The water was quite cool around 13c, but I could only think of the swim ahead.
We watched them head out on their challenge, and then it was our turn to jump in. The two-way swimmers Vince and Alistair jumped in and they were off.Ī minke whale passing us as we swam across We changed on the boat on the short 30 minute journey out to the Gulf, and waited for the water to slow, as the second safety boat checked out the conditions, and we listened to the safety briefing.
Of the eight doing the one way, two of us were doing it in skins (including me). Two of our group, had opted for a two-way swim, while the rest of us decided on a one way.
We set out from the village of Craobh Haven early on the Saturday morning, with clouds trying their best to hide the sun from us, and with a fresh breeze keeping us cool. There were 10 swimmers on our journey that morning, with another ten to follow in the afternoon, and the last ten the next day. As soon as I stepped on board, it was obvious that he knew his trade, and I felt quite safe. He has forgotten more about this area of the coast than most people will ever learn. I had hired a local boat captained by Duncan, who had been taken swimmers across this gulf for around 15 years. The actual swim is quite short at around 1.3 km, but the maximum window is about 45 minutes.Ī pod of swimmers starting out at Jura at the start of their swim Now, a swim can only be done on this trip when the tide is slack, at either high or low water. It has been a dream of mine to swim this body of water, and in July 2017, I organised a trip for 30 intrepid adventurers from Wild West Swimmers to do just that. Here is a link to a video of a boat trip through the area When the spring tide runs, this whirlpool can be heard up to 10km away, and boats are advised to stay away.It is the place where George Orwell almost drowned as he was writing 1984. Most bodies of water are quite tame, but this one is famous for its treacherous whirlpool, which is the third largest whirlpool on the planet. The Gulf of Corryvreckan is a body of water that separates the islands of Jura and Scarba off the west coast of Scotland. In these conditions, standing waves up to 5m high can form and dangerously rough seas extend more than 3 miles west of Corryvreckan, a phenomenon known as the Great Race.Ĭorryvreckan is a real hidden gem and is worth a visit on your Scotland tours.The smiles after making it across from Jura to Scarba The turbulent waters create a magnificent spectacle with white-caped breakers, standing waves, bulging boils and overfalls, and countless miniature maelstroms whirling around the mail vortex.Ĭorryvreckan is at its most violent when a flooding spring tide, flowing west through the Gulf, meets a westerly gale blowing in from the Atlantic. The Corryvreckan whirlpool forms where this mass of moving water hits an underwater pinnacle, which rises from the 200m deep sea bed to within just 28m of the surface, and swirls over and around it. As a result, millions of gallons of sea water pour westwards through the Gulf of Corryvreckan at speeds of up to 8 knots – an average sailing yacht is going fast at 6 knots. As the flood moves up the Sound of Jura, to the East of the island, it is forced into a narrowing bottleneck jammed with islands and builds up to a greater height than the open sea to the west of Jura. On the West coast of Scotland the rising tide – known as the flood tide – flows northwards. The tide doesn’t just rise and fall twice a day, it flows – dragged around the earth by the gravitational attraction of the moon. It may look innocuous on the map, but the capital Gulf of Corryvreckan – the 1km wide channel between the Northern end of Jura and the Island of Scarba – is home to one of the 3 most notorious tidal whirlpools in the world (the others are the Maelstrom in Norway’s Lofoten Island’s, and the Old Sow in Canada’s New Brunswick).
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