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Nicholas McNamara to battle Atlantic Ocean in mission to swim across English Channel

A Bondi swimmer has his sights set on crossing the English Channel which will mark the longest unassisted swim of his life. Read about his challenge here.

Nicholas McNamara has his sights on swimming the English Channel.
Nicholas McNamara has his sights on swimming the English Channel.

Nicholas McNamara has his sights set on swimming the English Channel.

It will be his furthest distance unassisted but before he faces the real challenge in the icy Atlantic Ocean, the Bondi local has to play the waiting game.

McNamara, who works for Vaucluse MP Kellie Sloane, told the Wentworth Courier his allocated window to swim from Dover to Calais will open from September 16 – then it’s up to the weather.

However, he believes he will be able to push through whatever is thrown his way.

“I know the training I’ve done in Sydney’s been s--t, so I know I’ve gone through all the hard stuff,” McNamara said.

“There may be some curveballs in the channel … but I know based on the training plan that my coach put me through … doesn’t matter what the conditions are, I have to push through.”

Although, McNamara hasn’t lost sight of the enormous battle ahead.

He admitted that while a large part of the swim is physical and making sure his body is conditioned and ready, staying mentally fit is going to pay dividends.

Nicholas McNamara before an early morning swim session at Coogee Beach. Picture: Kenny Smith/TWAM
Nicholas McNamara before an early morning swim session at Coogee Beach. Picture: Kenny Smith/TWAM

“Your body can go, I can get pretty exhausted in the water, but I know I can go … a few more hours beyond that,” McNamara said.

“Just knowing that you’re gonna have to dig deep, it’s gonna get tough and I’m probably gonna want to pull out at some stage.”

McNamara’s vision of completing the gruelling swim didn’t cross his mind until 18 months ago when he thought he could “take it to another level”.

Before that, he had only swum as far as five kilometres however said he had always felt comfortable swimming in the ocean.

Whenever he is given the green light to swim, and the intrusive thoughts come through, raising money for the North Bondi RSL sub-branch will be one the main drivers behind McNamara’s mission.

While acknowledging he started training for the English Channel as a “personal challenge”, his background in the Army Reserves was a key reason why he chose to support the army veterans.

With more than 1000km already swum over the past 12 months in preparation for the epic challenge, McNamara hopes to celebrate with his wife, family and close friends in London before hitting a few cities in Europe … but that won’t come until after he’s recovered.

“Your tongue starts to sort of peel off, it takes like 48 to 72 hours for (it) to come back,” he said.

“It’s just the salt water, it’s pretty corrosive … so it takes a few days to … get some feeling back.”

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/wentworth-courier/nicholas-mcnamara-to-battle-atlantic-ocean-in-mission-to-swim-across-english-channel/news-story/59c96c631e9b687c5ca8be9ae030653d