Porthcawl Polar Bears Swim the English Channel and Raise Money for RNLI and NCI
Four local swimmers proved their fitness by swimming the English Channel this July in a relay format raising money for Porthcawl RNLI and Porthcawl NCI. The team are known as Porthcawl Polar Bears and regularly train in the open water at Porthcawl
The four are, Sian Jakeman, Peter Foster, Rosalind Edmonds and Tom Chapman, they completed the legendary swim on 12 July this year in 13 hours 22 minutes and were escorted and supported by pilot boat Sea Leopard.
Prior to the swim they decided to raise money for Porthcawl Lifeboat and Porthcawl’s National Coastwatch Institution. To date the fund raising has totalled over £1250 to each charity. Their fund raising page is still open at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Porthcawl-Polar-Bears
Some members of Porthcawl lifeboats fundraising team and members of the NCI unit met outside the lifeboat station to thank the Porthcawl Polar Bears for their donation. David Shillaw, Chairman of Fundraising at Porthcawl RNLI Lifeboat said, ‘It is an incredible achievement and we congratulate and thank each swimmer for considering our charity particularly during a time when our donations are down’.
Photographs of their swim can be seen by going to the link below -https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/swim/5154/porthcawl-polar-bears
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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