Hoffy to make a splash
A charity swimmer will brave the waves and attempt to cross the tricky 18-mile channel between Jersey and France this summer.
Paul Hopfensperger, or 'Hoffy', is set to be the first Englishman to cross the strait, in his bid to raise 50,000 for Clic Sargent and St Nicholas' Hospice, in Bury St Edmunds.
But before he takes on this challenging endeavour, the intrepid swimmer will be taking part in the 39th Open Water Swimming Grand Prix being staged in Serbia, in July. He will swim 19 kilometres in open water along the River Sava and be competing against several Olympic hopefuls.
Then the 45-year-old will be tackling the Jersey to France swim which will be good preparation for his attempt to cross the English Channel twice in September this year. Last July, he swam the one-way route in 13 hours, 52 minutes.
Cllr Hopfensperger, a Suffolk county councillor for Tower division in Bury St Edmunds, said: "When I heard about the Jersey to France swim, I knew it would be good preparation for my two-way Channel swim.
"It gets very difficult to land as you get closer to the French coast, which is why so few people in history have completed the swim."
Hoffy will dive in at La Coup Point, in Jersey, during the August 10 to 13 tide and hopes to reach San Germaine Sur Plage, in France, around 10 hours later.
He said: "To complete these swims, the important thing is to get used to being cold."
His fund-raising has so far raised 12,881 for the two charities and among the recent donations he has received was 1,400 from the Westbury Social Club, which was matched by a cheque from NHS supply chain DHL.
To sponsor Hoffy, email paul@hoffyswims.com or donate online at www.HoffySwims.com
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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Wind direction: East
