UPDATE:  Well we did it!!
We set off from St Helen's Fort 19.13 on Saturday evening and finished at 19.20 on Sunday.  We all swam for an hour 6 times each in strict rotation and to an exact timetable.  We swam at night and during the day, at sunset and sunrise, with and against the tide, when we felt like swimming and when we hated the idea of getting back in the water. It was an amazing adventure completed with the help of a wonderful support crew. Thank you for your generous donations, love Ann

I am swimming in a relay around the Isle of Wight and raising money for O2e to help improve the lives of terminally ill children.

I am part of a swim relay team, Ladies Wot Swim, which is attempting to swim round the Isle of Wight this summer, and I am hoping to raise funds for Ordinary to Extraordinary (O2E), a small charity which aims to:

“Make A Difference to the lives of needy, serious and terminally ill children by supporting and encouraging sport and adventure, with all the benefits they bring.

We achieve this by encouraging and supporting the ‘ Ordinary ‘ person to get outside of their comfort zone and take on, what would be for them, something  ‘ Extraordinary ‘”. (http://www.o2e.org/)

Our relay team is made up of four swimmers: Pauline, Kate, Heather and myself, plus our friend, Chris, who should have been swimming with us but has just undergone some emergency major surgery. She is now leading our support team.

Although a regular open water swimmer for the last 10 years or so, this is the toughest challenge I have attempted and am under no illusion of how hard it will be.  We will swim for an hour each for up to 24 hours.  It is not only the distance that will cause us problems (approximately 56 miles): swimming at night, at times against the strong tide, and keeping warm in cold water, will all add to the challenge.

I have been training for this event for nearly a year: sometimes indoors but mostly outdoors, sometimes in heated pools, but mostly in Tooting Bec unheated lido, swimming up to 15K a week.  Swimming has taken over my life: it has been tough at times, wonderful at other times - all the while understanding that actually achieving our aim will depend on the weather.

Between August and September 2014, we have two possible tidal windows. In order to prepare for this adventure we are visiting the island regularly, swimming sections and developing our knowledge of the route and tidal flows around the island. We recently completed a 2 hour night swim off Portsmouth to practise swimming in the dark.

I hope you will support me in this challenge by donating what you can.  Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you

Ann