Aqua Sphere has pledged its support to 10 lifeboat crew members who will be taking part in a gruelling triathlon to raise money for the RNLI.
The swim specialist is supplying the team with wetsuits, goggles and caps for its ‘Tower 2 Tour’ challenge, which includes a 80-plus mile relay run from central London to Dover, a 22-mile swim across the English Channel and a near-200 mile bike ride from Calais to the Eiffel Tower.
The crew are aiming to raise enough money to train 10 new members in 2014.
One of four lifeboat stations on the tidal Thames, operating alongside Gravesend, Chiswick and Teddington, the Tower Lifeboat Station has consistently been the busiest RNLI station in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
A crew is on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is committed to launch within 90 seconds of a call being received.
Toni Scarr is employed by the Environment Agency, but gives up her time for free to volunteer as a lifeboat crew member at Tower RNLI.
She was the driving force behind the idea and explains: “Being on the lifeboat, I get to see first hand, up close and personal what lifeboats are all about.
“It’s hard to put into words that feeling of helping others and when you’ve been involved in some near misses with regard to people’s lives, it drives home how important fundraising is for the RNLI.
“That’s why a group of us decided to do this epic triathlon.
“Not only do we want to raise money, but we also want to increase awareness of the work of the lifeboats in London.
“In the last two weeks alone London’s lifeboat crews have rescued four people from a sinking speedboat, were involved in a detailed search for a man who went missing after trying to rescue a girl who got into trouble while swimming and launched to more than 10 people who appeared to have jumped from bridges into the river.
“It costs £1,300 to train new crew members and if we raise enough money to train 10 new members, which is our goal, just think how many lives those people can save.”
Toni adds: “Training for this event has been tough and the team has appreciated the donation of Aqua Sphere’s wetsuits and goggles.
“The temperature and nature of swimming the Channel means we need good quality, comfortable kit and Aqua Sphere’s knowledge of the challenge of open water swimming means we are assured we have quality performance on our side, which will be a crucial component to us achieving our challenge.”
