The Sea-ñoritas' Farne Island Swimming Challenge

On 25 August we'll be taking on one of the biggest challenges we've ever faced.

We – Claire Watson Armstrong, Jill Henderson and Karen Gallichan – are attempting to swim the Inner Sound between Inner Farne and the Northumberland mainland without wetsuits, raising money for North Northumberland Hospice Care.

The crossing is around 2km, but it's not the distance that makes it so challenging. We'll spend more than an hour in water of around 14°C, navigating powerful tidal currents, lion's mane jellyfish and the physical effects of prolonged cold-water swimming. The crossing has been carefully planned with the expert advice of William Shiel from Billy Shiel's Boat Trips, and a support boat will stay with us throughout. This is not a swim to be underestimated, which is why we've spent months training in the North Sea all year round with safety support from KA Adventure Sports at Beadnell Bay and our swim buddy Gill Anderson.

We're also making the swim discreetly topless as a tribute to everyone affected by breast cancer, and especially in memory of Claire's wonderful mum, Linda Thorburn, who died from breast cancer last year.

During Linda's illness, North Northumberland Hospice Care supported not only her, but our whole family, with extraordinary kindness, compassion and dignity. Until you've experienced hospice care yourself, it's hard to appreciate just how vital these services are. They rely heavily on donations and fundraising to continue supporting local families through the most difficult times of their lives.

This challenge is our way of saying thank you.

Good health is never something to take for granted. It's a privilege to be strong enough and well enough to take on a challenge like this, and we know Linda would have loved seeing the three of us doing this swim together.

We've nicknamed ourselves the Sea-ñoritas, and while we're excited, we'd be lying if we said we weren't a little nervous too! Every training swim reminds us just how tough this challenge will be, but every donation reminds us why we're doing it.

If you're able to support us, no matter how big or small the donation, you'll be helping North Northumberland Hospice Care continue providing outstanding care for local families when they need it most.

Thank you so much for your support.

Claire, Jill & Karen – The Sea-ñoritas 💙