A long-distance swimming local police officer is planning to swim the English Channel in memory of her late grandmother.
Sergeant Lindsey Walke, who is based at Tavistock Police Station, is an experienced swimmer and has been training hard for the 21-mile endurance test which tests mental strength, tolerance of the cold and fears of sea creatures such as as aggressive seals and stinging jellyfish.
Lindsey is hoping to raise £1,000 through her JustGiving page for the Alzheimer’s Society after her gran Margery Perriment died from complications with the disease.
Lindsey said: “I'm attempting to swim the English Channel in early June. I'm swimming in memory of my beloved late nan Margery Perriment. I want to raise money in the process to support those suffering and help for the future.
“I’ll definitely be thinking about my nan when it gets tougher. I’d like to think she knows what I’m doing – where she’s gone now.
“I’ve always wanted to swim the Channel from a very young age, but the job and life always got in the way. It also takes a lot of money and time to train for swimming the Channel in an officially recognised way.”
Lindsey is in the police unit dealing with domestic abuse cases. She was previously in charge of West Devon’s community policing teams and has spent the majority of her career in Plymouth, including working as a custody sergeant. She was also in the Army.
She fits her training between her police shifts. She plans to swim the Channel in a window of opportunity (for the right tides and weather) between Sunday, May 31 and Tuesday, June 10, expecting it to take about 13 hours.
Lindsey is a member of Plymouth Open Water Swimmers and will have some friends and members supporting her in the pilot boat she follows across the busy shipping lane: “They will be cheering me on and handing out energy drinks, bananas, dextrine powder in drinks and jelly babies. One will be holding up signs telling me when my hourly refreshment break is. I’m not allowed to touch the boat, but I can chat with them.
“They helped me with my previous longest swim from Eddystone to Plymouth Hoe and are swimmers, so they all know me and know what to shout out to keep me going when things get difficult. I might not be able to hear them, as the boat mustn’t get too close to me. But it’s really good for morale to know they’re there rooting for me.”
Lindsey will be swimming under the auspices of one of the official Channel swimming bodies, the Channel Swimming Association, which ratifies successful swims and lay down rules so everyone swims under the same conditions. She will not be allowed to wear a wetsuit, but can wear goggles, a traditional (non-legged) swimming costume and a swimming cap.
The Alzheimer’s Society is working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives, by giving help to those living with dementia and campaigning to make dementia a priority in research.
To sponsor Lindsey’s Channel swim for the Alzheimer’s Society open this link: https://shorturl.at/BMQRA
