Sim's Swim and a Surprise - Fremantle Shipping News

Regular Shipees will not have forgotten the incredible feat of Fremantle swimmer Simone Blaser who in September last year became the first person to swim the entire length of the Upper Ord River in Kununurra, Western Australia. A documentary film of Sim’s Swim was recently launched at Clancy’s Fish Pub along with a surprise announcement.

Here is a link to our post last year about Sim’s Swim which totalled a distance longer than the English Channel of just over 50 kilometres. Here is a link to our post confirming Simone did it! All up Simone has raised over $10,000 for WA charity Swim for Refugees. Congratulations to Simone and all her supporters.

Simone Blasier

Just over a week ago, the documentary of Sim’s Swim was launched to a sold out crowd at Clancy’s Fish Pub. Shipees can now watch the film for themselves here and marvel at Simone and her journey to making her dream happen, a story which has parallels to the story of many refugees. Inspiring and emotional stuff. At the launch, there was barely a dry eye in the room.

Also at the launch there was a surprise announcement about Simone’s next big challenge – Simone has inspired world record holding swimmer Andy Donaldson who in 2023 swam 33 kilometres from Rottnest Island to Elizabeth Quay in Perth to raise $14,000 for Telethon for research into youth mental health. Andy has challenged Simone to beat her time, and Simone has countered with offering to swim it all again so he has some company along the way. Nothing like a bit of rivalry to liven things up, all whilst supporting such important causes in our community. Thank you Simone and Andy!

By Madeleine Cox

Disclosure: The documentary Sim’s Swim was made by Madeleine’s incredibly talented brother Guy Cox.

* Madeleine Cox was raised on a farm on Binjareb Noongar country and now, together with her New Zealand/Aotearoa husband, lives with her children in Fremantle/Walyalup. She loves exploring places and ideas, and connecting with people and nature. This has prompted Madeleine to start writing independently, after many years work as a corporate and government lawyer, and service on not-for-profit boards in the health and education sectors.

~ For more articles by Madeleine Cox on FSN, look here.

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