Around 230 swimmers including Television star Steve McFadden led raced across the River Fal on Sunday (6th June) to raising over £10,000 in support of the RNLI’s South West Lifeguard Appeal. Entrants were sent on their way by former Olympic swimmer, Sharron Davies and Laurence Reed from BBC Radio Cornwall.
Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell in the BBC’s EastEnders) said after finishing the swim:
‘It was tough, definitely harder than last year. I pushed it a bit too early and it was very choppy for the whole swim. The sense of achievement when you finish is amazing and I feel great. The RNLI is the most fantastic charity in the world, there’s nothing else like it. I thank all the lifeboat crew and lifeguards for what they do.’
The Castle-to-Castle swim began at Pendennis Point, Falmouth and ended on the St Mawes side of the river. The first man home on the one mile swim was John Parker (Cleveland, Bristol) in a time of 27 minutes and the first female back was 15 year old Nicky Russell (Truro, Cornwall).
Safety cover for the event was provided by the RNLI lifeguard team and the volunteer crews of the Falmouth all weather and inshore lifeboats.
Source: RNLI website – news releases
