I couldn’t believe I was able to complete the swim in just over two hours

I couldn’t believe I was able to complete the swim in just over two hours

24 August 2016

A KILLYLEAGH man who embarked upon an ambitious fundraising swim last weekend has admitted his journey from Portaferry to Killyleagh was a lot easier than he had anticipated.

In fact, Gary Murray completed his swim across Strangford Lough almost one hour earlier than expected and as he approached the quay in Killyleagh last Saturday he was amazed to see around 100 well wishers cheering him on.

The Killyleagh man swam the four-and-a-half miles to raise money for Marie Curie and Portaferry RNLI and with money still coming in, Gary hopes to hit the £1,500 mark.

Due to celebrate his 50th birthday shortly, Gary trained hard for his swim across the waterway and completed the swim in two hours four minutes — an incredible 56 minutes quicker than he had envisaged.

His preparations for last Saturday’s swim, which included training sessions at the Aurora aquatic and swimming complex in Bangor and the Down Leisure Centre, clearly paid off. Gary also acclimatised for his fundraiser by swimming off Newcastle promenade and in Strangford Lough itself.

“Everything went really well and while I set myself a target of three hours I could not believe I completed the four-and-a-half miles in just over two. I did not feel tired at all and could easily have swam back,” he explained.

Gary admitted the weather forecast for Saturday morning did not inspire him with confidence, but revealed the conditions were not as bad as had been predicted, with the tide in the internationally acclaimed waterway flowing in his favour.

He stepped off the ferry slipway in Portaferry at 11.30am and while admitting the first 15 minutes in the cold water were tough, his fundraising swim “got easier” after that, with his friends in a boat who travelled alongside him blowing whistles to make sure he did not go off course.

“I had a kayaker in front of me with some other friends in a boat. I wore a wet suit, had ear plugs in and a swim hat on, but the weather was kind to me and the tide was clearly in my favour,” recalled Gary.

“When I started off the tide was twisting and turning me quite a bit but once I got into the current it became a lot easier. I was not expecting to reach Chapel Island which is close to the middle of the lough for some time, but had reached this point in just 23 minutes.

“Conditions were pretty good and despite the poor weather forecast, things were not as bad as predicted. It was relatively calm and the rain had stopped which helped me a lot. Things worked out very well for me and I could not believe I was able to complete the swim in just over two hours.”

Halfway across Strangford Lough, Gary was joined by a few other boats from Killyleagh which spent a little time close to him before those on board headed back to shore to join the hordes of well wishers waiting to cheer him home.

Gary’s support crew were also surprised by the swimmer’s rapid progress across the lough and had the presence of mind to text his friends to alert them that he would be coming ashore almost one hour earlier than expected.

“I told people I should be in Killyleagh around 2.30pm but it was 1.34pm when I climbed out of the water. I simply could not believe how long it took me to cross from Portaferry,” he continued.

“There were around 100 people to greet me with party poppers and balloons and it was great to see so many there to welcome me home. The cheering was loud as I came ashore. I felt really good and could have swam back if I had wanted to. I felt no pressure at all coming across and the tide did help me.”

Gary, who has thanked those who accompanied him across the lough, said it was great to have their support alongside him, describing the sight of around 100 people in Killyleagh to greet him as “amazing.”

He added: “All the training paid off and I enjoyed the swim across Strangford Lough. The conditions were very favourable which helped enormously and I am glad I did it.”

Sponsor forms which have been left in a number of businesses in Killyleagh are due to be collected within the next week and Gary hopes people who have not yet supported his fundraising efforts will do so to support what he described as “two very worthy causes.” 

Anyone wishing to contact Gary to make a donation can do so on 07761 001988.