30 bays in one day challenge today

Saturday 01 September 2018

A group of swimmers will try to bathe in 30 bays in one day today to mark the 30th anniversary of the charity Send a Cow which has been supported by a number of local people over the last three decades.

The challenge will see them swim 30 strokes in each of the bays between La Vallette and Pleinmont, starting at 08:00 and aiming to finish between 15:00 and 16:00.

Organiser Pauline Raine said it is similar to the Les Bourgs Hospice 30 bays in 30 days challenge which has become an annual event held in July each year, but she said their one day event came about six years ago when her husband, Tony, came up with the idea.

"We had been swimming at Portinfer and I think Port Soif and Grandes Rocques before that when my husband said to me, 'I've got an idea - we could swim 25 bays for the 25th anniversary of Send a Cow' and that was where it came from and it was a great success."

Now, for the 30th anniversary of the charity Mr and Mrs Raine have got around 20 people taking part in the swimming challenge, including their nephew, Adrian Bott, who Mrs Raine said had done a lot of work to help organise it.

She said it is amazing that so many people are getting involved this year. They will be easily visible as they make their way around the east, north and west coast of Guernsey wearing their green Send a Cow swimming hats.

Pictured: The Send a Cow website details what the charity does and how 

The charity works with villagers to supply them with animals to farm themselves.

Mrs Raine said they first worked with the charity to supply a cow to a village in Uganda, and since those links were made they are aware of 300 cows which have been provided to other countries through an English farmer, David Bragg.

She said training is given to the villagers so they can look after and rear the cow, and the arrangement is that when a female calf is born it is passed on to another family within the village to rear.

Mr and Mrs Raine went to Ethiopia to see the charity's work in action a few years ago.

She said, "it was really amazing to see it happening, we saw cows and chickens being passed on. It's really just incredible and a great experience to see how the villagers are getting out of poverty."

To support the charity swim you can donate at justgiving.com here.