North Channel

On 28 September 2024, I completed my North Channel swim from Ireland to Scotland, making it the latest successful crossing of the channel recorded to date. It was a fitting milestone in my Ocean Seven journey, and one that lived up entirely to the North Channel’s reputation as one of the hardest channel crossings in the world.

The North Channel is considered one of the most demanding swims for very good reason. It is cold, exposed, unpredictable and physically unforgiving. The conditions require more than fitness alone. It demands patience, experience, mental discipline and the ability to keep moving forward when every part of you is being tested.

I deliberately left the North Channel, Molokai and Japan as my final three Ocean Seven crossings because I wanted to build experience before attempting them.  One of the main reasons I left the North Channel until near the end was because I wanted to make sure I had enough experience under my belt to manage the conditions and handle myself properly if things became difficult. I am glad that I did. By the time I swam North Channel, I had learnt a great deal from previous channels – how to handle cold water, nutrition, crew communication, difficult conditions and the mental work required to stay calm when the wheels start to fall off!

The plan for this swim was to fly into Manchester, where I would rendezvous with my support crew, Kate and Leyla. From there, we would fly into Dublin. We chose this approach because it was easier for us to get to Dublin on short notice from Manchester once the swim window was confirmed.  Kate also lives in Manchester which also saved on accommodation costs because as we know, these swims aren’t cheap and this was definitely a cost saver for us.

As with all of these swims, the wait is often the hardest part. While in Manchester I continued to train and then once in Ireland we made good use of the time by exploring (the Titanic exhibition is by far the best exhibition I have ever seen!) and joined a few swim session with the Chunky Dunkers in Donaghadee; a rite of passage for North Channel swimmers. Meeting communities throughout my journey has been one of the most memorable parts of chasing down the oceans seven.  The Chunky Dunkers are an absolute delight and they welcome channel swimmers with open arms.  North Channel swimmers should not miss the opportunity to swim with them.

Another rite of passage is receiving the Chunky Dunkers beanie. I received mine before I swam and while I am not overly superstitious, I didn’t want to wear it until after I had completed my swim because I felt I hadn’t earnt it and I also didn’t want to tempt fate.  

 We stayed in Groomsport at an Airbnb. It was the perfect location, close to the water, close to Donaghadee and also close to the marina .
Super convenient for final preparations and for swim day logistics.

Swim day finally arrived on the very last day of the window, in the very last swim window of the year. We went down to the wire for this swim.  No-one had swum the North Channel later than 28 September in any calendar year, and somehow I managed to close it out on that date. It was an absolute test, though, and one that I very nearly did not make.  I was the only successful solo swimmer on this day with the 2 other soloist pulling out (one quiet early and the other around the 9hr mark) and only 1 relay team completing the crossing.

Swim day conditions were interesting. The water temperature was 14°C, which for the North Channel was positively a bath. I had selected September on the advice of my coaches because the the water would be warmer late in the seaons but that also meant there would be more lion’s mane jellyfish to deal with. I was prepared to take the stings rather than try to battle it out with colder water, especially given that I had little to no opportunity in Abu Dhabi to seriously prepare for cold-water conditions. The swell was coming in from behind me and it rolled that wway all day. I took on a lot of seawater during the swim, particularly during feeds. I remember making this horrible sound during one feed after I had swallowed so much water that I thought I was going to throw up.

This swim was the only one of my Oceans Seven crossings where I truly questioned whether I would complete it. I had never really doubted myself before, but I certainly did during this swim.  With the air temperature measuring 9°C, but with a “feels like” temperature of 5°C and no sun, it was a struggle to stay warm.  The day was bitterly cold and I was in an absolute hurt locker for most of the swim. It felt like my kidneys were on fire for most of the day, and I spent much of the swim thinking that at any moment my back was going to seize up from the cold.

I had to use all of my swim experience to get this crossing done. I’m not sure where I was in the swim, but at some point I started to recognise the early signs of hypothermia.  I was fatiguing quickly and was starting to shiver.  I was aware enough that I was able to communicate what was happening to my team on the boat. My coach Nils was calm, he listened and then told me to keep going for a bit while he sorted something out.  A warm drink, a few gels and some caffine seemed to pull me back and I was back on track although it took abit for me to really feel better. 

To close out the crossing I had a sea lion join me as the waves to shore rolled me in.  Honestly, never been happier to close out a swim as I was with this one.  Truly a test of both my physical and mental state!

For the North Channel, my previous experience definitely paid off. I went into this swim with confidence knowing that I could manage difficult conditions and that I could always dig  deep when the swim demanded it. Completing this crossing was not just about reaching Scotland; it was about proving that all the lessons from the earlier swims had prepared me for one of the toughest tests in open water swimming.