Bagshot man makes history swimming North Channel
By mattcollison | Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 12:18
A SWIMMER from Bagshot has braved treacherous waters to become the first person to swim a stretch of the North Channel.
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Wayne Soutter swam 45km from Scotland to Northern Ireland.
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The dad-of-two has become the first person to swim the treacherous waters.
Wayne Soutter has overcome venomous jellyfish, cold temperatures and currents for his 45km swim between the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland and Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
The dad-of-two became the first person ever to swim the crossing point when he completed the challenge late on Sunday (August 26).
He told BBC Radio Ulster: "It seems unreal. It seems like quite an obvious crossing point because it's only 20km and it is the narrowest point. You would think people had done it before but it is the currents that are so tricky in this area that it just makes it extremely challenging."
The South African entered the water at 11.19am on Sunday and reached Kenbane Head near Ballycastle before 11.30pm the same day.
The swim was scheduled to be 20km in length but strong currents and 6 foot waves more than doubled the length of the hazardous crossing.
He told BBC Ulster: "There were times I was in a field of jellyfish, everywhere I looked there were jellyfish.
"I just had to put my head down and swim through them. It was awful."
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