FEW, if any, Islanders are likely to have busier Wednesdays than an intrepid trio who will be attempting to squeeze a month-long charity challenge into around 15 hours.
Starting soon after dawn tomorrow, Jane Hacker, Josh Mathers and Joanne Walton-Calvert, who work as part of the aircraft handling team at Gama Aviation, will take the plunge at the start of an ambitious bid to swim in 30 Bays in just one day.
All keen swimmers, the “three J’s” have been training hard, as well as studying maps, tide tables and the weather forecast in a bid to work out the best route to ensure they can reach their target number during a mad dash around the Island.
Gama colleagues Corin Barker and Lucian Teodorescu will be accompanying the swimmers, with a company vehicle provided to make sure they can get to the next bay as swiftly as possible.
Launched in 2016, 30 Bays in 30 Days aims to encourage Islanders to explore some of the beaches they might not otherwise visit, as well as raising money for charity. The original blueprint involved a 30-day “window” to tick off the bays, but some participants have opted to speed things up a bit.
Mrs Walton-Calvert said: “I did ’30 Bays’ during lockdown and it was a brilliant way to keep active – swimming is so good for your mental health.”
While Mrs Walton-Calvert described herself as “more of a dipper” than an endurance athlete, Mrs Hacker is a year-round swimmer who has competed in events organised by the Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club, as well as on Lake Windermere in the north of England.
“We’ve been talking about it for a few months, and now we just want to get going and raise as much money as we can,” she said. “The sea is a good temperature now, so hopefully it’s the ideal time to do this.”
The two good causes which benefit from the annual event are Jersey Hospice Care and the National Trust for Jersey.
While the number of days for the challenge won’t be 30, it’s still a key figure: tomorrow is 30 July, the official requirement is to complete 30 strokes in each bay, and Mr Mathers has recently celebrated his 30th birthday.
A web page for donations to the trio’s challenge attempt is available at sportsgiving.co.uk/sponsorship/entry/1558587.
