NEWS DESK
Channel swim to raise money for charity NICK Martin, of Portsea, is no stranger to open water swimming and will take it to the next level when he attempts the gruelling English Channel crossing on 1 August. Martin, a life member of Portsea Surf life Saving Club, a regular swimmer at Portsea front beach, is increasing his training regime in the weeks leading up to the swim to around 50 kilometres a week with a mix of open water and pool swimming. The Dover (England) to Calais (France) channel swim is 34 kilometres, but Martin knows that the tides and the weather can extend both the distance and the difficulty of the swim. He said the idea for the challenge arose out of lockdown when he was swimming with some mates who were egging each other on about swimming further. “That’s where the idea came from, but I wanted to complete a challenge that had a purpose, that helped the community,” he said. Martin is using the swim to raise money for a capital project at the Portsea Camp, which he said was a well deserving charity that had supported hundreds of children over its 70 years of operation. “I swim past the Portsea Camp often and I think it does great things for sick children, but without a lot of fanfare, so I think it is a very worthy charity that I’m happy to help.” While he knows it will be a tough swim and not everyone completes the crossing, Martin says he refuses to let doubts get the better of him. “There can be no doubts, I’m going
NICK Martin is about to swim the English Channel to raise money for the Portsea Camp. Picture: Supplied and I’m going to finish,” he said. “I’m not stopping half way, I’m going the whole hog.” With Europe facing a heat wave at the moment, Martin says he expects the water to be a “comfortable” 16 degrees. “The rules around the swim are quite strict. There are no wetsuits allowed and you can only wear speedos, which means you have to apply a greasy mix of lanolin and Vaseline to
your body,” he said. “Once in the water I’ll feed every 30 minutes from the pilot boat that will accompany me, just to make sure I’m getting enough sugar, nutrition and hydration.” As tough as it sounds, last week before he flew out to England Martin said he was looking forward to it “even though it’s taken some time to get my head around it”. Martin has started a GoFundMe
campaign and is more than half way to his $100,000 target. The Portsea Camp runs camps for rurally isolated, disadvantaged and special needs children who need a break. The Portsea Camp runs fournight camps in the school holidays for 8 - 12 year olds, and one for 13 - 16 year olds in September. To support the swim and donate to the Portsea Camp go to gofund.me/72 001496 Liz Bell
Housing plan ‘concentrates’ disadvantage CAPEL Sound residents opposing an “affordable housing” development outlined their concerns at a Mornington Peninsula Shire Council meeting on 14 July. About 20 speakers spoke at the forward planning meeting, with most opposed to the proposal to build on the 22,000 square metre allotment in Allambie Avenue, behind the Seawinds Community Hub. The residents watched proceedings online from two rooms outside of the council chamber. Spokesman Terry Wright said residents’ concerns included the longterm implications of concentrating disadvantage in an already disadvantaged area, the mental health implications of losing open space, potential traffic congestion and the impacts on wildlife. He said speakers recognised the urgent need to address the current housing shortage and suggested alternative approaches. Speakers also questioned the council on the ongoing ownership and long-term management of the site. To support their presentations, the speakers associated with Capel Sound Community Group presented the council with aerial views of the site, a pie chart showing Capel Sound was over represented in the sites being considered, breakdowns of a petition, questions for the shire and research on affordable housing. Liz Bell
Southern Peninsula News
27 July 2022
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