Sunday 7th June 2015: 8 of the toughest swimmers in Grand Turk donned their mask and fins, jumped into The Big Blue and trekked it 2 miles down the island all unified by one common cause- A better world for sharks.

Finning through the crystal seas of Grand Turk’s Columbus Landfall national park, the team encountered Barracudas and Hawksbill Turtles which lifted any wavering spirits they had. The Grand Turk Finners were aching and tired when they crossed the line, but being serenaded by the sweet sounds of Mitch Rolling and his guitar as they emerged from the water as winners made it all worthwhile!

“Global Shark Conservation is something we at Blue Water Divers care very much about- so we were delighted to have raised over $700 for Project AWARE’s Sharks in Peril movement” said Mitch, owner of Blue Water Divers for over 30 years.

Speaking at the post-swim barbeque, Chris Young (who organized the safety boat) said, “It’s tremendous when people come together about something they all care about. Taking action is our main focus and a pro-active approach to the issues the environment faces is paramount to making a difference. This sausage is tasty”

Over $400 was raised by the generous donations of the general public, and a further $350 was collected through barbeque sales. "The event was fantastic and extremely well recieved! A local TV station did a news feature on us, and we even had a newpaper article written!" said Vicky Dunster, one of our brave Finners. Vicky even managed to clean some trash out of the ocean by picking up few empty (unfortunately!) cans of beer druing the swim.

“Plans for next year?” Finner and event organizer Henry Harries-Jones said pensively, “We’ll make it bigger and better. This is our first Finathon so it was really a trial, but it was a great success! Here a Blue Water Divers, we never stop having fun and doing good, so its time to go back to the drawing board- A Dive Against Debris is our next adventure!”