So what was it like? We met at Dover Marina at 10 pm on Thursday 1^st August, ready for our tide before midnight. Our team was reduced to five swimmers: one of our members, Lucy, was already part of another relay team, and as Team SwimTayka was delayed a fortnight by bad weather, the inevitable happened, and her team got called on the previous tide to us. So here we are, the five swimmers in the team and Bryan Avery at the front, one of the directors of SwimTayka who has also been our manager over the past nine months since the team first did our trials in a pool in the Cotswolds.

I was beginning to wonder when it would happen so I didn’t want to risk believing it when we were told it was happening Thursday. My plan was to just carry on as normal so that meant a very tough Spin class followed by an abdominals class on Thursday morning at 6.45am followed by work.

I would like to thank everyone who sponsored me in the Charity Cross-Channel Swim Relay. The team set off at 11:23 pm on Thursday 1st August from Abbotts Cliff, Dover. Swimming through the night and into the dawn. All five of us had to be ready at the start and then took turns of one hour each. We finished east of Wissant Town beach, northern France 15 hours 7 minutes later. Each of us had to pick up a pebble from the beach and then swim back to our boat to return to England – we are only allowed on French soil for ten minutes!

The SwimTayka Project is done for this year in Itacaré, Brazil. ETIV-do-Brasil organised a final massive celebration in Ribeira Beach, where more than 80 children had the opportunity to practice the skills they gained during the course. They got to swim in open water with the supervision of our fantastic SwimTayka teachers and volunteers. Everyone had a great time and we are so thankful to SwimTayka for helping them bring this incredible opportunity to the children of Itacaré!

TWENTY young Biminites gained increased confidence in the water and new in-sight into its vital importance during the third annual Swim and Eco Camp hosted by Save The Bays (STB), Waterkeeper Bahamas and international group SwimTayka.

This week we rounded off the SwimTayka programme with a trip to Praia Ribeira! The programme has been both an awful lot of fun, as well as a giant learning curve, for bot children and teachers. There were some 80 kids that signed up, and this number only grew and grew throughout the 2 months, and all participants are now strong and capable swimmers.

Super helpful Elia, he supports the swimming lessons every morning! He gets in the pool with the trainer Daniel, no matter if there is rain or sun and helps to encourage each one of the children so that they can learn to swim! With a smile on his face and kindness, he influences the children positively!

I grew up by the water and learned to swim as a young child. As soon as I was old enough to become certified, I became a Lifeguard and Swimming Instructor so that I could pass on my love of the water to as many people as possible. I have always believed that everyone should know how to swim and that death by drowning is preventable! I began a career in aquatics and remain active in it today.

How in the world, in a country comprised of over 700 islands, can fewer than 20 percent of the children know how to swim? It’s not as though I’m talking inhospitable, cold waters but rather the warm, amazingly clear and blue waters of the Bahamas.

The SwimTayka programme launched this month, and it aims to teach children in Brazil here to swim, and also educate them on the water in the environment.