A Sunshine Coast man has announced his intentions to swim the full length of the Maroochy River, in his latest bid to raise money for children with disabilities.
Kings Beach 53-year-old Brendan Neil is preparing to make the 27km journey from Yandina to Cotton Tree on February 24.
He’s already completed a string of challenges to raise awareness and funds for special schools in the region, but this one is way out of the ordinary.
He said Sunshine Coast mayoral candidate Jason O’Pray first flouted the idea.
“We were watching the sunset at Cotton Tree and Jason said, ‘I don’t think anyone has swum the length of the river, but I reckon you’re the bloke to do it’.”
“I said ‘no way’. It didn’t interest me.
“But the annual solo endurance challenges that I do are all about doing something I don’t want to do, for the incredible kids and families of the special schools.”
Mr Neil, who will be joined by three others for the last 7km, said he will have to swim at a rapid pace before the tide turns.
“There is no way myself and my three friends can swim against the strong tide in Maroochydore,” he said.
“I will have to swim fast to finish 20km, to give my three swimming buddies the chance to complete 7km together.”
Mr Neil will travel by boat to the head of the river at Yandina before starting the swim about 9.30am.
“That gives me just over an hour of swimming against the tide,” he said.
“As the tide turns, I expect to make good time.
“The current seems favourable after about 10km, (but) we must finish before (the tide turns again) at 4.30pm (at the sandy beach at Cotton Tree Park).
“It looks like it’s likely to take the full 7.5 hours for me if the currents are good enough.
A lack of visibility will also pose a significant test to Mr Neil.
But there’s one thing that is especially daunting.
He said bull sharks were a “big concern”, particularly after he experienced a close call during a 25-hour swim at Noosa last year.
“At 11.15pm, I was struck on the foot by a shark, which also hit the (supporting) jet ski,” he said.
“Fortunately, it just flicked me and I continued through the night.”
The Maroochy River is known to have bull sharks and Mr Neil plans on swimming with “no cage protection”.
He has tackled an array of challenges including swimming from Mudjimba around Old Woman Island to Mooloolaba 10 times in 10 days; running the length of the Sunshine Coast (72km) and swimming 10km in a day; swimming from Caloundra to Noosa on the outside of every shark net over two days, and swimming 2km every hour for 25 hours at Noosa.
He is a regular participant and advocate of the Island Charity Swim, an annual event that is a crucial fundraiser for special schools.
But this month’s test is a different beast.
“Each year I aim for my challenge to be more difficult than the previous year,” he said.
“This is the first where I really must swim fast as well as for a long time.
“I also do not like the idea of swimming in the river at all.
“Visibility is almost zero. This extra rain has really stirred up the water.
“And I certainly haven’t trained as hard as previous years. I got COVID on Christmas Eve and still find it a bit testing to swim hard.”
His 17-year-old son Baylin will paddle beside him, and there will also be a support crew in a boat.
When his three friends join him for the closing stages of the swim, they will be accompanied by another support crew in a boat and a few more paddlers.
He will be joined by fellow swimmers Kerry-Lee Gockel, who has no arms, her husband Paul and Wayne Warren, a partial quadriplegic.
“I wanted to ask all three to join me, as I find them so inspiring as people,” he said.
“I wanted to make a bigger impact for the incredible kids and families of the special schools and encourage as many people as possible to support the special schools and also be inspired by these three awesome people.”
Mr Neil said he was passionate about raising awareness and funds for special schools and kids with disabilities.
“The schools do an amazing job of supporting these incredible kids and their families,” he said.
“They’re a vital support for these kids and families.
“These parents just don’t have time to raise funds for the school.
“They’re looking after their own kids who often have such high needs.
“So, all the support really helps the schools provide more opportunities for the kids to see more and do more.
“The parents are often just so amazed at the support they receive as often they feel alone and not able to connect socially with all the additional responsibilities they have.”
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