Garvin Duffy returning from Belleek
ENNISKILLEN WATER skier Garvan Duffy has skied the length of Lough Erne for a charity close to his heart.
The chairman of Enniskillen Round Table completed the marathon six hour ski on Sunday for Friends of Cancer Centre in memory of his grandfather Tommy Duffy.
It’s been 43 years since the feat has been achieved, in 1971 Joe Crawford completed a non stop ski the length of the lough.
“Being chairman of the Round Table this year I want to do something to help the RNLI build its new station at Carrybridge, but I also wanted to do something for my grandfather.
“This is something I have always wanted to do since watching Joe ski those 120 miles all those years ago,” said Garvan.
“It was totally amazing. We started off in fog, in fact we had to delay because of the thickness of the fog on the lough, but when I got onto the Broad Lough it was just like a mill pond, so calm and still. I had to take a short stop around Devenish because I couldn’t see anything, but we picked up a GPS at the Yacht Club which helped.”
By the time Garvan got to Belleek there was a small crowd of well wishers waiting to cheer him on.
“This wasn’t a record attempt because Joe did it in one complete run in those days. But I just always wanted to do it. There were a few stops but I was just glad to get it completed.”
Over £1,000 has already been raised for the charity, with the total still growing.
Garvan hopes to add lots more to the pot when the Round Table organises its black tie event to raise funds for the RNLI’s new station.
“That night we hope to give the Friends of Cancer a real injection with a collection to add to today’s tally,” he said.
Assisting him on the boat were his wife Julie, and drivers Eugene McTaggart and Aidy Kelly with the fuel sponsored by Niall Dolan.
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