MAELSTROM CROSSING, 2015
CORRYVRECKAN
“Before we swam the Eden there was a single word we used as inspiration for our training. For me it was a word that evoked a wilder and more ancient Britain – the islands that cartographers drew in the early 16th century, when the coastlines were wrapped in inky seas populated by writhing leviathans and Hebridean selkies and sirens. It was also a word preserved in Viking legends, one that drew the mind to the west coast of Argyll, where a collision of tidal pathways intersects and sends manic waves to smash against the jagged, limpet-studded rocks that edge the Isle of Jura… That word was Corryvreckan.”
The boys set off from the stormy marina of Craobh Haven (with their sea captain Duncan) just after midday and returned under clearing skies a few hours later, having swum the Corryvreckan.
At times they were separated, shifted off course by the clashing currents and forced to paw their way through salty slabs of saline. They only had a short window of around 30-minutes to make it between the isles of Jura and Scarba. If they took too long they’d be caught in the maelstrom when the tide changed and the encircling whirlpools and eddies roared into full swing.
The support of their Mum had been invaluable - she’d calmly stomached the idea of losing all three of her boys at once, whilst also belting out cries of encouragement at every opportunity.
In the end they made it across with a decent time of 22 minutes. Aside from a few cut feet and bruised ankles they crawled out intact, caught their breath and reflected on what had been a rough, froth-speckled initiation into endurance swimming - great practice for their next adventure… the Swim the Eden expedition.