coast COLUMNIST
SHIPPING FORECAST
Join WILLIAM THOMSON on his journey each month exploring a Shipping Forecast region
The Malin Shipping Forecast area is named after Malin Head, an epic headland at the northern tip of Ireland overlooking the approaches to the North Channel, a treacherous passage of water connecting the North Atlantic Ocean with the Irish Sea. Within the wild swimming community this 12 nautical milestrip is part of the ‘Triple Crown’ where a solo swimmer ticks off the English Channel, the North Channel and the Bristol Channel.
Although only half the distance of the English Channel, the North Channel has a fearsome reputation and is considered the greater challenge. According to open water silver Olympic medallist Keri-anne Payne, co-founder of wild swimming app Straight Line Swimming, there are three main reasons for the North Channel’s high attrition rate: “The cold, the jellyfish, and the bonkers currents”.
As a sailor, I am well aware of these hazardous currents flowing between Scotland and Ireland. When I am not writing for Coast and running my online Tide School, I work two days a week as commissioning editor for Imray nautical, editing their worldwide collection of sailing navigation books. My first project was Irish Sea Pilot and the chapter on the North Channel begins by outlining in no uncertain terms how ‘the headlands, tide races and overfalls constitute one of the greatest challenges to a cruising yacht in the waters of the British Isles’.
Tide School Boost your knowledge of the sea with William’s online tide school: tide-school.com
If it’s dangerous for a boat, one can only imagine how perilous the crossing can be for a swimmer. But for those into long-distance sea swimming, that is part of the lure – the fact that it pushes you to the limits of what is physically and mentally possible. Regardless
