Ilfracombe to Swansea

The longest of the Bristol Channel swims at 24 miles is slightly longer than the English Channel. As of August 25 it has only been swum by six people [ratified] and has an outright record time of 14hrs and 1 minute. This swim has a Guinness world record attached to it for ‘fastest’ Bristol Channel and it qualifies as an Original Triple Crown swim. In this section of the channel there are no sandbanks and both coastlines run roughly parallel to each other so we are swimming straight across the currents. Even on a neap tide however, our tidal flow is similar to a spring tide in the English Channel so you can expect to get a good push sideways as the tide ebbs and flows! Landing on the Southern edge of Gower, there are numerous rocky headlands and sandy beaches the swim can finish on but as ever in the Bristol Channel, be prepared to have to fight strong currents, eddies and rips around the headlands! 

We pilot this swim on our Axopar 28, ‘Sweet Child’ from Porthcawl. Maximum persons is 3 plus the swimmer (but preferably 2+1!). This swim can be done on larger tides by faster swimmers.