On Sunday the 22nd of July 2012 the sad news broke that Paraic Casey died when attempting to swim the English Channel. Paraic aged 45, from Cork, became ill off the French coast in the early hours of Sunday. It is reported that Paraic was about a mile from the French shore when he took ill. Everyone at Team Brophy would like to offer our condolences and our thoughts and prayers are with Paraic’s family.
It is important to remember that swimming the English Channel remains one of hardest challenges there is. The success rate remains one out of every five people even to this day. The first person to successfully swim the channel was Captain Matthew Webb who took 21 hours 45 minutes and the average to this day remains 14 hours. Though it remains a huge challenge there are many safety nets in place with a 6 hour test, pilot boat and officials on the day.
It’s important to remember why people like myself and Paraic Casey train to attempt the English Channel, because of the challenge and drive of raising money for charities close to our hearts.
Thanks for all the support,
Brophy
