Heather's ready for 13 mile charity swim

Heather Clatworthy, who now lives in Warwick in England, will take on the 13 mile challenge - the equivalent of at least 900 lengths of Coleraine’s 25 metre pool- to raise funds for the RNLI and the Portstewart Outdoor Recreation Fund. She has already raised over £1,500.

The brave mother of two has been given a four day window from July 27 to allow for weather conditions.

She says: “Since I was a little girl growing up in Portstewart, sitting on the strand beach, twiddling the sand between my toes, I have looked across the sea to Donegal and wanted to swim to the other side.

“The idea became a possibility when I read about a girl who had swam it in 1929 called Mercedez Gleitze.

“Now at the age of 33, I have decided that it’s now or never, and I plan to attempt the swim.”

The swim will officially be observed and recorded by the Irish Long Distance Association (ILDSA) and I have a team there for me along the way.

Heather has been in training for over a year now for the 13 mile swim, which could in fact be more that 13 miles due to waves and sea currents.

In the past year, she has posting a blog about her training.

In her last blog, Heather admitted: “I have officially been training for this for over a year now, and thought I would give you a brief update, as everyone who knows me, knows I’m not a long distance/amazing swimmer, I just swimming, and Lord have I had to learn a lot this year!

“Lets just hope its enough, I can bear the cold, the jellyfish stay away, the waves dont get too rough, and my shoulders take the strain!”

Best of luck Heather!