Swindon Sub Aqua Club take chilly annual dip for RNLI
ENGLAND – Scuba divers in Wiltshire braved the chilly winter depths of the River Thames last Sunday and raised more than £1,000 for charity.
Every year, members of Swindive, the Swindon branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club, take a two-mile swim from Inglesham to St John’s Lock in Lechlade to raise money for the RNLI.
As they have done for about 40 years, participants met at 10am behind The Trout Inn in Lechlade before they were ferried to the start of the route behind the St John the Baptist Church in Inglesham.
Accompanied by a safety boat, 14 divers took to the water and were swept downstream.
Gill Marsh, the public relations officer for Swindive, said: “It went very well. The event has been running for a very long time and takes place on a Sunday in early January each year.
“Family, friends and the general public are invited to walk the route as spectators. The number of participants and the amount of money raised has varied widely over the years. We had about 14 swimmers, which was slightly less than we had hoped for. A lot of the members who might have taken part unfortunately had prior commitments on the same day.
“We probably raised around £1,000 in total and around £500 will go towards the RNLI. It’s a charity very close to our hearts because you never know when we’re going to need their help. We go out to dive in the sea and sometimes there are problems, and we rely on the RNLI to help. As a charity they desperately rely on donations, so that’s why the money we raise from this goes there.”
The time taken to ‘swim’ the course varies enormously between years depending on how fast the river is flowing. In a fast year it could be as little as 20 minutes or less, while in a slow year it may take up to an hour and a half.
Gill said: “It was a beautiful day, the sun was out and the water was running quite fast so we finished it quite quickly. I think the water was warmer than the air. Overall it was a very good morning.”
To find out more about Swindive go to www.swindive.co.uk.
Source: www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk
