Congratulations to all those who took part in the 35th Ventnor Boxing Day Swim on Saturday afternoon.
A lot of hard work goes into organising the event founded by Hugo Kullander, who is involved to this day.
Photo: Mike Kullander, Den Arnold and Hugo Kullander
The swim is organised to raise money for the excellent local cancer support charity, P.A.T.C.H., who help cancer patients with travel off the Island for cancer treatment.
Stormy conditions
The usual midday whistle was postponed until 1pm due to the high spring tides. The waves were crashing into the beach, but that didn’t stop well over a hundred brave souls running into the stormy seas.
As well as Ventnor’s Coast Guard and Rescue Service being on hand on the shore, the trusty volunteers from Sandown and Shanklin Lifeboat were also in the bay keeping an eye on those taking the plunge.
Over £2,500 raised
The P.A.T.C.H. team have been counting the donations over the last three days and can now reveal a grand total of £2,518.78 was collected on the day.
Erika Arnold told OnTheWight,
“The crowds were phenomenal, the generosity to us is overwhelming.”
Well done also to esplanade businesses The Spyglass, The Met and Besty & Spinkys, who all donated to the cause.
Watch the videos
Each year more and more people record the swim on their phones, video cameras and iPads. 2015 was no exception.
We’ve gathered a few from different perspectives to give you a feel for just how many people took part and spectated.
Here’s our footage from 2015 …
This from Hannah Donbavand, shared on Instagram …
This from Met Bar owner, Meg Mortimer …
If that’s not enough to fill your boots with, here’s a compilation of videos from 2007 onwards
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