A 44-mile swim, the distance from the UK to France and back, was undertaken by Sue Saich, a Rye Harbour Sailing Club (RHSC) member, and a friend Chris Tonner at Basildon Olympic Pool over 15 weeks.
Sue had originally decided to take on a sponsored swim to France, that is 1,416 lengths of a 25-metre pool and both she and Chris would donate £25 each to a charity of their choice. At Sue’s suggestion, once they had swum to France, they both agreed that they would have a go at swimming back to the UK and try to double the money they could raise. They became known as the cross-Channel swimmers in lane four.
Sue explained that she was raising funds for RHSC Sailability, a charity helping people with disabilities to get out on the water at Rye Harbour and enjoy the fun and freedom of sailing, which encouraged more people to show their support. Another swimmer donated £10, Sue’s friends donated £25, five more friends went to a quiz night and donated the top prize of £17 and finally Sue’s two daughters, Rowan and Ashley donated £5 each so what started out as a £50 donation ended as a donation of £162 which Sue has given to RHSC Sailability.
Thank you Sue and Chris, your fellow swimmers, friends and family for this generous donation and what an innovative way to go about raising funds for the charity. Well done!
Photo: courtesy Sue Saich