So, what am I doing? This September (2025), i will attempt to swim the 70km (43.5 miles) length of Lake Geneva starting at Chillon Castle and finishing at Bains des Pâquis. A swim that, being optimistic, will take somewhere north of 23 hours and is double the width of the English Channel.

I'm sure you're thinking - what on earth posses someone to try and swim the one of the largest lakes in Europe? Well, apart from Lake Geneva being one of the most beautiful places in the world, I'm not really sure.

A lot of you will have seen that I was due to swim the English Channel in September 2024 (a year out from a, then potential, Lake Geneva swim). But, due to a typically British summer, this was thwarted before I even got my toes wet and will now be happening in June. My plan was to use this as a temperature check to see if Geneva would be anywhere near realistic to attempt 12 months later.

Of course with this not being the case, i had the tough decision of whether or not to commit to Lake Geneva. Long story short after a bit of soul-searching, and a lot of Guinness at L’arbalete (a pub in Geneva frequented by the shipping community), I decided to give it a go and sign up.

If my attempt is successful, I will be the first person under 30 and within the first 20 people ever to complete this swim solo (both subject to who and how many other people are successful in 2025).

To give me some added motivation, i will be using the swim as a drive to raise money for Mercy Ships - a wonderful charity who are well known in the Swiss shipping and commodity circles.

Globally, there are five billion people who have no access to safe, affordable surgery when they need it. Mercy Ships is working hard to plug this gap. Since 1978, Mercy Ships has visited more than 70 countries, providing services worth more than £1 billion that have directly helped more than 2.5 million people. Mercy Ships has also trained more than 38,000 local health professionals in order to leave a legacy that lasts.

www.mercyships.org.uk

I invite you all to support me on this journey by donating whatever you can towards Mercy Ships' incredible work.

Massive thanks to Steve Fletcher and AXSMarine for all the support and backing, and to my ever-supportive fiancée Olivia for putting up with endless swim chat!