Bluefins to swim 12 hours for Calpe House

A 12-hour swimathon, organised by the Bluefin Open Water Swimmers to raise money for Calpe House, will take place on Saturday morning.

The swim will take place at Eastern Beach starting at 8am and members of the club will take it in turns to be in the water over the 12-hour period.

“Our main core of Bluefins will be swimming one hour each and then we have other members or swimmers attached to different groups from all ages who swim throughout the year,” said Jason Mesilio from Bluefin.

“Anyone can join in, they have 12 hours where they can pop down to the northern end of Eastern Beach and we will be collecting funds there.”

“We will have Bluefins there constantly so they just need to ask who is collecting and they can donate on the day.”

“You can swim for five minutes, five metres or five seconds, there is no issue and I would encourage that. I don’t want this to be portrayed as an hour swim.”

“If you want to go and go there with your family, get in your bathing costume, go into the water and get yourself freshened up and come out. I can guarantee you one thing you will get a real adrenaline rush; it doesn’t have to be a swim, even if it is a dip.”

“Please donate and please go in and if you don’t want to go for a dip, it is your loss, trust me.”

Mr Mesilio told the Chronicle that the club aims to raise funds every year for different charities through swimming.

“This year we decided we were going to help with Calpe House,” he said.

“Calpe House is a personal project. Although Bluefin is a group, I decided to start with Calpe House because last year I spent some time in Calpe House with my mother and obviously we saw the fantastic facilities, the warmth and professionalism from the staff and what Calpe House really is all about.”

His father, Leslie Mesilio who was part of the Gibraltar Diabetic Association, was also one of the first fundraisers for Calpe House back when the initial home away from home was being set up.

Bluefin’s initial aim was to buy a mobility scooter for Calpe House, with the premise that it would provide a means for people with cardiac or mobility issues to get around, without needing to be pushed by someone, and it would give them some level of independence.

However, this is being provided to the charity by other means.

As a result, the funds raised by Bluefin will be buy new bed linen for various rooms, a commodity that is required constantly by the charity.

The club is also accepting donations via Revolut and those wishing to take part or just contribute can message Mr Mesilio on 54012900.

Mr Mesilio is also encouraging people to take part in open water swimming and for them to contact the club if they wish to do so.

“I am really glad to say that open water swimming, for whatever reason, probably Covid, has taken off immensely in Gibraltar,” he said

“It is really satisfying, as a small group that Bluefin was when we first started out, and it is just grown to the point that we have loads and loads of swimmers. It’s really good as it is one of the best sports you can do, cold water swimming especially.”

“We try to promote the benefits of swimming and we try to promote charities and fundraising and that is the ethos of Bluefin.”