On the hottest days of the year so far,  London-based friends Mark Sweny & Aidan O'Donnell completed the Enduroman Jurassic Swim (10 Miles) this weekend.  Both swimmers are booked to attempt to cross the English Channel during September this year.  They are both swimming off the same tide, however they have different pillots.  The Enduroman team sensed an air of competitive spirit between the two friends over their Channel swim, and this weekend was no different either. 



Mark (Picured above and right), planned to attempt the Enduroman Jurassic Swim on Saturday 22nd May, with Aidan swimming on the Sunday.  They would also be each other's support crew.  We set off from Weymouth marina at around 9am on the Saturday.  Our plan, was to swim Mark along the stunning route from Weymouth Pier to Lulworth Cove; a distance of 9.5 miles as the crow flies.  However, to pick uo the tide flow, we kept close to the cliffs to give Mak a little push towards Lulworth and to provide the extra milage for his 10-miles swim.




When looking at the forecast before we left the marina, the predicted Force 2-3 North Easterly winds would make it very difficult to get all the way the Lulworth.  We timed the start of the swim so that the tide would be behind us when we needed it, but a NE wind would mean that Mark would get slapped in the face by the waves on every stroke.  Fortunately, the wind behaved itself and we made it up to Lulwoth Cove and cleared the water in a time of 5 hours, 35mins 19sec.




Well done Mark (above and left showing off the infamous Enduroman medal), and the very best of luck for this Sepember.  The following day, we left the marina around the same time as the day before.  Aidan looked a little more nervous than Mark, but he had no need to be as we saw a very strong swim from him.  The forecast looked slightly worse than the day before with a predicted 3-4 NE wind. 



We decided to give Aidan a different swim heading East across Weymouth Bay, up the Jurasic Coast, west directly back across the bay towards Portland, then finish at Newtons Cove.  As we headed across the bay, we couldn't help to think that we were being followed as a group of Triathlon swimmers (Pictured below) had joined us and wanted to follow our swimmer for as long as they could.  Forest Gump came to mind!!



It wasn't long until the Triathlon club headed back to the beach and we continued with our planned route.  This was again a good strong swim by Aidan.  The sea fluffed up into a Force 4-5 as we headed towards Portland, so Aidan got to experience some proper English Channel conditions.  Aidan arrived at Lulworth Cove and cleared the water in a time of 5 hours 59 mins 21secs.  Again we wish you the best of luck for September.



Both swimmers plan to join us (non-wetsuit next time lads!!!) throughout the summer to train for their attempt at the marathon of marathon swims...  The English Channel.