Fay to swim 12 hours for Weymouth Surf Life Saving Club

A local Dorset swimmer is swimming 12 hours in Weymouth Bay to raise funds for the Weymouth Surf Life Saving Club.

Fay Edgar, from Maiden Newton, will be swimming for 12 hours today (11th July) to help raise money for the WSLSC £3,000 fundraiser.

She’ll start swimming at 5:30 am, from Bowleaze Cove to the pavilion, which she will repeat for 12 hours.

The first eight laps of Weymouth Bay are the equivalent of swimming the English Channel.

Fay said the Weymouth Surf Life Saving Club need funds to buy new boards and equipment, as the club has doubled in membership of children since it began three years ago. She also added:

“It now has a waiting list of people wishing to sign up. I am passionate about teaching children how to stay safe in the sea. Every child should be able to swim and know what to do if they get into trouble on the beach.

“We need the resources to train more children, to save more lives, to make our coast a safer place to be, and that’s why I’m doing this mad swim. Our club is only in its third year and we need to train more coaches and we need more equipment, especially as it’s likely we won’t be able to share rescue boards in the immediate future due to the COVID-19 situation.

“Originally the swim challenge was planned to coincide with a big club event, with the children swimming, paddling rescue boards and doing beach games to generate more support for this amazing club. However, this is now impossible under the current Covid-19 situation.”

Furthermore Fay is qualified to take on the challenge as a surf life-saving GB lifeguard and open water swimming coach, COVID-19 restrictions have meant she’s had to cram six month’s worth of training into six weeks.

Fay will be supported by a safety and support team, including expert kayakers. Her daughter Beth will walk alongside Fay to provide shore side support.

If you’d like to support Fay on her swim and donate to the Weymouth Surf Life Saving Club: http://www.swimming4charity.co.uk/