Local open water swimmer Silla Parnell likes a challenge. Not content with open water swimming year round in the Isle of Man, she took on the 10km Great North Swim in Lake Windermere. Silla described this as “a marathon in swimming terms and an enormous challenge for me.” Lots of hard training helped her to prepare for the mental challenge of swimming such a distance.
The organisers made wearing a wetsuit a compulsory part of the swim, and that proved to be Silla’s biggest problem. “The water was ridiculously warm at 20 degrees, and in a wetsuit it was pretty hideous, never thought I would wish for cold Manx seas!” During the swim the heat started to get to Silla, “I had a wobble at 4 miles as I was getting really hot, but I had a big drink at the feed station, gave myself a talking to and got on with it. Hooray!” Silla has so far raised over £900 for the newly formed Isle of Man Underwater Search and Recovery Team. The money will be used to support additional training within the group to extend their ability to provide assistance. |
PokerStars have made a significant donation to the Isle of Man Underwater Search and Recovery Team that has enabled the charity to purchase four full face masks with underwater communications capability. This kit will make a huge difference to the volunteers when they are engaged in search tasks underwater, allowing them to talk to each other and the surface support. In poor visibility conditions, this will enable easier co-ordination of the search divers, and is a key step to keeping the volunteers safe during their dive.
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We'd like to thank the wonderfully generous guys at Miflex, including Pete Wilson, for their great support for us. Miflex help provide the hoses to connect our dive gear together and have provided some wonderful raffle prizes to help our fundraising efforts.
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