Swimmers to tow 10st logs the length of Windermere to raise funds for lifesaving cause

Ethan Shaw, 19, and Declan Farrell, 20, like a challenge and decided that simply taking on a swimming distance of England’s longest lake wasn’t enough, so they decided to make things tougher by weighing themselves down with tree trunks weighing almost 10st each!

It is all in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and will take place on August 13 at Windermere itself, they have been training at Eccleston Delph, Appley Bridge, for a number of months alongside former Wigan Warriors player Kevin Brown as he prepares to swim the English Channel later this year.

With the pair also planning to swim Loch Lomond next year, they saw this as the perfect warm-up! The 11.6 miles are expected to take anywhere between 10 and 12 hours – including the intake of liquid carbohydrates every hour.

Ethan said: “I set the goal at £5,000 and hoping that we can gain more momentum during and after the swim ahead of the other fund-raisers we have coming up. This is only the beginning for us. We do a lot of stuff water related so the RNLI is the most appropriate charity to do it for.”

With Ethan’s wet suit somewhat degraded, he wishes to make the point that the best equipment isn’t necessary for doing such challenges, especially with the logs making things even harder.

Declan said: “I’m feeling really good and confident, just waiting to get it done now. We’re in open water a lot like Ethan said, and we think that open water safety is a very important message to send – no matter how well trained you are water is unpredictable and cold.”

Set up in 1824 by Sir William Hillary, the RNLI has been saving lives in the sea for almost 200 years, working to help communities both at home and abroad.

In 2022, the RNLI helped save 389 lives which was made possible by the donations of the public and the volunteers that make up 97 per cent of the operational crew.

Both men are from St Helens. Ethan is beginning his War Studies at King’s College London in September and Declan will be entering his second year at Liverpool John Moores.

Donations can be made ahead of the event on the gofundme page.