Attempt to swim Lough Erne

Not only do they hope to finish but they also hope to break the record set by an English team in 2007 in a time of 21hrs 59mins.

Each swimmer will swim for 1 hour at a time and then have 5 hours respite until they have to enter the icy cold water again.

This will continue until they reach Belleek hopefully as record breakers!!

One of the swimmers lucky enough to be on the team is Ballymoney man Jeff Wilson. Jeff is a member of the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association and considers it a privilege to be part of such an illustrious group of athletes.

“I was involved in the 2008 relay of Lough Erne where we were only 30 mins outside the record and to be involved again is a real is a real honour for me.” Jeff said. “I have been training long and hard for this swim and relish the challenge that awaits me. With the calibre of swimmer we have in our team I see no reason why we can’t break the record this time as all of my fellow swimmers have a wealth of experience to call on when the going gets tough especially during the night swims. Swimming in darkness is quite an experience” Jeff continued. It’s kind of eerie but also peaceful when the only thing you hear is the distant purr of the safety boat and the sound of your hands as they cut through the water.”

The team assembled this year is considered to be very strong with an excellent chance of breaking the record.

Below we list their 5 most notable swimming achievements to

date:

Jeff Wilson from Ballymoney

•Runner up in the Irish 17k championships, (Lough Erne

2005)

•English Channel relay 21mile 1998

•Winner of the Lough Swilly 4.5k swim (Co Donegal

2005/2006)

•Lough Erne Relay 50 miles 2008

•Cleggan to Inishbofin 12k Atlantic Challenge (Co Galway

2006)

The swim is being organised by the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association in conjunction with Fermanagh District Council.

Emerald Star, Irelands no1 boat rental and cruising company have also kindly given the swimmers free use of one of their state of the art cruisers for the duration of the swim and all 6 swimmers would like to personally thank Emerald Star for their generous offer. If anyone wishes to contact Emerald Star with a view to hiring one of their magnificent cruisers then please visit their website www.emeraldstar.ie or give them a call on 00353719627933.