Staff from the Best Western Palace Hotel and Casino will attempt to swim the length of the deepest man-made hole in the world to raise money for charity.
The Russian borehole in the Kola Peninsula is about 7.5 miles deep and took 24 years to drill – but the 12-strong team of swimmers will attempt to match this distance in 12 hours.
The swimathon takes place from 9.00am to 9.00pm on Thursday, May 3 at the Palace Health Club swimming pool.
Heading up the team is Palace Health Club Manager Ken Hedley, who will be joined by Kristy Ashe, Suzanne Baggaley, Daniel Spiteri, Kieran Chason, Jackie Murphy, Gareth Capper, Paul Letten, Rom Kesa and Danny Cannell. They will be joined by two guest swimmers from the Isle of Man Parkinson’s Disease Society, which is the hotel’s chosen charity for 2012.
Ken said: ‘This is a relay and we’ll be swimming non-stop for 12 hours. It will be a great test of our endurance, but I’m sure that, given our strong team spirit, we’ll be in good shape to achieve the target.
‘We’ll also be holding a coffee morning on the day, with cakes, refreshments and raffle prizes to be donated by Palace Health Club members and friends. It’s a real community event and the aim is to raise as much money as possible for the Isle of Man Parkinson’s Disease Society, which does so much wonderful work in the Island.’
The nine-inch borehole on the Kola Peninsula was created by a rotating bit spun by the pumping of drilling mud. Unexpectedly high temperatures caused the stoppage of the drilling in 1994 and put an end to the Russians’ goal of drilling to the ‘Moho’, the boundary between the Earth’s crust and the mantle.
Anyone interested in sponsoring the team’s swimathon should contact the Palace Health Club on 682741.
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