14
Years swimming across the Bay for Cancer Care West
Now in its 14th year, the Frances Thornton Memorial
Galway Bay Swim in aid of Cancer Care West returns to the waters of Galway Bay
this Saturday.
The swim which is sold out will see close to
130 swimmers taking part this year it is now one of Ireland's biggest and
longest one day swims. Starting from Aughinish in Co. Clare and finishing at
Blackrock Diving Tower in Salthill, the swim is a distance of roughly 13
kilometres....if you swim straight.
This year there will be 69 solo swimmers and 65
relay swimmers taking part in teams of 2, 3 and 4 swimmers. Since the swim
began 14 years ago, 740 people have swam the Bay and this year again it will be
a mixture of swimmers who have completed the swim every year and complete
novices.
Last year’s swim raised over €100,000 for Cancer
Care West and we are hoping to beat that this year. The monies raised will help
fund the expansion of our support services for cancer patients including a
counselling service for children and a dedicated gym rehabilitation space for
cancer patients.
Safety is a priority for the swim, each year the
event reaches out to the maritime community in the west to support the swim
through boat support. Ciaran Oliver of Galway Bay Boat Tours and Oranmore Maree
Coastal Rescue are helping out again this year.
Each swimmer needs a boat to follow and track their
swim, organisers are again this year asking any boat owner to get in contact
with the hope they can volunteer their services on the day. The most suitable
boat is a 5.0m Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) with a 50HP engine or equivalent and
we are again asking people to help support the swimmers in this year’s swim
across the Bay, “explained Ciaran Oliver of Galway Bay Tours.
The Frances Thornton Memorial Galway Bay Swim will
take place on Saturday July 20th. People are invited to go down to Blackrock
diving tower, Salthill to welcome the swimmers home from 12 Noon.
To volunteer or for more details check out http://www.galwaybayswim.com/
www.facebook.com/galwaybayswim
or contact Dave O’Donnell on 087-9088587
