Brave mum to take on six mile charity sea swim from Troon to Lady Isle in memory of 'soulmate'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A keen swimmer on a mission to raise awareness of addiction will brave a six mile open water sea swim in memory of her ‘soulmate’.Chantal McFeely, from Monkton, will negotiate choppy water, waves, and jellyfish when she swims from Troon to Lady Isle and back on September 16.Chantal’s endeavour will be two-fold; raising money for addiction charity River Garden Auchincruive- a residential programme which swaps traditional addiction rehab for communal support and hands-on work - and in loving memory of her husband Robin, who passed away from alcohol addiction in December 2020 aged 50.The 53-year-old hopes to reach Lady Isle - a small uninhabited island in the Firth of Clyde, that houses only a lighthouse - and back in four hours.Chantal, a teacher and mum-of-two teenagers, Sean, 17, and Max, 14, said: “Robin died in December 2020 having been in and out of rehab many times.“He was my soulmate and he’s no longer here, but when he passed away I wanted to do something in his memory.

I wanted to do something a bit different but still raise money and awareness for people struggling with their mental health, particularly addiction-based because of Robin.“As a regular open water swimmer at Ballast Bank I’ve often looked out towards Lady Isle so I decided that would be my next target.“It was two years on Tuesday since I did my very first open water swim for charity - that was Holy Isle to Lamlash, and that was 1.2 miles.

Last year I did about three miles, so it’s significantly more.“Two years later and here I am about to embark upon SIX miles.

I’ve had mixed emotions. There have been moments where training’s been a bit choppy and difficult - but I’m doing it.”Chantal has previously raised funds for River Garden Auchincruive and