Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
Ripley Davenport is planning a solo stage swim around the entire island of Ireland.
As he writes in his charity page on Just Giving, “The Irish coastline is among the most exquisitely stunning coastlines but underneath its magic there is a dark side.
The sea is a formidable, evocative reality. It represents size and mystery, the delicate balance between existence and devastation, the ability to take life and change it. An autonomous watery world, resolute and unpredictable. In other words, a challenge. And by no means a straightforward one.
With no previous experience in open water swimming, Ripley has set himself an enormous challenge mentally, physically and emotionally battling cold, monotony, fatigue, storms, jellyfish, hunger, and isolation.
Davenport’s 850-mile adventure swim around the 20th largest island in the world will, as he knows well, test his resilience and talent to new levels. Even if he wears a wetsuit, swimming nearly 10 miles a day for nearly 90 days straight is tough.
Especially for someone with Multiple Sclerosis and without a swimming background. His clockwise Round Ireland Ultra Adventure Swim is on its surface a test of man versus the elements, but Davenport also wants to “ultimately convey a message to everyone that you can make a change and anything is possible and anyone can achieve a dream that transcends all boundaries.”
This is his dream. This is his event. This are his wishes.
With a support yacht and kayaker escorting Davenport, his clockwise swim around Ireland will be digitally visible to the world via a GPS tracker (see here).
For information on the first stage swim attempted and completed around Ireland, visit here to learn more about the Round Ireland Swim when, in 56 days including a total of 35 swim days. The five main swimmers were Anne Marie Ward, Ryan Ward, Tom Watters, Ian Claxton and Nuala Moore with Expedition Leader Henry O Donnell took 56 days including a total of 35 swim days to achieve their dream of a complete circumnavigation stage relay around Ireland.
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