Paralympian swimmer Jeremy McClure in need of skippers for huge swim attempt from Abrolhos to Geraldton

Four-time WA Paralympian swimmer Jeremy McClure has already achieved an incredible feat this year — powering through a 36km swim from Dirk Hartog Island to Denham. Now, he is planning to go one better by attempting an unprecedented 53km swim from the Abrolhos to Geraldton. Fundraising for Guide Dogs WA, McClure will attempt the mammoth distance in June — which most people with vision would think was impossible — and is calling for help from the Geraldton and Mid West community and skippers to guide him to his destination. After McClure lost his eyesight at age 15 due to a genetic condition called optic neuropathy, he began swimming a year later when he discovered the Paralympics. Beginning at Long Island at the Abrolhos and finishing at Geraldton foreshore, McClure said he needed the help of a support crew to cater for the extreme level of swimming. In his February venture, he completed the swim in 12 hours and 41 minutes. This time he will attempt the 53km swim from the Abrolhos in under 19 hours, with support. The swim is conducted with roughly five other swimmers attached to Mr McClure by a bungee cord and they swap for breaks each hour. “It’s necessary to have three or four boats, and due to the swell they may need to be 15m cray boats,” McClure said. McClure said the swim had most likely never been attempted before. But he said he was mostly confident with the right crew and team members beside him. “It’s always hard to say 100 per cent confidence because no one has done it before. It’s uncharted and I’ve never swam that distance,” he said. McClure said he would stop to eat and drink every half an hour, working out to roughly 38 times throughout the duration of his trip. “Strategically following the ocean current can really assist you, but being blind it’s a bit of a whirlwind,” he said. Blindness hasn’t prevented McClure from smashing goals, and he has been a proud representative of Australia at the Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. The successful Paralympian and father of a three-week-old newborn said his achievements were proof anything was possible if you worked towards a goal. “The message is whether you have a disability or not, everyone is capable of reaching their dreams,” he said. “If anyone is happy to support me — not just boating or skippering — as a crew assistant or a sponsorship I would be grateful.” If you can support McClure’s Abrolhos to Geraldton quest to swim by boating, skippering, crew assistance or sponsorship, contact the Jeremy McClure Paralympian Facebook page.