Being part of the 1st relay that swam from the IOM to Ireland was a very special event for me, more so because I have organised it in the past. Unfortunately, we did not succeed because you can’t control the weather and it was not very kind to us on that day. Another special reason why I have always wanted to swim to Ireland from the IOM is that on a bright day (which we do have sometimes), we can actually see the mountain of Mourne “Beautiful shapes Nature never designed…” (Don McLean) and I always thought… that would be a cool swim to do one day.
The experience on the day and before was exceptional. I got to meet other swimmers who had the same passion about the sport. We shared lots of stories and had a really lovely time trying to get to know each others and do some sea swimming in various places on the beautiful rock.
On the Big Day, it felt like we were all one team with the same target: being the 1st team to complete the swim and just GO FOR IT! The 6 swimmers had the same “job”, swimming really hard for an hour each time and giving everything they had, but to also look after each others after and before the swims. However, this swim could not have been completed without the rest of the team behind them. I think Steve jobs was right when he said: “Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.” Thanks to Infinity Channel swimming for giving me this wonderful opportunity and I loved every minute of this journey.
Carole Laporte
