Inverclyde Now Logo THIRTY-One Complete Kilcreggan To Greenock Clyde Swim

8 August, 2018 | Local

Photo by Joe Heffernan

THIRTY-one swimmers braved the Clyde for this year’s three-kilometre crossing from Kilcreggan Beach to the Royal West of Scotland Amateur Boat Club (RWSABC) in Greenock.

The first to arrive at the boat club was Laura Shields with a time of 0:43:17.

Winner Laura Shields receives her trophy from Heather Scott of RWSABC

Photos by Derek Charles Keatley

All the other swimmers completed the event with the last swimmer arriving with the time of 1:42:39. Twenty-three of the swimmers were in wetsuits and the rest were in just their swimming costumes.

Conditions were quite difficult with a fresh westerly wind blowing across the route. The water temperature was 15 degrees Celsius. High tide was at 6:10pm which pushed swimmers up the Clyde as they crossed.

Photo by Derek Charles Keatley.

Most of the swimmers did a qualifying swim to gain entry to the event. This involved a two-kilometre swim from the Boat Club beach to opposite Madeira Street and back in under 60 minutes.

Two swimmers, Colin Campbell and Kenneth Roberston, have participated in all five of the RWSABC Clyde Swims to date.

Gerry Malone is a double champion of the RWSABC Clyde Swim. In 2015 he was the fastest swimmer in the event while wearing a wetsuit. In this year’s event he swam without a wetsuit and won his class.

Those who completed the swim without a wetsuit were given the Tabasco Award. It consists of a bottle of Tabasco sauce with a label on it commemorating their swim.

The annual event is run by the RWSABC. Safety cover was provided by two boats from the Sea Cadets, one from Inverclyde Divers and one supplied by Tommy McGeachie. In addition, kayakers from RWSABC provided close support to the swimmers. Joe Heffernan organised the swim on behalf of RWSABC and thanked everyone who helped to make it a success.

Some swimmers were raising money for charity including Lorraine Young (Teenage Cancer Trust), Lynda Gemmell (Parklea Branching Out), Richard Browning (Glasgow’s Children’s Hospital) and David McCorkindale (Ardgowan Hospice). They are all are using Just Giving to collect donations. To date they have raised more than £1,400.

Anyone interested in trying open water swimming in the Clyde can go to RWSABC to try it out on a Thursday or Friday evening until mid-September. For further information contact Joe Heffernan on openwaterswimming@rwsabc.com

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