£8,500 and counting! The man who blitzed a round-Jersey swim for charity

Monday 30 September 2024

Justin Meades, travelled to the red side of the Channel Islands, to take on a swim around Jersey whilst raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Meades made the 55km journey a splash, becoming the quickest individual to swim around the island this year, in just under 10 and-a-half hours.

Justin Meades said the pace he set was a surprise, but nature helped him out a long the way. 

"Every time we were sort of preparing for it or training or thinking I would do the swim, we were looking at 12 hours, and we sort of thought it's a 12 hour swim. 

"It's quite tidal in places, so you get quite a lot of tidal assistance, and then you get quite a bit of where the tides meet. It's a little bit trickier, more challenging, but I thought as long as I could keep rotating my arms and floating and swimming for 12 hours, I'd be okay.

"I was contemplating getting out, because I'd just seen a compass jellyfish the size of a dustbin lid, and it had come past, and I was a bit nervous. 

"I went to tell them that I've had enough, and they went, you're doing really well. You're one of the quickest swimmers this year. You're going to come in around the 11 hour mark. And I thought, 'you're joking'." 

Pictured: Justin Meades during his round Jersey swim.

Meades wasn't just 'one of the fastest' this year, but he in fact came out top of the pile, with a rapid time of 10 hours and 23 minutes, but when he set out to do the challenge, time wasn't on his mind.

"The plan was to swim around Jersey, and I wanted to do it for myself. And then I was looking at different charities or what we could do and try and raise some money," said Meades when asked how the challenge - which became a tribute to his late-friend Andrew Phillips - was even brought up.

"I was walking along the cliffs with my partner Jenny, and I've been doing a lot of sea swimming. It was the anniversary of Andrew, and we were chatting about it, and I said, you know, I'd really like to swim the Channel one day. That was my dream. I said, you know what, I'd really like to do it in honor of Andrew."

Meades then took on his round-Jersey swim in memory of Andrew, who at the age of 16, lost his fight against cancer.

Having been described as a 'dare devil' and 'thrill seeker by nature', Meades said “this challenge seemed an apt tribute to him and a great opportunity to raise much needed funds for other children and their families affected by cancer.”

During his treatment, Andrew and his family were grateful to receive the support of the Teenage Cancer Trust, whose units are designed to not feel like a hospital. They’re spaces where young people facing a fight against cancer can feel at home, meet others in their position, and get the very best care from dedicated nurses and youth support teams.

"The goal amount was enough that someone gets a dedicated nurse at home and at the hospital for over six months. So the fact that we've managed to do that, for someone, to change someone's life, it makes me quite emotional."

At the time of writing, his JustGiving page has topped £8,500, that’s more than £3,500 more than he had set out to raise, and Justin says he's been blown away by the support: "

Pictured: A Link to Justin Meades JustGiving page is available at the bottom of this story.

"I think I'm very lucky with the generosity of people, really, and it is such a great cause." Meades said."A lot of people are touched by cancer, and it really does affect many people's lives. So I think, the swim is epic, but also it is such a great cause, so the thought when we hit five, that would be absolutely epic."

"I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who a supported me, just the overwhelming support that everyone has given me, not only for this swim, but just in general. I think I'm really lucky to have a really loving community of family and friends, and yeah, just feel quite, I don't want to say blessed, I think that, but I feel very lucky to be to be in this position. So thank you."

Justin says he’ll be leaving his donation page open for a few more weeks, to really try and raise as much money for the cause as possible, and you can find it online on his JustGiving page.