Wild swimmers face toughest conditions yet at Big Sea Swim

68 competitors combat incredibly strong currents in aid of the Marine Conservation Society.

Our third wild swim was a great success, despite the toughest conditions swimmers have yet had to face.

The event took place in Eastbourne, which boasts water quality that has been assessed as excellent by the Marine Conservation Society. A lifeguard from the Eastbourne Voluntary Lifeguards said the swimmers experienced the strongest current he’s seen in six years of volunteering there. Despite swimming against the current for half of the distance, almost all of the 68 swimmers completed the 1km and 3km distances.

Big Sea Swimmer and fundraiser, Charlotte Coombes, pushed harder than ever to reach the half way mark against the current: “I had to push harder than ever to get around the first half of the course against the current. There were times when I was convinced I wouldn’t reach the buoy at the turning point. On the flip side, it may well have been my fastest ever 500m going with the current back to the finish! After such a struggle, it was a fantastic feeling to get back on dry land and hear my number called out at the finish line.”

Big thanks go to Sea Champion Simon McPherson who has supported the Big Sea Swim from the start. He distributed leaflets and put up posters in his local area, and on the day, helped with the MCS stand, talking to people about MCS and the value of the marine environment, and supported all our great swimmers!

Tori Williams, MCS Community and Events Fundraiser, who organised the event for MCS says the day was a great success, even though there was a strong current: “All of the swimmers who took part said that they had a great time and enjoyed the challenge. I really admire their determination, as they faced the Big Sea Swim’s toughest conditions yet. On behalf of MCS I’d like to thank the swimmers, SwimTrek, the Eastbourne Voluntary Lifeguards, Turtle Mat and the Seafront Office for their support. The event has allowed us to raise awareness of the problems facing our seas and has also raised almost £2,000 so far to help MCS continue our conservation work.”

To see the full results from the day, please visit www.mcsuk.org/swim

We're looking forward to next year’s event - if you'd like to help out, or even take part in events like this, get in touch with your Volunteer Coordinator.

Combating the strongest currents yet at the Big Se Swim in Eastbourne at the weekend.