#TheLongSwim started at Sennen Cove.

Thursday evening, as the sun sets on Sennen...

the Cove's all-weather lifeboat returns after spending the day chaperoning extreme swimmer Lewis Pugh who began...

 #TheLongSwim - the entire 348 miles that is the English Channel wearing only a pair of Speedos and a pair of goggles - from Sennen beach at that morning at 6am...

24 hours later with Lewis far out to sea heading for the Lizard his support vessel Aquila, with her largely novice crew, hove into Mounts Bay helping to celebrate Penzance being the country's first plastic 'No-Go Zone' town - and Lewis' swim is his brainchild in order to push the plastic-laden oceans issue to the forefront...

so it is more than fitting that his first day brought Penzance in view...

You can follow Lewis' daily progress on his blog as he swims his way up the channel like some migrating fish heading for home at Dover!

Yacht Inn Newlyn to Penzance Macmillan Cancer Charity swim 2015

Watched by half the town, over 350 hundred swimmers head for the open waters of Mount's Bay in the annual Yacht Inn Macmillan Cancer Support charity swim...

it's like lemmings heading for the sea..

Tom is keeping an eye on the start line...

as the swimmers get their orders from the starter...

and they are off!...

just as the Scillonina III  makes her way back to Penance...

the ILB gets in some inshore practice...

11 minutes later there are three in close contention for the race...

as the eventual winner, Neil Eddy heads for the finishing line in 15 minutes and 51 seconds...

and gets a few photos from family and fans...

what it's all about...

the swimmers are stretched over most of the course...

some are looking forward to a well earned pint coming in 84th after 22 minutes and 12 seconds of hard swimming in choppy conditions, of water maybe...

this year's Tshirt.

Now watch the start!

Update from the Battery Rockers - it's cold in there!

Although the sky had an intensley warm glow to it in the early hours of this morning the sea still has a decidedly wintry feel and look to it - as confirmed by some of the hardy Battery Rocks' swimmers who avail themselves of perverse pleasure as they take to the waters off the Jubilee pool every morning - come hail or snow.

Of course, on days like the one above the swimmers have to make do with the (relatively) calmer waters inside Penzance Harbour!

Here's a comment received today from them: 

"You are right it was cold, by the time we went down at 7.30, no more sun but a fantastic light..the Battery Rockers don't agree with radio saying sea is at 10ºC - we measured it at 8ºC this morning and 6ºC in the air, even WE think we're mad!!!"