Newhaven RNLI join Seaford Mermaids for dip in the sea

The volunteer crew of Newhaven RNLI joined the Seaford Mermaids for a morning dip in the sea on Saturday.

The Seaford Mermaids is a safety conscious group of open water swimmers.

A detailed daily forecast, shared via their WhatsApp groups of over 400 members, provides weather and tide information, suggesting the best time and place to take a dip that day in Seaford bay.

Swimmers at Seaford on Saturday (Image: Daniel Moon)

The annual tradition to raise money for the RNLI began after a swimmer died from drowning at Cuckmere.

In November 2020, 62-year-old Ralph Cooper died in hospital after he got into difficulty while swimming with his son.

Although a swimmer unrelated to the Mermaids, they were nonetheless inspired and raised over £12,000 in less than a week.

This effort set a precedent to annually support “our friend Newhaven Lifeboat”, according to Mermaids founder 89-year-old Ruth Rose, whose daily dip attracted others to join her some fifteen years ago.

On Saturday, £2,000 was raised for Newhaven RNLI by the swimmers and donations are still rolling in.

More than sixty swimmers took to the water.

Lewis Arnold, coxswain, said: “The Mermaids community embraces everything that is good about wild or open water swimming, including respecting the water by encouraging its members to be aware of the importance of acclimatising to temperature and the associated dangers of cold water shock, the tide, local hazards and most importantly, to never swim alone.”

Swimmers from the Seaford Mermaids took to the sea (Image: Daniel Moon)

Amanda Raine, a Seaford Mermaid and donor to the RNLI, who moved to the area just over a year ago, said: “I am really grateful to our committed forecasters.

“They help me feel so much safer swimming all-year and encourage me to get in the sea. Joining The Mermaids, meeting everyone and sea swimming, has nourished my life in so many ways.”