On Friday, five members of Kingfishers Swimming Club’s open water squad completed the local Castle Foot Swim; Club Chair Kath Minghella doing so 46 years since her first successful swim at the age of 14, all swimming from the North Bay around to the South Bay.
The start of the swim was overseen by club president Maureen Dickinson. At 6pm the swimmers entered the water at the steps on the beach tucked under the castle where the Royal Albert Cafe once stood, and, swam all the way round on a lovely sunny but breezy evening. The water was relatively calm compared with how rough it had been all day! This swim is the culmination of a lot of hard work from Kath Minghella, Sarah Noble, Adam Thomas, Jane Sedman and Matt Smallwood; training in the pool, at Wykeham Lakes and in the sea. The swimmers finished in front of the lifeboat in cracking times
Sarah Noble 44 minutes 44 seconds
Adam Thomas 45 minutes 36 seconds
Matt Smallwood 51 minutes 22 seconds
Kath Minghella 52 minutes 7 seconds
Jane Sedman – (Breaststroke) 1 hour 2 minutes 7 seconds
Paula Ambury, Open Water Lead for Kingfishers, said:
“It’s always a team effort and privilege to help swimmers complete swims, the Castle Foot is the first of the local swims we do, moving onto Scalby mills to the Spa and Filey to Scarborough as they progress. As always credit must be given to the boat crew and kayak support. Steve, John, Alex, Chloe are all proficient sea kayakers and keep the swimmers safe and on the right line close in, under the castle headland as fishing boats in years gone by couldn’t do. Nick Gough and the club officials on local boat Skylark are there to oversee all the swimmers and be the rescue boat if necessary. Without the support from these volunteers’ swims like this can not go ahead with the level of safety and success Kingfishers prides itself on.”
Locals have been swimming around the castle headland and have had their swims recorded since the 1940s. Swimmers enter the water usually on the north side and once upon a time through the tunnel called the Lady Dock (under where the Albert Café used to stand). The tunnel was filled in when the sea defences were put in place. The swim finishes on the south side when they can stand in front of the lifeboat station.
Kingfishers Swimming Club is a registered charity, run by volunteers. The club has almost 200 members and continues to grow and welcomes all ages and abilities with a healthy Masters and open water section and sessions for swimmers wanting to improve their fitness sitting alongside the club’s Performance sessions. Anyone interested in joining as a swimmer or volunteer can find more information on the club’s website and is warmly encouraged to get in touch: clubsecretary@kingfishersswimmingclub.org.uk
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