Sarah's feat

WELL DONE, SARAH!!!

As you all know, Sarah Higgins, one of our sponsors, took upon herself the amazing feat of swimming the 9km. from the Port at Estepona to Duquesa Port. Sarah is a very fit young woman. She trained as a ballet dancer and has kept fit throughout the childhood of her two children, Emma and Jack, by practising all kinds of outdoors sports. However, she only took up swimming seriously after coming to live in Spain. One of her original motivations was medical. Some years ago she was told that she had a slight problem with one of the valves in her heart and that at the age of 40 she would probably have to have an operation to replace it. Determination not to have to undergo such an operation is what prompted Sarah’s initial training.

However, in February this year, when she received a letter from her sponsored child, she was so touched by the simple letter that she decided to try and put her training efforts to some practical use by trying to raise funds for the project in Bolivia.

Sarah started training in May with a view to doing her swim towards the end of August. Things looked distinctly unpromising throughout most of the summer as the westerly “poniente” wind blew relentlessly. The characteristic of the “poniente” is that it skims off the warm upper layer of water leaving very cold water behind which makes prolonged immersion almost impossible. Another hazard this summer were the jelly fish, and Sarah has a number of stings to show for her efforts.

However, last Tuesday evening (August 23rd.) Sarah called to say that she was aiming to make her bid the following day. We had had almost a week of the easterly “levante” which warms up the water, but the forecast was that the wind would change once again on Thursday so this might be the last chance before the end of the month. It had been decided that, if the swim had not been done by August 31st., Sarah would do the equivalent distance in the swimming pool, but 300 lengths was not a very attractive proposition, so Sarah was anxious to take advantage of this opportunity.

She left Estepona at 11am accompanied (in a canoe) by her husband, Ben. Four hours later Sarah reached Duquesa Port. The local television cameras were there to record her arrival and interview her. Conditions had not matched the forecast. The tide was not too favourable and there had been large pockets of extremely cold water along the way, but she made it and arrived in excellent condition. The main complaints were cold and ravenous hunger so we made a bee-line for the beach bar where she was able to fill an empty spot. Her parents were also on hand with a bottle of champagne to celebrate her feat.

The total proceeds of sponsorship have not been counted as some sheets have still to come in from a number of locations but it looks as though the final figure might be around €300 which are a very welcome boost for the project. We got considerable press coverage with radio interviews on the Marbella English language broadcast and local Manilva radio. TV interviews were broadcast by Marbella TV, Estepona Estival TV and Manilva TV, so one never knows what fruits this coverage might bear over the coming months.

In any case, I am sure you will all join with me in congratulating Sarah on her tremendous achievement! Thanks must also go to Ben, Sarah’s husband, who has encouraged and supported her throughout her training, and accompanied her rowing in his canoe while she did her swim. His rowing is no mean achievement either! Thanks to you both.