A Waterford man has become the first person to paddleboard prone around Ireland.
Jim Swift (37) left his native Tramore on June 21st and arrived back on Saturday afternoon, completing 1,600km journey around Ireland’s coast.
Speaking to media upon his arrival, he said he felt a sense of happiness, pride and also gratitude towards people who helped him over the past month.
Averaging 5-10 hours per day on the water, he rested in diverse accommodation, including hostels, a removal van and a tent.
“There a lot of people out there that I want to thank,” he said, “so brace yourselves — there’s some hugs coming up”.
He said he took on the task because of “a sense of adventure, and I wanted to prove it to myself, I wanted to collect money for charity and I wanted to promote this great sport, paddleboarding”.
He began the journey, undertaken in aid for Waterford Hospice, by paddling west towards Cork and circumnavigated the western and northern coastline, before landing in Howth, north Dublin earlier this week.
Pone paddleboarders lay chest down on the board, or on their knees, and typically use a butterfly-style swimming movement to propel themselves through the water.
Although previously attempted, it is understood that the round-island trip has never been completed before.
He had been expected to arrive on Sunday afternoon due to strong headwinds. However he was ahead of schedule and arrived to a cheering crowd on Saturday made up of family, friends and spectators.
His father, Declan and brother, Brian took time off work to support him on a relay basis throughout the trip.
His wife, Meadhbh and young sons, Deicí (5) and Art (3) awaited his safe arrival back in Tramore.
Meadhbh praised his perseverance: “When you see the glamour of arriving in and the signs, the people and the press, you think, ‘wow’.
“But it’s all the 5am starts doing the core workouts in the sitting room, getting up 5 to half 6, going for a paddle and being back before work.”
She added there had been gym, swimming, running and cycling sessions for over a year, which people would never see, which “all lead to this moment”.
Well known for his ultra-endurance exploits, most notably as a swimmer, the schoolteacher’s previous feats include swimming the English Channel and running a non-stop-triple-marathon from Cork to Waterford, raising considerable sums for various charities.