Go Overboard: The Albania to Corfu Charity Swim
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This September a stretch of open water between Albania and Corfu will fill once more with swimmers, support boats and a shared sense of charitable endeavour. When places for this year’s Go Overboard charity swim went on sale in April, all 100 were claimed within 24 hours.

This year, the challenge is now a global one, as swimmers around the world will raise money on their own sponsored swims for Go Overboard. Here is what to know before the swimmers take to the water. 

Go Overboard, formerly Albania Overboard, is a UK-registered charity organising swims with purpose. Its flagship event is an annual crossing of the channel separating the Albanian coast from the green shores of Corfu. The swim was co-founded by Nick Cookson of Villa Collective and a dear friend with equally deep roots in Corfu, Nick Lemis. Villa Collective is a founding sponsor of the event, which Nick Cookson organises alongside his wife, Justyna Cookson. What began in 2014 as a personal dare- just nine friends and a bold idea- has grown into a sold-out, internationally recognised event that has raised more than 200,000 euros for marine and coastal conservation.  

SUPPORT ALBANIA-CORFU SWIM FUNDRAISING EFFORTS

A SOLD-OUT CROSSING

The clearest sign of how far the movement has travelled came the moment registration opened this year: all 100 places were claimed within 24 hours. But why only 100? Many open-water events carry far larger numbers. Firstly, because the swim runs from Albania to Corfu, from outside the Schengen zone into it, it is as much a logistical operation as an endurance one. Secondly, this is a friendly swim rather than a race, and safety is taken seriously: an early start to avoid heavy boat traffic, safety boats, lifeguards and medical staff on site, and a small army of local volunteers and partners who make the day happen. Keeping the group relatively small is what keeps it safe, personal and unlike anything else among open-water challenges. 

It is also, more and more, a chance to see the difference the swim makes. Last year the effect of conservation work from charity proceeds showed up in the water during the crossing. Turtle sightings were observed on the way across, and dolphins swam alongside the swimmers, close enough for photographs.  

BUILDING ON A RECORD YEAR

This year’s crossing follows the strongest run in the event’s history. In 2024 the swim raised more than 50,000 euros with around 500 supporters behind it. In 2025, with all swimmer spots selling out within a week, the movement reached new depths. Over 800 people rallied behind the cause, raising over 40,000 euros, and fundraisers exceeded their targets by an average of 150 per cent, a powerful testament to what is possible when a community moves with one shared purpose. 

For the past five years the crossing has brought together more than 100 swimmers each year, travelling from 20 countries. A truly international crowd gathered on one small stretch of Ionian water. This September’s swim is the ninth crossing since 2014. From nine friends to a sold-out event, the appetite for this year suggests the community is ready to clear the bar once again. 

POWERED BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

None of this could happen without the amazing people of Corfu. Behind every crossing stands a wide network of local partners, volunteers and activists who give their time, boats and expertise to make the day possible and safe. Support boats and safety cover come from local operators and yachting friends including Filippos Boats, Four Seasons Yachting, Vision Yachting and Nereides Yachting, alongside the Port Authorities of Albania and Corfu and the Ionian School lifeguards. Piedra del Mar hosts the swim hub and the celebrations that follow, medical cover comes from the team at Geniki Kliniki Kerkyras, and the finish line, kindly set up by Kassios Dias, is welcomed home by the volunteers of the Sin Praxi Association. The ongoing, year-after-year support of the Municipality of Northern Corfu, the customs teams on both sides of the water, and dozens more hands besides are proof that this is a swim the whole region carries together. 

STEWARDSHIP WITH EVERY STROKE

The reason the crossing is important lies in what it funds. Every euro raised through the Albania to Corfu swim goes to the Ionian Environment Foundation, a local charity that protects the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the islands and is a proud member of the global Conservation Collective network. Since 2019, the foundation has awarded more than 750,000 euros across more than 55 projects to more than 25 grantees, and, in a beautiful circularity, the work helps conserve the very waters our villas look out on. 

Projects the swim helped support in 2025 include the Ionian Dolphin Project, run with the Tethys Research Institute, monitoring dolphin populations in the waters around Paxos and Antipaxos and beyond and protection of the Mediterranean monk seal, of which fewer than 1,000 survive worldwide, including a marine cave survey in northern Corfu and the official protection of Formicula islet as a restricted access zone, safeguarding a breeding haven for an estimated 40 seals. Funds from the swim have supported the Marine Mammal Stranding Responders Network, which has trained more than 70 volunteers across Corfu, Zakynthos, Lefkada, and Kefalonia; the protection of Posidonia seagrass meadows; and sustainable sailing initiatives that promote responsible anchoring across the region. In real terms, this means seals resting undisturbed, dolphins counted and cared for and a generation growing up as guardians of their sea. 

SWIM YOUR OWN STRETCH: THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE

The biggest change this year is that you no longer have to be in Corfu to take part. In partnership with Conservation Collective, Go Overboard has opened the challenge to the world with its new Global Challenge, inviting anyone, anywhere, to swim a stretch of one to three kilometres in their local waters and raise funds alongside the main crossing. Four fellow foundations have joined in, each inviting their own community to fundraise for local projects: the Cyprus Environment Foundation, Ibiza & Formentera Preservation, the Highlands & Islands Environment Foundation, and the Cyclades Preservation Fund. Find out more about them on their websites and their dedicated Crowdfunder pages below. 

A lake in the Cotswolds, a lido in the city, a home beach on the other side of the planet: wherever there is water and the will to get in it, there is now a way to be part of it. It turns a single September morning in the Ionian into a global act of solidarity for the sea, and it means that even with the crossing itself sold out, no one who wants to swim needs to miss out. 

SIGN UP TO GLOBAL CHALLENGE

DONATE ON CROWDFUNDER

HOW TO GET BEHIND IT

With every place in this September’s crossing already taken, there are three ways to join in. Swim your own stretch through the Global Challenge. Back the crossing directly by supporting the Ionian Environment Foundation via the Albania to Corfu swim’s Crowdfunder page, where every pound goes to protecting the sea. Or support Go Overboard’s wider work as the movement keeps growing, spreading the word and organising more swims with purpose. 

From nine swimmers to hundreds, from one stretch of sea to a whole world of water, Go Overboard has become proof of what a community can do when it moves with one purpose. Whether you fancy a length of your own local water, a pledge from the shore, or simply the chance to cheer this year’s swimmers along, there is a part for you in this story. Find out more at go-overboard.org.  

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