It’s been over two weeks since Oly Rush completed his 37-hour swim around Grand Cayman to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the islands.
The 37-year-old plasterer from Dorset, England, continues to be the centre of attention since finishing his epic 65-mile Grand Swim.
However, there were also some others who took to the sea during the charity swim, like teenagers Jake Fagan and Ben Coak.
Fagan, 14, met Rush at the Flow 800-metre sea swim a week before his historic challenge, and asked if he could be part of the crew.
“Jake came up to me at the 800-metre swim and said, ‘Hey, Oly, do you mind if I swim with you at the end? ’” Rush told the Compass.
“I was told that we couldn’t have anyone else swimming at the end because of the dangers,” Rush said, “but there was something about him, and I was, like, ‘Mate, you’re in; you can join us,’ and his little face lit up.”
Three-quarters of the way through the Grand Swim, Fagan and his Cayman Prep schoolmate Ben, 13, provided some invaluable assistance to Rush by finding an alternative route through the current-heavy South Sound channel as he approached.
“We went through the left side and the current was ripping out of the channel, and it took us at least a good five minutes to get through,” Jake told the Compass. “Then we started swimming on the right side, inside the surf of the waves, and it helped push us through the channel, which was really good. So, that’s the route that we took with Oly.”
While Rush was accompanied by a boat crew and kayakers throughout the swim, he said having the boys in the water gave him a boost in energy.
“Literally, it was the biggest lift you can ever imagine, if I’m being honest,” Rush said. “At that point, I was super, super tired. …Then these two young lads got in there, and they were doing shakas (surfer hand gesture for ‘hang loose’) under the water to me.
“My stroke went from about 40 a minute to 44. That’s how much it meant. It was absolutely incredible.”
After smoothly bringing Rush inside the channel, the boys then cleared away sargassum seaweed in the water, so there were no obstructions as they came down the home stretch.
“We didn’t get stung a lot by the sargassum, but it was quite scratchy, and we knew it would be quite an irritation for him, so we cleared it out to help him,” Coak said.
The boys ended up swimming about eight miles to the West Bay dock where the swim concluded.
Fagan said seeing Rush finish the Grand Swim to the cheers of the many who had gathered along the beach at West Bay dock was consolation.
“It was quite relieving,” he said. “Just to know that we made it and that Oly had made it and the swim was just finished.
“We haven’t gotten a lot of time to know him… but just the fact that he attempted to do the swim really just shows his determination for a great cause.”
This was not the first time that Fagan and Coak have completed a long swim to help a charity. They were both a part of ‘The Bogue’ swim last year, swimming five miles from West End Point, Cayman Brac, to Point of Sand, Little Cayman, to raise money for the Central Caribbean Marine Institute.
The pair, along with friend Zack Brooks, also raised funds in 2020 by kiteboarding over 22 miles to raise money for Cayman ARK.
While the teenage boys played a major role, organisers said, if not for a crew of nearly 50 people on land and in the water, the swim would not be possible.
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