THE popular Looe Island to Looe Beach Open-water Swim will be returning this weekend after a year’s gap due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The fourth Looe Island to Looe beach swim, organised by Looe Valley Rotary Club and the Chestnut Appeal, will make a welcome return on Sunday (September 5). The 2020 event had to be cancelled due to COVID restrictions, which was a great disappointment to all the entrants and a blow to the fundraising efforts of this well-regarded charity.

Since the first swim in 2017, the organisers have raised around £30,000 for prostate cancer awareness and treatment in the South West, as well as money for local causes, such as defibrillators in Looe.

However, the pandemic lockdowns have served to increase people’s appetite for activities like open water swimming and the places available on the swim are already allocated, with a waiting list which has double the number of people as those already accepted.

Since it began, the swim has become a real community event, involving the town’s boat operators, the harbour authority, and the East Looe Town Trust and Cornwall Wildlife Trust (which are owners of the town and island beach respectively).

Playing a prominent role in the event is Looe Valley Rotary Club, which plans, coordinates and marshals the event. Many discussions were held about the event’s viability in the current climate and it was decided to proceed cautiously, minimising the risk and allowing the Chestnut Appeal to raise vital funds and the local community to participate in a very positive activity which is good for the town and good for many others too.

Local sponsors and supporters have also provided food and drink, medals and swim caps for entrants, so the whole of Looe helps to make this an enjoyable event for all concerned.

Those taking part have a boat ride to the Island nature reserve and then swim back to Looe, providing an enjoyable and sociable adventure while they also generate support for a great cause.

Graham North, president of Looe Valley Rotary Club, said: “This event has been great fun as well as a fundraising success and we are delighted to be getting back on track to deliver a great swim, following our forced postponement last year.

“We are grateful for all the help being provided by many local people, organisations and sponsors – we couldn’t do it without them. The atmosphere has always great, and given the forced absence caused by the pandemic last year, we are expecting a real buzz around the swim this year.”

The length of the swim is a little over a mile and full details and information updates can be found at Looe Valley Rotoary Club’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LooeValleyRC