Super swimmers Christy O’Brien and Jamie Horkings are planning to swim 20 kilometres during February as part of the Starlight Foundation’s Super Swim Challenge.
The siblings are part of Echuca Moama Barracudas, a Murray River swimming club that is now using the two bridges as a start and finish point for its regular sessions.
Ms O’Brien and Mr Horkings formed the Barracudas after realising that swimming didn’t have to be limited to a pool, and could be just as enjoyable in the river.
The group members have been swimming together for the past six or seven years, but only adopted their name in the last couple of years.
Ms O’Brien said the siblings “always swam”, whether it be in the ocean, in pools or in events like the Pier to Pub.
It seemed only a natural transition for the siblings along with other members of the Barracudas to sign up for the Super Swim Challenge.
The challenge involves setting a goal of how many kilometres each participant would like to achieve in the 28 days of February.
Ms O’Brien said most members who had committed to the challenge were aiming to swim 20km each.
“Last year we did about 13 (kilometres) in the month, which was pretty easy. This year we thought let’s try and do 20.”
Half-a-dozen Barracudas members have signed up for the cause, which raises funds for sick kids.
In 2021, Ms O’Brien swam remotely for a friend who had committed to the challenge in Newcastle.
“We aimed to raise about $500 each. My brother and I ended up raising $4000 between us,” Ms O’Brien said.
This year, they have sponsorship from the Moama Bowling Club and are hoping that they can double the amount of funds they raised last year.
Ms O’Brien said swimming in the wild was becoming increasingly popular.
“Open water swimming has become huge in the last couple of years because so many pools have shut down throughout the pandemic,” she said.
The Barracudas now have 30 to 40 members and they are always looking for more.
“Anyone that comes and is new, we look after them. We don’t swim off and leave them by themselves,” Ms O’Brien said.
The group is made up of swimmers with varied strengths and abilities.
“We’ve got some young members and we’ve got some older people and we have both men and women,” Ms O’Brien said.
“Swimming can be pretty solitary but when you do anything as a group, it’s more inspiring and motivating and it’s such a great way to enjoy the river.”
The group mainly swims between the old bridge and the new bridge as there is often less river traffic there.
Members always swim in a group and always early in the morning to avoid accidents with passing boats.
Some members swim all-year round, with Ms O’Brien reassuring potential swimmers their body would adjust to the changes in temperature.
In summer, temperatures can reach up to 28℃ and in winter, the Murray River can drop to 8.5℃ .
"We’ve all got quite good wetsuits and we even wear helmets, booties and some people wear gloves when it’s cold,” Ms O’Brien said.
As for the Super Swim Challenge, for the past few years the Barracudas have been training by swimming against the current.
“We are slowly becoming more confident,” Ms O’Brien said.
The Barracudas have so far raised more than $1110.
They are asking for everyone to donate towards the cause at https://superswim.org.au/search