Alicia Grimaldi on her way across The Solent.
A WOMAN from Bembridge has raised £7,000 for a charity by swimming the 3.5 miles across The Solent.
Alicia Grimaldi, 30, swum unaided from Stokes Bay, Gosport, to East Pier, Ryde, to raise funds for The Honeypot charity, which improves the lives of vulnerable children.
And charity swims run in the family as Alicia’s sister, Sophia, 23, plans to don her swimming costume next month to swim from Hurst Point, Lymington, to the IW and aiming to raise another £3,000 for the charity.
Alicia took just one hour and 45 minutes to complete the swim, almost half the time she predicted she would need. Other than a few twinges of cramp in her leg, Alicia arrived in Ryde exhausted and happy, relieved to have negotiated her way successfully through the busy shipping lanes dodging ferries and tankers.
Cash from the swim will go towards providing respite breaks for young carers and vulnerable children at Honeypot House in the New Forest.
She said: "I’m always thrilled to reach the IW but never more so than when I landed in Ryde after my swim.
"As I swam alongside Ryde Pier on the final stretch, it seemed to go on for ever. Apparently, my face was covered in green slime when I emerged from the water. I am thrilled to be raising money for Honeypot."
Alicia now lives and works in London.
Reporter: davidn@iwcpmail.co.uk