On Sunday, 20th July 2025 I successfully completed the Dal Riata Channel becoming only the 8th person so far to swim this body of fast-moving water.
It has been quite a journey to get to here and I’m still quite emotional about it all. Before the last tingle from the jellyfish stings fades and we catch our ferry home I wanted to say a huge thankyou to everyone who made this possible, the list is long:
Karen Quartermain and Dave Quartermain from Uswim Openwater / Qswim Adventure for training me, infinity Channel Swimming – in particular Jacqueline McClelland and Padraig Mallon for having faith in me and allowing me to try this challenge, Patricia Mc Parland Sports Counselling, The Swimmer’s Doc, for swim specific land work and mobility, Multisport Nutrition, The Donaghadee “Chunky Dunkers” Swimming Gang! SKINS ONLY GROUP for their warm welcome and to everyone who followed, tracked and supported me. To the Qswim community, my local swim group on the WirraI Route Fiftysixers and Total Transition Triathlon Club. I have been blessed with a deluge of messages and good wishes which has been very humbling but so very much appreciated.
Last year when preparing for my North Channel, I experienced hypothermia on a long training swim and was extracted from the water and briefly hospitalised, I recovered quickly and had all the medical checks to be able to continue with my plan of swimming the North Channel. I was fortunate to get my chance, and I took it – ready to prove myself – but 11 and half hours and 4km from the end the swim was stopped for safety reasons. I was confused and showing signs of hypothermia. Thankfully no medical intervention was necessary, but it wasn’t the outcome I wanted.I found it difficult to be pragmatic and those experiences seriously shook my belief in myself as a swimmer. We invest so much in preparing for these big swims, we give our time, energy and a fair bit of cash in addition to a huge emotional investment so when it doesn’t come to fruition for whatever reason, it can be very hard to deal with. I felt I had let everyone and myself down and yet I still wanted to have another go but felt incredibly guilty for putting my family and husband through that.
Infinity had offered a sport counselling service to their swimmers, and I found this invaluable in processing the aftermath of my North Channel attempt, Patricia McParland was instrumental in helping me to reflect, regroup and learn from my experiences.I rebooked my North Channel for 2026 but wanted another swim that would replicate the cold water and strong currents, so I chose the Dal Riata. Naively I assumed because it was shorter it was perhaps more manageable but it was only after I signed up people starting telling me what an incredibly challenging swim it could be.
To succeed I needed to address those areas that could be improved.
I stared working with a sports nutritionist, Christie Robinson from Multisport Nutrition.
I invested in swim specific weights and mobility programme with The Swimmers Doc
I looked at how I could improve my cold-water acclimatisation; I entered the GB ice swimming championships and trained through the winter and continued to search for colder water as spring receded, I even got a cold tub (which was decidedly unpleasant). I did everything I could to prepare.
My swim coaches: Karen and Dave Quartermain from Uswim Openwater / Qswim Adventure have worked with me for 5 years. They have successfully trained me for various swim challenges, including my English Channel swim back in 2021. I followed Karens training plans which gave me access to long training swims in addition to a sea swim camp.When I arrived in Northern Ireland, I knew I was as ready as I could be, the only thing I had no control over was the weather.
This year, mother nature was kind. Smooth water and warmer temperatures than I dared to hope for greeted me.
As always, the Donaghadee Chunky Dunkers extended their hospitality to all the visitors who arrive with the objective of conquering these fickle waters and I was able to have some lovely acclimatisation dips and meet the other swimmers.
As it turns out I shared a chippy tea and some Martin’s incredible Billionaire’s Shortbread with the Dunkers the night before I got the call, which I think was instrumental in my success.
I got confirmation of a swim on Sunday morning at 4:30am, I had anticipated a night swim so to get daylight was a real bonus and it felt like Poseidon was smiling at me.I was very excited for this swim, after all that had happened last year, I really wanted it to go well. As an ex-competitive swimmer, I sometimes find it hard not to get caught up in times and distances in terms of performance. I know that the same swimmer on a different day could have a totally different result due to the whim of the environment but it’s a hard mindset to shake. I told myself the important thing was to enjoy the experience and complete the swim safely and anything else was a bonus – just keep swimming!
I met Padraig and Jacqueline at Cushendall at 9:10am and we were away, into the boat and heading out to Scotland.
It is a beautiful swim.
I felt very privileged to be here – I jumped off the boat into fresh crystal clear water and swam out to touch Scotland, and so it began.
I felt strong throughout the swim and when I was asked to accelerate I could. It was exhilarating to be moving so fast, courtesy of the currents.I had plenty of aquatic life to keep me company, mostly I was able to avoid the jellies due to the clarity of the water but did sustain some stings on the extremities then at approximately 5 hours in I hit a minefield of the tentacled beasties, and they inevitably got the better of me. Thankfully the stings did not impede my progress.
Padraig had warned me there would be times when I felt like I was staying still and this was an optical illusion. Staring at the same ‘crocodile shaped’ spit of land for 3 hours was a little disconcerting but ‘stick with the boat, believe in the process’, and so it was, land was looming and I was told to sprint as fast as l could.
The rocks did not seem to get closer – then a tiny boat passed in front of the shore, and it seemed so very far away!
As land got tantalisingly close, I could feel myself getting emotional because I knew I was going to do it and finishing this swim would be a validation for everything that had gone before.
I finally touched the rocks and heard the cheer from the boat. I had swum from Scotland all the way to Ireland, and it felt bloody fantastic!Huge thank you to my husband who had thrown bottles at me all day (and never managed to hit me even once!) and to Jacqueline and Padraig for guiding me so expertly and keeping me safe. To everyone who has contacted me and given me their best wishes none of this would be possible without the support of others.
So tonight, we sail home and then I begin training again for my 3 lakes Great Britain Challenge and next year I will come back and try the North Channel again. I believe if the conditions are right, I have the ability to do this and kindly ask the weather gods to guide me safely across the sea once more…
