RNLI Around the Mount Open Water Swim a resounding success!

With the sun shining over Mount’s Bay, calm sea conditions, friends & family cheering from the shore, 72 brave open water swimmers, with an age range of 14-65 years, entered the water at Marazion beach and swam off around St Michael’s Mount. They were watched over by the Ivan Ellen, Mollie & Ivor Dent and Paul Alexander lifeboats, RNLI Lifeguards, Penzance Sailing Club safety rib, and members of the Penzance Canoe Club.

Competitors travelled to Marazion from all over the country to take part – Surrey, London, Essex, Dorset and South Wales. Each one had a different reason for embarking on this one-and-a-half mile route around the iconic St. Michael’s Mount. The youngest competitor was 14 year old, Lucy Rendle, daughter of the full time mechanic at RNLI Penlee Lifeboat Station, Tony Rendle. This was Lucy’s first open water swim and she completed the course in 54.51 minutes with her swim buddy, Fiona Hewett, from Mousehole. Volunteer crewmember at RNLI Penlee, Heath Robinson, also took part and raised an amazing £400 towards the Penlee Lifeboat Station Appeal.

First past the finish post was 24 year old local RNLI Lifeguard, Jack Hoare from Newlyn, who completed the swim in an astounding 39.53 minutes, coming very close to the record set at last years event of 38.23 minutes. After crossing the finish line, Jack was presented with his winners medal by Penlee Branch Chairman, Janet Madron, and said, ’It was a perfect morning for a swim around St. Michael’s Mount. I managed to get out front and had some clean water, which gave me a very good advantage. The whole event was brilliant and well run. As a Newlyn boy I have close ties with the lifeboat, I know all the crew and hope to join them in the near future.’

Second place went to Francesca Hayward, also 24 years old, from St Buryan who completed the swim in 40.40 minutes. Francesca, who recently returned to Cornwall and runs a triathlon company called ‘Trifreaks’, said ‘It was a very well organised event and I would definitely take part again. The atmosphere was really good and I enjoyed every minute of the swim’.

Cornwall Wildlife Trust entered a team of ten and raised a total of £600. Mother and daughter swim team, Vicky Muir 39 years, and Christine Brookes 59 years, travelled from Manchester, a round trip of 700 miles, especially to take part in the swim. Vicky said, ‘We did the ‘Escape from Alcatraz” in San Francisco last year and wanted to do another open water swim in 2016. Swimming around St Michael’s Mount was much harder than the Alcatraz swim! We will both be back next year!

Around the Mount results and timings are available at; 
https://app.lap.io/event/2016-around-the-mount-open-water-swim/results

Photographs of the event are available on the Penlee Lifeboat website – www.rnli-penleelifeboat.org.uk or on the Penlee Lifeboat Facebook page.

RNLI media contacts

For more information please telephone Elaine Trethowan, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 0770 466 9406 or [email protected] or Emma Haines, Public Relations Manager for the South on 0778 666 8847 or [email protected] or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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