A shoal of 47 swimmers made waves off the coast of Tenby on Sunday morning when their stamina and skill earned them one of the first-ever Caldey-Tenby Open Water Swim medals.

The 2.5-mile swim took place in ideal weather conditions and saw a fleet of craft accompanying the entrants from the monastic island's Priory Beach to Tenby's North Beach.

Just 49 minutes after the first plunge into the water, the first swimmer was home - contestant number 49, triathlete Olly Simon, of Tenby

It was a course he had been waiting years to complete.

"When I was 12, I had the chance to swim from here to Caldey, but the jellyfish got me and I had to be taken out of the water," he said. "It was perfect today, well worth the wait."

The first lady to finish was Erika Malein, while the youngest swimmer was 18-year-old Sydney Vickery, of Tenby, who took part alongside her dad Ian.

There was another father-and-daughter combo in Lori Amos, also 18, with dad Steve, and four couples - Tonia Forsyth and Jim Clarkson, Mel and Neil Morgan, Tracey Thomas and David Poole and Nicola and Carlton Coates, who first swam the route 20 years ago to raise money for research into meningitis, following the death of Carlton's sister, Diane.

A crowd gathered on the North Beach, close to the harbour, to cheer the swimmers in. Medals were presented by the Mayor of Tenby, Clr. Sue Lane, and the vice-chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council, Clr. Tom Richards.

Every swimmer completed the course, with the final one arriving home in one hour 55 minutes, just under the cut-off time of two hours.

Our very own general manager Andy Adamson was one of the swimmers who successfully completed the event.

"It was a great occasion which was blessed with fantastic weather," he said. "Crossing the sea towards Tenby was quite an experience, given the breathtaking views of the town. Congratulations to all the swimmers who participated and the organisers for their efforts to make this charity swim a success."

Held under the umbrella of Tenby Sea Swimming Association (TSSA), which has staged Tenby's legendary Boxing Day Swim for over 40 years, the event is raising funds for the RNLI and a bucket collection on the day raised £200.

It was sponsored by Princes Gate Spring Water, McCarthy & Stone and Big Brum's.

Said TSSA chairman Chris Osborne: "Everything went really well, and there was a tremendous sense of camaraderie amongst the swimmers, and a varied flotilla, including the Tenby lifeboat, out on the water to offer safety support and encouragement.

"It all really made up for the disappointment felt when we had to postpone the swim in July because of weather conditions.

"Following its success, I think we can now make plans for a bigger and better event next year.