Management and staff at the country’s leading manufacturer of winter and road maintenance vehicles are following the progress of a Thirsk woman hoping to ‘front crawl’ her way into the record books.
Econ Engineering, which has recently opened a £7m engineering hub at Sowerby, Thirsk, is sponsoring Jasmine Harrison in her bid to become the first female to swim from Land’s End to John O’Groats – a distance of 900 miles.
Two years ago, the 22-year-old swimming instructor became the first female to row solo across the Atlantic, and the youngest ever lone female to row any ocean.
For her latest challenge, Jasmine, who started her epic adventure on July 1, is swimming in six hour shifts. Thirty nine days in, she has covered 527km, and is currently ploughing her way through the Irish Sea with the Isle of Man plainly in view.
Thanks to the support of business backers including Econ Engineering – which makes eight out of ten gritters on Britain’s roads – Jasmine has been able to fund a support boat, crew, kayak, safety equipment and provisions.
At the same time as trying to get in the record books for a second time, she is aiming to raise £10,000 for Sea Shepherd UK – a marine conservation charity whose aim is to end the destruction of habitats and poaching of marine wildlife around the UK & across the world’s oceans.
Jonathan Lupton, Econ Engineering’s Executive Director, said: “When Jasmine approached us asking if we would consider sponsoring her in her latest record attempt, we agreed straight away as we were blown away by her sheer Yorkshire grit. We are proud to be one of Jasmine’s sponsors and are following her progress on a daily basis. We are also keeping a close eye on the weather charts and hoping the seas remain calm.”
“When she has finished her record breaking swim, we look forward to hosting a reception for her at our newly-opened engineering hub, and toasting her success.”
Further information about Jasmine’s record attempt can be found here
Further information about Econ Engineering can be found here
