After my brother died I turned to sea swimming and found it profoundly healing

The death of Emma Simpson’s brother prompted her to go back to the sea, where she found a community of swimmers, says Emer Harrington

Emma Simpson’s ambition is to swim in Antarctica.

Emma Simpson’s healing began with a sea swim in Dorset 15 years ago. She was on holiday with her husband and two young children when she saw the advert for a 500m sea swim. She lacked experience. “I was such a novice, I turned up in a swimsuit, and everyone else was in wetsuits. I was there in flip-flops,” Emma says.

This was her first time back in the sea after many years. “In my early 20s, I had an experience in the sea where I nearly drowned and had to get rescued by a lifeguard,” she says. “After that, I became really scared of the sea, and I didn’t swim in the sea again for quite some time.”