A team of four swimmers braved rough seas and jellyfish stings on Saturday (20th June) to complete the first ever End to End open water relay.
The team, consisting of two local and two visiting swimmers, completed the distance of 34 miles, swimming from the Point of Ayre to the Calf Sound down the Island's west coast, in a staggering time of 12 hours and 44 minutes - 6 hours ahead of their schedule.
The challenge was organised by Carole Laporte, a teacher at St Ninian's High School. Carole, a dedicated open water swimmer, organised the first End to End relay last summer but adverse weather conditions forced the team of six to abandon their attempt off Glen Maye.
This year, Carole, from Brittany, was joined by just three of last year's team members: Manxman Mark Gorry, plus Jim Boucher and Rory Fitzgerald, both originally from Northern Ireland but now based in the South of England.
All four are highly experienced open water swimmers, combining an exceptional back catalogue of achievements.
In 2005, Mark was part of the 5-person relay team which swam the 19 miles from Whithorn, in Scotland, to the Point of Ayre to raise money for the Isle of Man Children's centre.
Carole's open water successes include the Irish International Championship in Lough Erne (17 km), Clew Bay, Ireland (10 km) and Dublin Bay (5 km).
Jim and Rory, meanwhile, belonged to the relay teams which crossed the English Channel in 2005 and rounded the Isle of Wight in 2007. In the same year, Jim completed a successful solo crossing of the Channel.
The End to End relay consisted of legs of 1 hour and 20 minutes each, swimming freestyle, with the last two legs, covering the complex tides around the Sound, shortened to 1 hour. In keeping with the rules of official long distance swimming bodies, the team wore only costumes or trunks, with caps and goggles, to face the inhospitable Irish Sea.
Jim Boucher describes the conditions which faced the swimmers: 'We started at 8.40am in fairly awful conditions - closer to Force 5 than Force 4, about 1 metre of 'chop' and a water temperature of 12 degrees celsius. It didn't get much more than 13 degrees all the way.'
The decision to stage the swim in June was taken to avoid the large numbers of jellyfish which are usually prevalent later in the summer, along with slightly warmer water temperatures.
However, the swimmers soon realised that the jellies were going to be a constant presence throughout the day. Jim continues 'The entire world population of Moon (or Crescent) jellyfish was there.
'In amongst the Moons, there were toy-sized Lion's Mane jellies (which can inflict an extremely painful sting), whose larger relatives only tended to be at the Calf Sound. It was a good exercise in getting used to swimming with jellies, though!'
Jim rates the End to End event as tougher than both his Channel and Isle of Wight relays, while for Rory, it has the distinction of being his toughest trial to date: 'I thought that the whole thing ran remarkably smoothly, given the unexpected challenges of squally weather, jellyfish, and water which was way the wrong side of a comfortable 18 degrees.
'It was undoubtedly the hardest swim that I have ever undertaken - much tougher than the 2Swim4Life 24-hour swim I completed last October - the battle scars, muscle aches and ravaged tongue are testament to that!'
Despite the steep challenge presented by the distance and conditions, levels of resolve ran high, as Mark explains: 'After not making it last year, we were really determined. We'd timed the start to make best advantage of the tides and available daylight, but had estimated, based on the previous swim, that we'd be finishing around 2am.
'Although we'd prepared for it, none of us was looking forward to having to swim through the night or struggling against a turning tide. Using the experience of our Skipper, Ian Ball of charter boat Hannah Louise, and Steve Watt's kayak support team, we varied our distance from the coast to make the most of the tidal flows and back-eddies.
'This got us to Peel Castle in around 7 hours, ahead of last year by nearly 3 hours. After solid swims from Peel to Port Erin, Carole made a big push at the finish, from Bradda Head to The Sound in one swim, which meant we finished ahead of the changing tide and before sunset.'
Carole, who has also praised the experience and commitment of the boat and kayak support which made the swim possible, describes the home straight: 'We had nearly got to Port Erin and only had another ten minutes of 'good' tide, then it was set to turn, and this could have meant that we wouldn't have made it to the end.
'But we discussed it with our Skipper, who said it was a 50-50 situation, and decided to go for it!
Carole, who is planning to swim the Channel in 2011, concludes 'The toughest part of the swim was going through the jelly 'porridge', especially after we got to Peel.
'The best part of the event was the team spirit. It was unbelievable that we went through this together. At the finish line, I can't tell you how it felt - what an achievement...and a relief! I was so proud of the team!'
Carole, Jim, Mark and Rory are now hoping to have their End to End success officially recognised by the British or Irish Long Distance Swimming Association.
Pictured (l-r): Rory Fitzgerald, Mark Gorry, Jim Boucher, Carole Laporte
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If the swimmers' achievement has inspired you, and you fancy seeing more open water swimming action, check out the Scallop Shell Swims organised by the Isle of Man Open Water Swimming Club as part of the 2009 Queenie Festival (29th June - 5th July).
With separate distances for juniors and adults, the fun competitive swims will take place in Gansey Bay, from the Shore Hotel (30th June, 6.30pm), Port Erin Bay (3rd July, 6.30pm) and Port St Mary (Chapel) Bay (5th July, 1pm).
Entries for the swims have now closed but come along and lend your support - you too might get a taste for the open waves!
