Swimming for cleaner seas - Cathy and the Buoys

Until I was in my mid-40s, I couldn’t swim and was terrified of putting my head under the water. Almost 20 years later, I am about to swim the Channel...

After surviving my tough two-hour Channel qualifier.

Cathy and the Buoys will be doing a Channel relay between 18-23 July, 2023. My teammates are Mark Bauer, Neil Ingle and Anthony Walton. It could take anything from 13-18 hours, depending on the conditions. As well as swim training, we're having to mentally prepare ourselves - ready to face pitch-black night swimming, big waves, strong currents and jellyfish stings!

Training in Swanage Bay.

As we love the sea and marine wildlife, it seemed fitting to use our swim to help promote a cause we're passionate about - reducing plastic pollution in our oceans. So this fundraiser is for a local enterprise, Project Planet Earth. Led by Oly Rush, the team raises awareness of the plastic pollution problem, especially among school children, and organises countless beach cleans along the Dorset coast.

Oly Rush, founder of Project Planet Earth, collecting plastics from the sea.

Project Planet Earth's mission statement is:

Our beaches are littered with plastic. It’s dropped by people, blown by the wind, carried by the tides. And it’s devastating to wildlife. The fight against plastic pollution seems hopeless. But at Project Planet Earth we’re taking on this fight. We believe that by working together, we can make a difference.

We’re not just about cleaning our beaches. We’re raising awareness of the scale of the problem. Crucially, we want to inform and inspire children and young people – so they become the plastic pollution activists of the future.

Please help us support Project Planet Earth by sponsoring our swim. To find out more about the work that Oly and his team do, go to Project Planet Earth or follow on Facebook or Instagram.

Plastic waste is ruining our beaches and killing marine wildlife. As it breaks down into tiny micro-plastics, it is now making its way into our food chain.