Mermaids swim called off again

A CHARITY swim organised by a group of women from Henley was unable to take place at the weekend.

The Henley Mermaids were hoping to have a second attempt at swimming the Bristol Channel in relay and were due to set off from Ilfracombe in North Devon at 1.30am on Sunday.

However, storms over the three days beforehand made conditions unsafe and their boat pilot said the swim could not go ahead.

The Mermaids had their first go at the 45km crossing from Swansea in South Wales in July. They came within 4.5km of the finish but had to stop due to the strong tides.

Laura Reineke, Jo Robb, Joan Fennelly, Fiona Print and Susan Barry had been swimming for 14 hours in relay when they were halted.

The swim should take between 15 to 24 hours to complete, with the women swimming for an hour at a time and resting on a rigid inflatable boat in between.

The Mermaids, who are all members of Henley Open Water Swimming Club, said they would try again at the earliest opportunity.

They were given Sunday as a possible date and had organised travel and accommodation for the trip but were told on Friday evening that it would not take place.

Ms Reineke, of Damer Gardens, Henley, said: “It is really frustrating. It was a bit stormy but the pilot was hoping it would blow through. The wind changed so it would have taken too long for it to be safe.

“We have one last chance to do it this year in the next couple of weeks and then we will have to give up until next year.

“We really wanted to get it done — we have been ready for months. If it goes into next year, Joan and I will be doing the Bristol Channel and the North Channel in the same year.”

Last summer, the Mermaids raised £34,000 for Henley Music School, which was founded by Ms Reineke in 2010, by swimming the Channel.

This time, they have already raised more than £16,000 for Sunrise for Brain Conditions, a charitable partnership that supports research into Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis. A separate fundraising page for Irish causes, which also support brain conditions, raised 6,000 euros.

The women would have had to make a change if the swim had gone ahead on Sunday. Mrs Robb, a Green Party member of South Oxfordshire District Council, was unavailable. She may also be unable to make the third swim.

Cath Pendleton, an NHS worker known as the Merthyr Mermaid, was due to take her place.

To donate, visit henley
mermaids.com/bristol-channel