Update on 28 Sep 11

Wow, this keeps on rolling on: The amount donated keeps on increasing... you are all simply amazing!

 

You have us very humbled, despite our efforts supporting those afloat from ashore, or being afloat supporting those who ventured into the water, or being the ones who swam and swam and swam... 

 

Early on I recall looking at these pages and feeling disctinctly like the flurry of activity we were ever likely to attract was over, with the amount raised standing at something like £1.5k.  Even that amount was nothing to be ashamed about, but I so wanted to know how we could attract more, more indeed to ensure that dogs could be trained.

 

It was always about the dogs and what they can do, the difference they can make to those in need.  I must impart I have come to understand that those who receive these dogs often don't realise their level of need themselves; they often learn of Canine Partners through friends and family who become aware of the charity and recognise the good that may be brought to their loved one.  Oh and how loved the dog is too, hard not to be I guess in the face of such gratitude from those who come to love them first hand.

 

We will however be closing this account on 31 October 2011.  We will have, after all, a cheque to present!  Right now, today as I type, our online total stands at 99% of our target.  Now I know as any of you do, that with gift aid and that which we have raised offline, we have smashed our target by any measure.  The team thank you for your part in that.

 

AJ

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Update from 2 Sep 2011 (photographs and text).

 

Oh we did it, we so did it; and in some style!

 

It was not a welcome sound that roused me from just two and a half hours asleep, at four o'clock in the morning, but it was necessary.  A morning routine and a bowl of cereal later saw me with the rest of the team, in the dark, loading the transport.

 

It remained dark for the journey up to Tarbet, where most of us embarked the Loch Lomond Cruises vessel, Lomond Chieftan, which was to prove a fantastic host platform for the first half of the event.  While we got settled in, our Squadron Commander, David Bence, was driven to Ardlui, at the northern end of the Loch, from where he began the swim as our first man in the water, at 6:05 a.m.

 

The Lomond Chieftan was by then motoring steadily northwards from Tarbet to meet him and the accompanying safety boat, both journeying south.  This arrangement for a quiet start to proceedings was unknowingly appreciated by those enjoying their holiday at the Ardlui Hotel, its lodges and caravans all at the north shore of the loch.  I should note our thanks to Mr Scott Squires for allowing access to the water from the hotel grounds; it was certainly appreciated by the team.

 

While the boat trip north to meet our man was quiet and undoubtedly subdued by the early start, it allowed for a relaxed and growing appreciation of just how beautiful the loch and its surroundings are.  It was wonderful to have this gently revealed by the growing morning light at what proved to be an exceptionally tranquil time.  As our Chief of Staff, Simon Kelly, readied himself to take over the swimming, we anxiously awaited a report on the in water conditions.  The boats soon rendezvoused and with the swim handover complete, the safety boat returned the Commander to the Lomond Chieftan.  He was clearly buoyed by a successful and enjoyable first hour.

 

Conditions for the swim could not have been better for the first few hours, with swimmers early in the order enjoying scything through the calm glass-like surface of the water, their steady pace belying the cold water temperature.  Our research early in the planning stages for the event indicated an average of 11 degrees Celsius was likely.

 

Simon Kelly swam comfortably through the team's second hour to be relieved by Billy Robertson with a respectable distance covered.  The preparation by the boats crews had clearly paid off as the swim handovers were executed flawlessly.  The next swimmer was collected from the Lomond Chieftan ten-minutes prior to his due time in the water.  This allowed for final preparations in the safety boat whilst observing the outcoming swimmer and how he was coping with the conditions close up.

 

Just before the due time, the safety boat would drive approximately twenty metres ahead of the swimmer and drop his relief into the water.  Changeover occurred with the safety boat clear and the two swimmers 'tagging', with raised hands above the water for all to see, before the new swimmer struck out southwards.  The retiring swimmer would then make for the safety boat and be recovered to the Lomond Chieftan where he was received by other members of the Squadron with a towel and hot food and drink.

 

Craig Campbell took over from Billy, who remarked upon a boring first half hour before he began to properly enjoy it.  He was also somewhat put off by the close presence of the boat, not to mention its engine fumes, which we had not had the luxury of in training.  One of the strongest swimmers on the team, he was very cheerful despite suffering cramp in his right foot towards the end of his hour.  We wondered if this was due to a modified 'anti-cormorant' kick he had developed of late, following an infringement with such a bird in recent training...

 

Craig Campbell's delight was evident as he entered the water with a spectacular leap.  Soon making gains to the south, he would later reflect upon increasing concern and subsequent serious endeavour, coming to realise his goggles were far too tight.  This created a pressure band across his forehead which left him feeling rather sick.  One could not miss this fact when he was recovered at the scheduled handover, whereupon he was unceremoniously filmed while relating how he felt, on his knees in the bottom of the safety boat!  The incident showed how determined he was to keep putting the metres behind him and also that things can all too easily work out differently on the day, despite plenty of training beforehand.

 

Meanwhile, Mark Peachey was busy improving on the team's travel down the loch, enjoying a good spell in flat calm water.  It would not remain that way however and when later out of the water he said "Big waves!  It felt like someone had turned the wave machine on."  He had also been enduring a cramped right leg which, on getting back onboard the Lomond Chieftan, lent to a photograph of him baring a close resemblance to Edvard Munch's "The Scream".  Unfortunately, the Just Giving website only allows ten pictures and this particular one was my eleventh in line.  I am sure Peachey is glad of that but it will go up in the office!

 

Swimmer number six, Terrence 'Basher' Briggs, was next in having pronounced his nervousness before getting in the safety boat.  He had little to worry about and met the task ahead well; if we had a rock solid swimmer in the team who could simply keep going and going, it was him and so off he set, having been tagged by Peachey.  Now all he had to do was stay in a straight line as opposed to emulating his predecessor, and keep his imagination away from thoughts of packs of marauding 'killer pike' in the loch.

 

That is actually a little uncharitable to Peachey, as he did, more than the rest of us that day, have traffic to cope with during his first hour, his course deviations largely brought about by the safety boat crew, who did a fine job of shielding swimmers from other vessels and keeping them a suitable distance away.  The safety boat was also flying Flag Alpha, meaning Diver down or Swimmer in the water, indicating other vessels should pass slowly, at distance.

 

Predictably, Basher was still relentlessly ploughing through the water when I arrived perched on the side of the safety boat, to take over the swim.  On entering the water ahead of him I was happy to discover that last training session a few evenings before had indeed been in colder conditions.  Having tagged and seen Basher turn for the safety boat, I paused to draw breath before striking southwards, breathing every other stroke to begin with, before settling down into a routine of breathing on both sides, every third stroke, as I steadily became more relaxed.

 

I dared not pause to consider things might be progressing ok, not least because having established I was swimming in roughly the right direction and the immediate vicinity was free of traffic, the safety crew wheeled their boat away and roared northwards.  Besides, I had only just started.  They headed at speed to where the rest of the afloat team was moving themselves and all our gear to one of Sweeney's Cruises vessles.  This was to be our host plaform whilst in the southern half of the loch and this is of course where they dropped Basher off, before coming quickly back to accompany me.

 

Things were somewhat easier with the boat back just five metres abeam of my position and easy to sight off as I swam along.  This did not remove the requirement for some occasional directional guidance and we had a good routine established before I had entered the water: pointy stick downwards meant 'come here' or swim towards the boat, whereas pointy stick upwards indicated I should 'go away' or swim further from the boat.  Despite a swimmers view from just a few inches above the water surface, the whole sighting business becomes evidently easier with practise and I was soon spending less time making like an unguided torpedo; not that I was the only one thus afflicted!

 

The end of my swim saw the Commander return to the water for his second stint, our handover a moment of belated and somewhat stunned recognition on my part, as I was wrested from being 'in the zone', and a comedy of dialogue to those surprisingly within earshot in the cruise boat.  Congratulations passed, David Bence reached forward, pulling water northwards beneath him.

 

It was great as a swimmer to be arriving back alongside the cruiser, as all did, to tumultuous applause from the other swimmers and the afloat support team.  It really made me feel I had done my bit, at least for now.  My thoughts then turned to my increasing shivering, brought about by the sudden inactivity of no longer swimming.  Towel, hot drink and hot food all preceded donning a BAE Systems sponsor's fleece; toasty!  And relax...

 

A steadier breeze now atop the water and blowing northwards too, would see conditions deteriorate markedly as we rounded the southern end of the islands adjacent our famliar training ground at Luss.  The Commander's and Billy's second legs having gone characteristically well, it was presently Simon Kelly's duty to battle headlong into wind and wave, accompanied by the annoying though somewhat required form of a press photographer demanding every extension of reach and grimace of face, for his camera's lens.  It might have been really beneficial had they subsequently published the name of the charity with the picture!  Grrr!

 

A temporary reduction in timings while the testing conditions slightly subsided, would then see Craig, Peachey and Basher take the team to within an estimated half hour of Lomond Shores at Balloch and the beach we were aiming for.  At about 6 p.m. it was a case of one in, all in, not that you'd have been able to stop any of us; we were enjoying the whole thing far too much by then.

 

Any collective training had been on an ad-hoc basis, fitted in around the demands of work, leave and family, meaning we had never before swum together in open water as a full seven.  This was great, a flurry of limbs thrashing through the chop, as we regularly sighted our chosen marker building some 25 minutes hence.  We closed the distance in a refreshed manner, with those of the latter legs baring the strain.

 

As we finally became visible to those on the beach awaiting our arrival, we could hear the sound of bagpipes drifting out across the loch, being played by Fergie of our shore support team.  It was almost enough to make me turn back to the north.  Not really Fergie, I just put my head down and came up less for air...;-)  Actually it was an impressive and welcoming sound that signalled the proximity of our goal.

 

Swimming in file, the group kept to the extreme right hand edge of the lagoon entrance while the Commander explored the 'advantages' of patrolling the middle ground, we generally managed to keep enough water beneath us to swim through the prevalent weed.  The water deepened a little again as we cleared the entrance bar and we turned left, into line for the beach, naturally several paces apart as we rotated our aching arms the final strokes that would take us to the our chosen charity of dogs and their wonderful trainers.  This not to mention all elements of our support team, the afloat section now also ashore, as well as journalists, camera crews and bystanders of the general public.  Oh and I must not forget to mention the Cdr's boss, Captain Phillip Buckley; good to see you there to support us Sir.

 

If you are still reading this far in and have not yet donated to this great cause, it should not surprise you that I remind you to do so now.  Every little bit helps tangibly change the quality of someones life.

 

Before you go, we particularly like the very well put together URTV video interview that you can watch here.

 

Well that's it folks, at least until we dream up something else for next time around.  We are immensley proud to have come a long way since leaping into the pool in Bahrain in June, to discover just how good we weren't!  Our success was born out of knowing where we wanted to be and then fighting to ensure we got there.  One's goals may sometimes be beyond the visible horizon but that does not mean they will not become visible and achievable with endeavour.  The journeys were both individual and as a team.

 

Thank you for your support.

 

Alan Ainsworth

MCM1 Squadron Staff.

 

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Update 1 Sep 11

If you were waiting to see if we actually did it before donating, you can now!

 

First man in the water at Ardlui at 6.05 a.m.  Team ashore at Lomond Shores, Balloch, at 6.30 p.m.

 

22.3 miles in 12.5 hrs.

 

Check out the new photo's to see how it happened; will add a video and dit soon.  Thank you again for your support!

 

MCM1 Squadron Staff

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Thanks for taking the time to visit MCM1's JustGiving page.  We are raising funds for Canine Partners.

 

To do so, seven members of staff of the Royal Navy's 1st Mine Counter Measures Squadron, based in Faslane, will be swimming the entire length of Loch Lomond (over 22 miles!), as a relay team, on Thu 1st Sep 11.

 

Updated Tue 30 Aug 11 - Not long to go now! - Click read more, to read more...

 

The event is drawing near and tomorrow will see the team conducting final preparations.  A few of us had a last, light training session in the loch this evening, during what has been a week or so of tapering our training such that we will be fresh for Thursday's swim.

 

As the local temperatures have decreased over the last few weeks, so too has the water temperature in the loch.  This evening's session was markedly colder than in any of our previous training, with ones extremities still cold over an hour after coming out of the water.  "Swim harder, stay warmer!" may well be the maxim on the day.

 

The forecast for Thu forenoon currently supports the swim but with the wind due to shift, to blow northwards and also to strengthen throughout that afternoon, the swimmers are likely to find themselves swimming into the wind, which will no doubt make for an interesting time for the latter half of the distance!  It may also make it a little tricky to judge our arrival time at the southern end of the Loch.

 

Recent performances in training have seen us revise our time for the first swimmer entering the water at the Ardlui Hotel Loch Lomond, at the northern end of the Loch; now at 6 a.m.  We have also revised our completion time down from 15 hrs to around 12 hrs, though the weather may influence this.  We'd really like to be striding out of the water at Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch at around 5:30 p.m.

 

We would also like to see as many of you that are local, in attendance there on Thu evening too, for what promises to be a great evening celebrating what we hope will be a successful event.  Perhaps even meet our fantastic assistance dog, Xylo, too!

 

Critically, if you haven't given yet, please take the trouble to do so and make our efforts worthwhile:  Even a single pound will indicate your support and it all adds up!  Thank you very much indeed.

 

MCM1 Squadron Staff.

 

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Updated 25 Aug 11 - How lucky we are to have great sponsors!

 

We are simply over the moon and further motivated by your individual contributions to our increasing funds for Canine Partners.  Thank you so much.

 

This event is more than just a fundraising challenge however and requires equipment, logistics and safety planning, which is where our commercial sponsors have excelled:

 

We are proud to have the integrated maritime mission systems house, the Mission Systems arm of BAE Systems, as our Lead Sponsor, providing logistic support.

 

We are also delighted to have sponsorship support from a leading prime contractor and complex systems integrator, General Dynamics UK Limited.

 

We are very glad to have Babcock Marine and Technology Division, a major support partner to the Royal Navy and one sporting one of the largest naval design capabilities in the UK, providing sponsorship support to our event.

 

Swimming, not sinking!  We are extremely grateful to Blue Seventy, an industry leader in swimwear and triathlon apparel technical performance products, for the provision of superb wetsuits, without which we would all probably get hypothermia, not to mention be far less buoyant!

 

We are also extremely grateful to Aqua Sphere, a premier swimming equipment manufacturer, for providing excellent swim-goggles for each of our swimmers.  They are proving essential for a clear view ahead!

 

A big thank you to outdoor specialist retailer Tiso, for providing food, energy and specialist domestic goods for the swimmers.

 

Many thanks to Cruise Loch Lomond and also Sweeney's Cruises, for providing and manning their cruisers as host platforms for the MCM1 Team.  We are grateful for their willingness to work together to cover our whole event and for their flexibility in agreeing to meet our required timings.  They also represent a fantastic way to experience Loch Lomond.

 

MCM1 Squadron Staff.

 

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Original Page:

 

Seven members of the Royal Navy's 1st Mine Counter Measures Squadron staff, based in Faslane, will be swimming the entire length of Loch Lomond (over 22 miles!), as a relay team, on Thu 1st Sep 11.

 

The challenge is in aid of Canine Partners.

 

The purpose of Canine Partners is to assist people with disabilities, including members of HM Forces injured on duty, to enjoy a greater independence and quality of life and, where possible, to help them into education and employment, through the provision of specially trained dogs, whose well-being is a key consideration."

 

Last year the team raised over £5000 for the charity by cycling, rowing and running the equivalent distance from their deployed location in Bahrain, to their home port base in Faslane, Scotland; in excess of 8078 miles.

 

The aim of this years challenge is to beat this amount in order to fund the final year of training for our 'adopted' assistance dog, Xylo.

 

The challenge posed should not be underestimated; imagine swimming for prolonged periods in dark, cold (max 12˚C!) waters, in typical Scottish weather conditions!  This is a group of average swimmers, rather than highly trained members of a competitive swim-club.  They are however, fully committed to pool and open water training for this arduous undertaking and the reward of supporting Canine Partners.

 

In addition, the remainder of the MCM1 staff are engaged in managing the significant fundraising, logistical and safety aspects of the event.

 

Stepping into the northern end of the loch at Ardlui, at 5 a.m. on 1st Sep 11, the team are expecting to complete the swim within 15 hours.  Why not come along to cheer them ashore and celebrate their success at Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch.

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

 

So please dig deep and donate now.  Thank you.