Hello! I'm Fran and I was born and raised in Whitley Bay. My first sea experience would have been plodging on Whitley Bay beach. Combing the rock-pools at St. Mary's Island and the odd exotic trip to the Sugar Sands. I took up sea swimming at Cullercoats in 2018 in an attempt to break out of a deep depression. It was transformational. Not only did I meet a fantastic community of people from all walks of life, I felt that indescribable buzz of the cold water. Wanting to share this experience with others who may have been reluctant to try it, I trained as a swim host with Mental Health Swims. Our first Cullercoats Mental Health Swims dip took place in May 2022. Just over 3 years later, we are relaunching as Cullercoats Mental Health Dips due to the closure of Mental Health Swims as a National organisation. The support of our local swim community is an absolute force of nature and keeps me going. My co-host Andrew will introduce himself now...

Hi, I am Andrew and I am co-host at CMHD with Fran. I have lived close to the North Sea for most of my life and was taught to swim by my parents who were members of the Panama Swimming Club in Whitley Bay. I only rediscovered my love for swimming and the sea 6 years ago having been encouraged by Fran and David to take the plunge. As the saying goes, "I have never looked back".