West Mersea's annual Boxing Day Swim. Last year, my son went in. This year, his elder sister joined him. The snow has gone from all but the darkest corners now, and the sun was shining, but there was a chill wind blowing.
Hundreds turned out to watch the the brave souls who were prepared to turn blue and goosebumpy to raise money for an organisation of central importance to the island - the RNLI. Crewed by highly trained volunteers, Mersea's lifeboat is busy all year round, providing offshore assistance to those in trouble on the water, from windsurfers and jet-skiers to sailing and motor vessels of every kind, as well as helping the other emergency services at high water when the Strood is impassable. Our own boat was joined today by the Clacton lifeboat and crew. Last year's swim raised over £5,000 in sponsorship, donations and takings from the sale of hot drinks and mince pies on the beach.
5 comments:
Well done your two - they are beyond noble. I hope the hats kept at least some of them warm!
I was there! You've managed to get a great photo of my daughter's friend diving in - so I'm going to surprise her with it when she pops round next.
What a brave lot they are and what a great cause to raise money for.
I'm shivering just looking at the pictures! I hope your two have thawed out!
Welcome back to the blogosphere - it's lovely to see you here again!
I stumbled upon your fascinating Blog and congratulate you on your excellent photographs and on the varied content. I particularly enjoyed the seascape, estuary and boat photos – understandable, as I’m a boat fanatic. You confess to not knowing much about boats; however, if you are ever around when the West Mersea duck punts are sailing, please, please get your camera clicking and upload the photos here for the enjoyment of all boat maniacs like me!
Here’s a link to a page on my Blog featuring West Mersea duck punts:
http://bills-log.blogspot.com/2009/12/duck-punts.html
Best wishes,
Bill.
Lovely pix, & you must be proud of your children's participation. 3 cheers for fundraisers for the RNLI, anyway: it looked like they had fun, despite the chill.
Have enjoyed my visit. Best wishes for 2010, Minnie.
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