Summer came just in time for the Inch Mile Swim Festival! On Saturday over 130 swimmers took to the water at Rathmullan for the Inch Mile and the Kinnegar 500 swim events organised by Gartan Open Water Swimmers. The day was glorious, the atmosphere fantastic—Rathmullan at its best.
Swimmers came from all over Ireland—quite a few veterans of English, North and Dal Riata Channel swims. But not only were there seasoned swimmers, there were those too who had taken up open water swimming more recently, looking for an opportunity to test themselves or try an event for the first time.
Tide times and power ruled out swimming from Inch across to Rathmullan, so swimmers boarded the Swilly Ferry and were taken to the start line a mile up the Swilly. Motorists and foot passengers watched bemused as 92 swimmers then leapt off the nose of the ferry and into the water ready for the starting gun.
A flotilla of kayaks and boats awaited the swimmers to provide safety cover on the race back. The crane on the pier provided an excellent sighting point for the swimmers.
The event was won in a blazingly fast time of 22 minutes 45 seconds by 16-year-old Limavady youngster, Jude Williamson. Siobhan Brennan from Termon followed in second place (23:05).
There was a sizable contingent of hardy souls who opted to go without a wetsuit, with Julie Murphy coming first in the non-wetsuit category (3rd overall) in a time of 23:33, followed by current North Channel record holder Jordan Leckey.
In the veteran’s category, prizes went to Peter Wilson (26:48), and Ruth McGuigan (28:11). The Junior prizes went to Shea Monaghan and Sophie Lindsay who completed the swim in 28:12 and 29:32 respectively.
Before the Inch Mile kicked off, the Kinnegar 500 event took place earlier in the afternoon. Over 40 swimmers made their way down the beach to start point. Undeterred by a stiff breeze which had just spring up, they took to the waters and raced back down to the finish line, cheered on by a growing crowd.
The 500m provided a close finish with the race won by Niamh McGuckin in a time of (10.52) with Rathmullan’s, Adam Dunworth coming in second in a photo finish, chased down a second later by Ryan Patton in 3rd. Kilmacrenan’s Sarah Brennan was the second female home, followed by Ramelton’s Josie Lawlor. (More Results can be found on Gartan Open Water Swimmers’ Facebook page and all times on Coretiming,ie)
But it’s not all about competing—it’s about the challenge you set yourself and it was great to see so many swimmers taking part and completing the battle against distance and conditions. Special achievement awards were given to Heather Hoffman on completing the Inch Mile and Moira Stilvern and Kevin McLaughlin for the Kinnegar 500.
Innovation too was the order of the day—when one swimmer’s wetsuit zip broke whilst on the ferry en route to the starting line, a hasty and effective repair was carried out with cable ties supplied by the ferry captain!
The atmosphere in Rathmullan was great. The sunshine, the beach and the vintage car festival combined to make it the place to be. The beach and pier were crowded with spectators. Each swimmer, right down to the final one home, were cheered and applauded as if they had won. The impression made was evident in many of the comments:
“Beautiful swim.” “Lovely friendly atmosphere.” “Thanks very much for the lovely welcome and for the best organised swimming event I have ever attended.” “Lovely people, made us feel so welcome.” “Kayak support were brilliant, so encouraging.”
Keith McClean, the Race Director, said, “We were delighted with the day. We couldn’t pull it off without our sponsors, without an army of friends and helpers, without advice from those who know the waters, without Swilly Ferries, without our boats and kayakers—these events are about cooperation and community spirit, and it was fantastic to see everyone having such a great time.”
Gartan Open Water Swimmers want to thank the Rathmullan Sailing and Watersports Club for all the boat cover and use of their facilities, Swilly Ferry, Sheephaven Sub-aqua, Eco Atlantic Adventures and their kayakers, the other kayakers, Swim Ireland, The Kitchen for food, Ricky McMahon for the sauna, and the Red Cross for first aid. And everyone for coming and making it a special day. The local support from the community in Rathmullan is second to none.
The event was run in conjunction with Swim Ireland and sponsored by: Donegal Sports Partnership, Mowi Ireland, Donegal Oil and John Crossan & Sons, and raised funds for the work of Lifeboats RNLI and the Sheephaven Sub-aqua Club, both of which perform vital search and rescue work in the North-west.
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