Aspire’s 100th Boat Successfully Crosses The English Channel

On Sunday 4th August 2024, Aspire’s 100th boat successfully crossed the English Channel with the Aspire Llamas.  The team of six swimmers, whose ages range from 16 to 71, left Dover at midnight and reached France after swimming for 12 hours 59 minutes, raising almost £10,000.

The swim was made possible by Mobility in Motion, a driving aids and vehicle adaptation company for people with a disability or limited mobility, whose sponsorship of the boat covered Aspire’s costs and means that every penny raised will go to help people who have sustained a spinal cord injury.

The team included Eleanor Reddington, who previously swam as part of Aspire’s first ever Channel Relay team in 2009. The other members of the team were Katy Bradfield, Robyn Carter, Marc Gledhill, Alice Stone and Paul Parrish, Aspire’s Director of Fundraising & Marketing.

“The support has been incredible.”

Eleanor said of her achievement:

“Swimming the Channel in 2009 was one of the hardest challenges I had ever undertaken and to return 16 years later seemed almost beyond me.  But I believe that age doesn’t have to be a block to living an exciting life and so, when I was offered a place on the boat, I decided I had to return and help Aspire.

“The support has been incredible.  When they heard about my attempt to swim the Channel again, a Derbyshire based company called Mobility in Motion decided to underwrite all the costs of the challenge.  This has meant that every penny we have raised will help people who have been paralysed.”

Paul Parrish, Director of Fundraising and Marketing for Aspire, said: “Eleanor was incredibly brave to be on that boat on Sunday. She had to swim her first leg in the middle of the night, and it was so lumpy out there. The team were very unwell, but Eleanor just took it all in her stride and dealt with everything the Channel could throw at her.

“This has been an historic moment for Aspire.  We never thought back in 2009 that a project to get a person with a Spinal Cord Injury to swim to France would lead to so much.  Thanks to Eleanor’s bravery back then, we became a driving force to get people swimming to France and in so doing have helped hundreds of people who have been paralysed to live independently.”

Eleanor Reddington has set up a JustGiving page to add to the funds that she has already raised for Aspire. A link to this can be found here.