SWIMCREDIBLE23
Friends cover 43km from Co Down to Scotland for charity
THREE hardy swimmers braved freezing temperatures and swarms of jellyfish to complete a gruelling “couch to channel” swim.
Blair Clinton, 36, and pals David Murnaghan, 38, and Stephen Murphy, 37, became just the fourth three person relay team to complete the challenge from Donaghdee, Co Down, to Port Patrick in Scotland last Tuesday.
The North Channel is just over 34km wide but with tides, the men believe they swam 43km in 13 hours and 43 minutes, but this has yet to be ratified by officials.
The trio began training last September.
David from Navan, Co Meath, explained: “So we started going to the beach and spending time just standing in the cold water to get used to temperatures and then going back to the car absolutely shivering uncontrollably.
“At one stage it was only 6C and I lasted about 12 minutes in the water.
“When we started the challenge on Tuesday, each of us swam for an hour and then rested for two hours.
“At one stage the team told me there were dolphins swimming with me but it was so dark, I didn’t notice
“We all saw loads of lions mane jellyfish but there is one stretch where the jellyfish are called smack and now I know why – you literally feel like you’ve been smacked. At one point, I decided to try and get away from them and swim in another direction but the captain told me to toughen up and swim through them. It was a massive relief to get over the line.”
Despite having completed many endurance races, Blair, who runs Chekov’s Coffee Shop in Navan, said the North Channel swim was like no other.
He added: “I thought I could swim until I went swimming with David and discovered that I couldn’t swim at all so I decided to go for this.
“It was one of the toughest things I’ve ever tried to do but it ended up being a great day at the beach. Blair, 36, has completed the Race Around America but pledged he is now “selling his togs” after battling jellyfish and freezing tides.
He added: “When taking part in events like Race Across America, you are always going forward and always in control.
“This, you are going against Mother Nature and you have to go with or fight against the tides.
“It took us days to stop shivering and we swayed for about 12 hours after. It was a fantastic experience but I think I’ll be selling my togs now,” he laughed.
The trio also raised over €10,500 for the RNLI in the challenge.