On the 4th of September 2016 I will swim 10 kilometres – the equivalent of 400 lengths – down the River Dart, with around 1,599 other swimmers who were crazy enough to enter. Starting early in Totnes and finishing in Dittisham (pronounced "Ditsum" if you are a local or pretending to be one). 

This has been an ambition of mine for a while now, but I have never quite managed to bring myself to enter until now. I will admit I am having feelings of mild panic, mostly about completing it in time – before the tide turns! I thought I was a reasonably fast swimmer, but the criteria for entry is that you must be able to swim a "leisurely" mile (64 lengths) in a pool in under 40 minutes. I have, with some training got my time down to a "not so leisurely" 37 minutes. So I am fairly confident I will be amongst the slower swimmers. 

Anyone who knows me, knows that despite the fact that I now live almost the furthest possible distance from the coast, I still try to spend as much of my time as possible at the beach, in and around the sea. Whilst there I am frequently saddened by the amount of litter that ends up in the water and on the beaches.

In light of this and in homage to my Southern roots, I have decided to collect sponsorships for my swim and will donate all proceeds to a great – and water themed – charity who are helping to keep our oceans clean and undo the damage that we have done so far. 

More about the swim here:
www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/events?s&id=101