SWIMMERS from South East Cornwall have spoken about the thrill of conquering some huge open-water challenges.

Sea swimming has become an ever-more popular pastime over recent months. And whether you enjoy a quick dash in and out, or a full-on training session, the Looe Sea Swimming Group and others are there to provide support and safety advice, as well as the social side of the activity.

We spoke to local swimmers, Sam Day and Mark Deacon, who are both teachers at Looe Community Academy, about their recent achievements, and asked them what it is that draws them back into the ocean.

Just three years ago or so, Sam Day would not have done more than dip her toe in the shallows for a paddle. The mum-of-two and teacher from Liskeard loved swimming, but was frightened of the sea.

Two weeks ago, Sam proved beyond doubt that she had mastered her fear: she swam the English Channel as part of a relay team, fulfilling a lifelong ambition, and raising money for the Cosmic charity (Children of St Mary’s Intensive Care)

Sam was the third swimmer of a team of six, and while none had met prior to boarding the boat at Dover, they quickly bonded and were all determined not to let each other down.

Each swimmer does an hour in the water before transitioning as fast as possible to the next person in the relay. Sam swam three times, and just under 10 kilometres in total.

Leaving Dover and heading for the Cap lighthouse, swimmers have to keep up the pace so as to reach landfall before the tide turns.

“During my first swim, I had dolphins swimming with me, it was amazing,” she said.

“Once we’d done about 11 hours, the pilot told us we’d really have to go for it – if not, the tide would turn and we’d be swimming for another six hours, rather than three,” she said.

In the pitch blackness and at 3am, it fell to Sam to be the one to aim for France – and she succeeded.

“We’d all had sea sickness and it was hard to get rest. The pilot said you’re either going to do this in half an hour or we’re not going to make it at all,” she said.

“I felt so much on my shoulders at that point but I desperately wanted us to land.

“Usually only one swimmer is allowed onto the beach but they let us all get off the boat and land.”

So excited was Sam to race onto the beach and collect a French pebble as a memento that she did not pay too much heed to the local police, who came over shining torches to investigate what the six were doing in the darkness, and watched them until they were back on the boat

She said: “It all started with my daughter Tilly. She started to be scared of the sea, because I was. When my son Charlie was about six months old I started to go and have cold water dips but I’d have panic attacks. I was petrified of the depth, I was scared of seals, and jellyfish.”

Sam, 38, says that she got “fed up with being scared” and decided she would get over the anxiety. After going out with the Looe Sea Swimming group, and eventually signing up for the Looe Island Swim, she discovered she was “quite good” at swimming.

“There’s a lovely group of friends who go together on a Saturday morning. The mental health benefits of cold water swimming are amazing. It’s now my happy place – we call it our tonic.”

Mark, Sam’s husband, built her a 10ft pool in the back garden where, tethered to the fence, she could train, and the once far-off dream of a swim from England to France turned into something that felt possible.

“I’d always joked with my sisters about doing the Channel, and I can’t believe it’s become reality.”

MARK Deacon describes himself as ‘usually a runner and a triathlete’ but after a series of injuries in the last 18 months, he changed direction.

A Channel-sized swim of 21 miles, planned over the month of September, to raise money for two charities, was the goal – and neither wild weather, nor swarms of jellyfish were going to stop him!

Mark, who teaches at Looe Community Academy and coaches swimming at Tencreek, said: “Training had become particularly difficult, whilst still working with key worker students in school. I was always tired and had lost that real structure with life and training.

“I decided just to get out and do something different! I then saw how many charities had suffered during the pandemic so decided to focus my energy on swimming, and fundraising.”

Mark was inspired by the efforts of one of his students, whose dad had sadly passed away, and who had raised money for the MS Society. He decided to support the charity along with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

He planned his open-water swim in several sections, and mostly tackled them on his own, with the final leg being the longest.

“A few kind friends would come out from time to time and either swim a bit or kayak, especially on the longer swims to support me. For the final swim from Portwrinkle to Looe, I had a fantastic team supporting me for safety and nutrition with a boat, small craft, and paddleboard for the whole distance. I could not have done it without them!”

The biggest challenges came with the unpredictable weather, and the wildlife.

“We had the biggest jellyfish invasion that I have ever seen, that lasted about six weeks. I managed to get stung on the face and head three times in one week!,” he said.

“The highs were finishing some of the swims where I had swum the furthest I ever had, and every time I logged on after a swim to see that my donation page had been added to by so many kind people.”

Mark’s total stands at around £1,325, and he hopes to add to it by another event he’s organising for the young members of the Looe Swimming Club to get involved in – the Team Looe Marathon Swim (see www.justgiving.com/team/looeswim2 to support)

Mark, like Sam, is part of the Looe Sea Swimming Group. The group has swelled in number in the past 18 months as so many have seen the physical and mental benefits of open water swimming.

“They are such a friendly and welcoming bunch, and it is amazing to see so many people gaining self-confidence achieving an activity they probably never thought they would, or could do.”