipping of maternity clinics in the Panjshir Valley.
Another enthusiastic participant in the Loch Ness project is fellow Serpentine swimmer Italian-born Piera Constantini Scala. She will be there as the official 'team photographer' along with yet another Serpentine swimmer, Fiona Gately, who is handling press and publicity.
The target
Every one of the team is now gearing up for the challenge – assembling warm clothes, appropriate food for the swim itself, anti-midge preparations and, most important of all, pledges of donations to the charity. After the swim and Loch-side celebrations, everyone will be bending to the task of raising the full target of £50,000 for the AMCR.
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