SIX Islanders have become part of an exclusive club after crossing Lake Geneva in a gruelling two-day swim.
Sally Minty-Gravett, Fay de Gruchy, Alice Harvey, Karen Le Cornu, Rachel Sayers and Julia Morris braved winds of up to 16 knots and strong currents to become the first Jersey team to complete the challenge – and only the 25th team to finish the voyage.
They started the relay at 8.57am on Monday morning and Ms Le Cornu finished the swim at Geneva’s Bains des Pâquis swimming into a headwind. The team’s total time was 28 hours and 56 minutes.
The group swam through the night, in the dark, and at one point a swimmer lost track of the guard boat – a situation that makes it easy to become disoriented.
Mrs Minty-Gravett, an experienced English Channel swimmer, said the feat had been in the works since 2019, with Covid hampering the plans and the group’s composition changing slightly.
“We didn’t really appreciate the enormity of the lake,” Mrs Minty-Gravett said.
“It’s 72km [44.7 miles], but the challenging part of it is both the winds and the currents that come from the mountains, and all the things that come with that on the lakes.”
When the group finished, she said, “we had a little hug and a cry on the beach”.
The swimmers took care of each other as each member exited the water, making sure that they were able to warm up and have a drink and a rest before their turn came round again.
She added that she would encourage others to take up the challenge, but warned them: “It’s not a small undertaking.”
Support from the swimming community around the world had been huge, she explained, and said they had received congratulations from other swimmers who had conquered Lake Geneva.
“We’re very, very excited and happy now we’re done,” she said, adding that they expected to be tired over the next couple of days.
“We’re over the moon.”
