Clean water campaigner to swim 32km off coast of America for river charity

A WOMAN from Binfield Heath is to embark on a 32km swim off the coast of America in aid of a new river charity she founded.

Laura Reineke, 52, will set off from Santa Catalina Island, one of California’s Channel Islands and finish on the coast of Los Angeles.

Ms Reineke, who is a member of the Henley Mermaids, a group of open water swimmers and clean river campaigners, will be taking on the challenge in September.

She will be raising money for Friends of the Thames, a not-for-profit charitable group she launched officially earlier this month and is seed-funded by River Action UK.

The aim of the group is to unite communities along the River Thames into a single network, bringing together residents, citizen scientists, sports clubs, swimmers, campaigners and more. If Ms Reineke completes the swim, she will become the 32nd British woman to do so and seventh British woman aged over 50 to have completed the “Triple Crown” of open water swimming.

This recognises the completion of three historically important swims and Ms Reineke has already swum the English Channel (33km) and the 20 Bridges Swim which comprises the circumnavigation of Manhattan Island (50km).

Ms Reineke will be joined in the challenge by a support crew which will comprise her partner Howard Zabell and friend Lee Saudan, who will complete the same swim the week after, and Mrs Saudan’s husband Richard.

She said: “I am always anxious about the swims and this time I think there are going to be some sharks and I’ll be swimming in the dark in water I don’t know, in a different country. But getting in is the worst bit.”

Ms Reineke said she hoped that the thought of the charity would spur her on during the swim. She said: “If you're doing it in aid of something and you have put all that training in, you’re not going to want to waste that. I’m not going to be getting out unless my life is in danger.”

The swim could take up to 20 hours to complete and the average water temperature of the channel in September is between 17°C and 21°C.

Ms Reineke is training for the challenge with the help of endurance sport coach Sophie Whitworth, who is based at Athlete Service in Greys Road car park in Henley.

She said: “Even with 29 weeks to go, I’m up to 16km. The week after next, I’ve got 30 km planned for the week, so training is ramping up, which needs to happen because it could be a very long swim and there are some tough tides.”

Ms Reineke is currently swimming six times a week at Gillotts leisure centre as well as occasionally swimming in the river.

She said that her ambition was to become the first British female to complete Oceans Seven, a marathon swimming challenge comprising seven open water channel swims.

The challenge features, in addition to the English and Catalina Channels, the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.

To receive the title, Ms Reineke said she would have to complete the swims in fairly quick succession and would need sponsorship. Despite her past achievements she said that she still didn’t see herself as a “proper swimmer” as she only learned to do front crawl seven years ago.

Since its launch, Friends of The Thames has attracted about 500 members. Among its supporters are Earthwatch Europe, British Rowing, Thames Rivers Trust and the River & Rowing Museum in Henley.

The funds raised by the swim will support the charity’s upcoming projects, including centralising all water testing and monitoring data and establishing a “River Guardian” scheme for the Thames. As part of this initiative, designated sections of the river will be monitored and mapped on an interactive platform.

To donate, visit www.gofundme
.com/f/restore-our-rivers-lakes-seas