A local solicitor and charity Trustee is preparing to swim 21-miles across the English Channel in a bid to raise money for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Operation Airbase appeal.
In September 2024, the life-saving charity launched its Operation Airbase Appeal, a campaign to raise £3.6 million to build a state-of-the-art airbase near Southampton Airport. The move from the charity’s current location in Thruxton, Andover, will place the service at the heart of the community, significantly reducing response times by almost half from the moment they take-off, for most emergency calls.
Trading the courtroom for the coastline, Lucy Linington, from Portsmouth, will set off from Dover between 15-25 June (depending on tides, wind and sea conditions) and swim to Cap Griz-Nez in France in 15-degrees Celsius waters. She will be accompanied by a pilot boat to help her safely negotiate and navigate her way through the busiest shipping lane in the world.
A keen open water swimmer, Lucy previously swam the Solent from Stokes Bay to Ryde in 2022, but her most recent challenge is seven times the distance and in notoriously cold, choppy and jellyfish-infested waters.
Lucy said:
“More people have climbed Mount Everest than successfully swam the Channel. So, to reduce the risk of adding to that sobering statistic, I have been training and preparing for this event for over two years.”
Lucy has already raised almost £5,000
Lucy’s training has involved swimming several times a week, often in between morning and afternoon Courts.
“Training has proved eventful,” added Lucy.
“On one swim along Southsea beach, I was accompanied by an inquisitive seal that popped up beside me. Notable events also occur in the pool – training has been cut short on more than one occasion after pollution of a particular kind was spotted during a children’s swim session.
“For some years now I have dreamt of swimming the Channel. I am determined to swim the 21-odd miles and in the process raise awareness of the incredible service that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance provides by raising money to contribute towards the Airbase appeal.
“I hope that my friends and family will never need their help and expertise but knowing that they are on hand 365 days a year could be the difference between life and death.
“Receiving support from the public will ensure that those remarkable patient stories continue to be written and more lives saved – that is what I will be saying to myself when I set off from Dover. And although it will be a colossal challenge, I am fiercely determined to reach France and celebrate the lifesaving service.”
For more information, visit Lucy’s JustGiving page.
