Download Phia’s SWIM REPORT

Download SWIM REPORT by Robert Hamilton, Vigour Events

UPDATE:  Phia has made it and it comes with no surprise.  Well done Phia, you are amazing!

UPDATE:  Due to flooding Phia’s swim has been delayed, just waiting for the right moment.  UPDATES TO FOLLOW

The Alexa Trust would like to wish fellow South African and marathon swimmer all the best with her upcoming swim.

Earlier this year, back in April, Phia was part of the English Channel Relay Team, ‘A New Dawn Is Rising’ who raised £2,300 for the trust.

Phia will be the second person in history to swim Loch Awe.

Written by Phia:

“But first I must attempt my 2017 big swims, of which I hope there will be two. And first up is Loch Awe. At 41km it is the longest loch/lake in the United Kingdom, and so far there have been two recorded successful attempts – first by a five-person relay in July 2015 as part of the Three Lakes Challenge (11h48m) that featured in H2Open (now Outdoor Swimmer) at the time, and then a solo by Adrian Rotchell on 30 July 2016 (14h5m). Next week I am having a go at swimming the length of Awe – currently we are planning for Tuesday but this may well change as the weather forecast for next week becomes available. The plan is to do an over-night swim, starting around 17:00ish from Torran Bay and hopefully ending the next morning at Kilchurn Castle. The swim is being organised by Vigour Events, and there will be a tracker which will allow you to follow the swim should you be interested. Robert will no doubt be posting regular updates on his personal Facebook page as well if mobile phone coverage allows for this – for a loch that is so close to Oban and which has a key highlands road skirting its northern edge, Loch Awe and the surrounding areas are very remote and the lack of mobile coverage reflects that fact. Once we know what day I am likely to swim, I will post the information.

I leave you with some interesting facts about Loch Awe: total length = 41km; total swimmable length = 38km (thankfully!); water temperature = hopefully above 12ºC (it was 9.5 ºC on 12 May which increased to 11.2ºC by 20 May); mean depth = 30m; monsters = some reported which I am treating as beyond preposterous; human eating monster fish = none – not even the monster pike that Awe is famous for likes to nibble on human toes.

And lastly….

Should you be inspired by my Loch Awe swim, I would be grateful if you would consider donating to The Alexa Trust (UK Registered Charity Number 1168705) that raises money to support parents with babies in neonatal care. Simply forgoing a daily takeaway tea and coffee, that afternoon chocolate treat, or the evening drink, and donating the money to the Trust instead would already make a difference. More information on the Trust, the people involved and ways to donate can be found at:  www.thealexatrust.org”

Pre-Swim Selfie with Stewart and Robert

Idyllic Photo from Swim

Me Mummified to Heat Up after Swim