Lamlash Splash is a gruelling challenge
The 2018 Lamlash Splash last Saturday was described by many of the swimmers as brutal and the worst conditions for a number of years.
The sea was choppy, the wind blew, there were squally showers and the tide was turning which meant that the majority of swimmers really struggled in the conditions. This was reflected in the finishing times which were slower than previous years.
The first male home in 38mins 30secs was Graeme Schreiber from Houston who has had second and third places in previous years. Having recently turned 60 he wonders if he is the first sexagenarian to come first in the Splash? Second male was Alan Bowey in a time of 39.48 and third male was Mark Rafferty in a time of 50.05, just beating first local male Eric Milton whose time was 51.00.
First female, and also first local female, was Lynsey Cuthbertson from Lamlash in a time of 52.45, followed by locals Jo Totty in 60.32 and Georgina Maclean close behind in 60.40.
The Ali Bodie Plate was won by Morag Litton, who showed great courage and determination in completing the swim.
Thanks went to Bill Barr who took over as lead safety officer and Faye Hamill who was medical officer.
Also, to all the emergency services – the RNLI and the Coastguard – and to all those in the ribs and kayaks who supported the swimmers in the water. It was not an easy task given the conditions. A big thank also went to the Holy Isle ferries for transporting the swimmers across to the island for the start.
Many of the swimmers wanted to thank individual kayakers who were able to guide, encourage and care for the swimmers across
the choppy sea. Their fantastic encouragement really made a difference.
Also many thanks went to all the volunteers who were involved in marshalling, registration, timekeeping, recording and catering.
As usual, all the volunteer help meant the event ran smoothly with Arran swimmers being able to concentrate on their swim.
The many spectators on the pier who waited for a long time in bad weather to cheer the swimmers were really appreciated by the swimmers.
This year there was a special presentation from Arran Open Water Swimmers to Mike Mellor, who had completed his 10th Splash in a row.
It was disappointing that only 31 swimmers took part with a total of 13 calloffs from the original entry list. The event raised more than £1,000 for the Arran Junior Sailing Club.
Anyone who is interested in open water sea swimming can check out the Arran Open Water Facebook page for times and places of swims. Swimming takes place right through the winter months but if anyone wants to take part in the Splash next year it would be advisable to start training in early May when the water the sea has started to warm up.