 rather madden bonkers swimmers who are going to swim to Scotland very shortly they are the gout and open water swimmers well some of them anyhow it's a group of six actually that are going to swim the North Channel in eight of Charity it's a six-person team and they're going to swim for an hour at a time as part of a relay and they are let's see current Crawford's a slaggo native but she's been here now to Kenny so long I think we'll just call her one of her own and she's going to be joined by Rhea Daugherty from Baldy Buffet, Mark Lockridge from Letter Kenny and there's also Schneed Diver who is from Dunlowe, Sarah Brennan who's a GP based in the Kerry Gart and then a Garvin McCann from a dairy so a good geographical sweep. Mark and Karen have joined me now in the studio for a wee chat about this good afternoon to you both afternoon all set and ready to go but the thing is you don't know when you're going is that right that's right they give us a window of a week and then we're sort of sitting waiting I'll give us 48 hours notice about when we need to get up the road to Dunlowe. When you say they this is the sort of the governing body that determine the rules and make sure that you do it right is that it or is it? We're going with an organization called Infinity Channel Swimming and they have all the knowledge all the expertise all the safety all the experience they're doing this as a regular occurrence so they know they have the boats and everything so okay so the the window opens Saturday midnight and then you have until July the 2nd all right so you've got a and you just just wait for the optimum time the optimum conditions but Karen why are the well I imagine the conditions are so important because you don't want to be out there and something windy but tides play a part to do they? Tides play a big part in this so we will be going at high water so at high tide from Donahadie and then the outgoing tide tends to push you north and then the next tide brings you south and then hopefully you get into Scotland and we're aiming for something between 14 and 15 hours so each swimmer will swim at least twice and some swimmers will swim three times so it could be you know 3 a.m. call to swim all right you mentioned the other tides some tides pushing you north others and pushing you south so it's very important that there's somebody keeping an eye on the map and saying listen you've got a you've got a veer right or yeah yeah so all our role really is sounds very simple but our role is just to swim and we we rely on infinity channel swimming to you know get the tide right get tell us get the route right so in one way just having to swim is good because we don't have to site because the boat will do the sighting for us you follow you follow the boat yeah you swim parallel swim parallel to the boat so it's up to the whoever's in the boat to keep the boat right following the boat and we have observers on the boat Irish Long Distance Swimming Association observers so watching what we're doing so there are particular rules for swimming the channel so you know the takeovers are very important when one swimmers getting out and the next swimmers getting in you can't even touch the swimmers can't give them a high five no no none of that otherwise you're you've ruined the whole thing what's that about to be just shake their hand or give them a high five but you have to get out of the rope that be able to get out of the water is that it think that's it and it's just it's just that it's a continuous swim all the time so we're going to go with those rules I say there's an observer on the boat the pilot and the crew on the boat will also be keeping an eye on us and of course our own bodies we have sort of tasks and roles on the boat you know when we're not a lot of eyes on us which is great you know a lot of people watching you know and looking out for one another yeah it's been that's so important just the sea temperature is pretty nice at the minute that's it but you still if you're in for an hour you need people just to be keeping an eye making sure you're warm when you get out and fed all of that looking after each other but this is one of the joys of the gang over the years with garden open water swimmers we do look out for each other in fact open water swimmers just tend to do that they look out for each other wherever you are and I'm presuming everybody's you know done the training and and you know when you're fit enough you figure that you're capable of doing an hour or two hours or whatever it's going to be one of the things that you have to do to our qualifier that's just going to get to that yeah the what's involved in the qualifier so it's it's about swimming for two hours in your swimsuit and your one hat and goggles in water under 14 degrees everybody has to do everybody has to do that 14 degrees under 14 degrees yeah because the chat the North channel in particular is one where the temperature of the water can be a little bit cooler than other channels so the infinity channel swimming need to know that you're capable of doing an hour in that water and you're not a risk to yourself and the team yeah that's it the last thing you want to do is attempt to butcher it for everybody yeah yeah alright so the apprehension now and it's a waiting game it's a waiting game yeah yeah so I suppose now just to take the opportunity to say thanks to our families who sacrifice quite a lot in letting us do this and our swim buddies so yeah looking forward to getting to Scotland and celebrating then afterwards we just realized no in this is probably coming close to our 10 year anniversary since we started doing this sort of crazy stuff together and Karen was saying when we should do something big to mark 10 years like kind of thought this is not big enough don't know what plan she has for for something bigger but it's not the first you know decent swim that you've done because you've you know swum like from Rathbone over to Ench and various places and that but this this will be the longest will it this will be the longest in total yeah even though it is a relay and I suppose it for many of us it'll be the biggest challenge or the biggest adventure swim adventure we've been on yeah it's the fact that we have to get back in a second time maybe a third time and perhaps part of the challenge is also sitting around for five hours in the boat yeah waiting your turn staying warm staying ready focused and and is that the way they set the rules you have to do an hour at the tank you wouldn't work in it a half an hour wouldn't work no a minimum of an hour some some relay teams would choose to do two hours or more but we're choosing to do an hour yeah yeah just want to mention to you know lots of people are an inspiration to us but I'm a reward in particular yes probably set the scene for open water swimming in Donnie Gaul and in Ireland so she's done the north channel yeah solo so long wow put it in perspective when you remember that yeah people do this solo and we're doing a little relay and nonetheless and we're also raising money for the Samaritans and so we have an I donate site which people can find on our Facebook page garden open water swimmers so that that's also helps us as we're swimming you know to say listen we're raising money for for a good cause so we chose the Samaritans because it has an all Ireland you know focus and it's a good good charity to help people in terms of their mental health absolutely so it's just a waiting game now and you could I mean what's what sort of notice do you do the do they give you I think I get 40 at ours notice you know it's not too bad too bad no so the bags are packed and the food and yeah ready to go as well yours might be and so it's almost been part of the fire service just that you don't know when you're going to get the call and if you go and well listen the best the best luck to all the team you guys swim pretty much all year round you we used to cold water as well as yeah yeah it's something that I suppose we started doing two or three years ago I'm saying if we could keep going throughout the winter and at least for me it wasn't an act of bravery so much to go without the wetsuit as an act of laziness I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of getting into this thing getting out of this thing washing this thing drying this thing you know so you swim without a wetsuit yeah is this one without a wetsuit yeah so the rules for this are one swimsuit one hat and a pair of goggles and that's it nothing else that's your kid that's your kid yeah I don't know why I thought but there would be swim there would be a wetsuit involved but there you go and so when you're swimming like when you're swimming here and you're doing open water swimming through the winter would you wear a wetsuit yourselves no that's I mean I stopped wearing it because it was too much of a hassle too much of a winter in the winter yeah but to find people want to wear I think if you're starting out it's a great thing to wear out we wore one starting out and then I think we just got lazy I think that was it and then found another joy in just being in the ordinary swim costume right well yeah I'd be cool getting into the water even at the height of summer so the thought of getting in during winter without a sweatsuit well by all means wear wetsuits wear trunks whatever you enjoy I think it's just to enjoy it open water swimming is done it goes a fantastic place to be doing this you know it's just stunning the scenery is great and the water is great there's beaches everywhere there's lakes it's magnificent yeah we're anyway listen and both you and and all the rest of the team and you have an experienced head on the boat as well in the form of Paddy Vaughn Paddy is our main crew so he'll be supporting all of us on the boat yeah yeah so he knows everything about about us and our swimming and about what we're gonna do we'll be a fatal at the odd shout out of you know it's Paddy in a sense one of my introductions to this I remember when I started this way back about ten years ago something about wood quarter and there was a man standing in the pier making sure we all get out safely and keeping an eye on us back then and that was how I first met Paddy Vaughn so very good with no better man to have a log that the best look and let us know how how you get on only too glad to make some make some announcements about it and it's raising money for this Samaritans there's an I donate page which is very important thanks thank you thank you Charlie McLafferty funeral directors serving letter Kenny and the surrounding areas for over 100 years Charlie McLafferty funeral directors and our family to care of your family and guide you through 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