On Saturday 1 August the annual Royal West of Scotland Amateur Boat Club (RWSABC) Clyde Swim took place. Normally the swim would be from Kilcreggan to the Boat Club, but high winds and rough seas forced the event to be run along The Esplanade. The course was from the Club to Margaret Street and back, a distance of 1.85mi – 3km.
16 swimmers took part in and completed the swim.
The fastest swimmer was Gerard Malone, a member of Inverclyde Masters Swim Club with a time of 47 min 55 seconds. The fastest female swimmer was Marian Monk (Inverclyde Masters) with a time of 1 hr 2 min 15 sec. The fastest junior female swimmer was Anna Kane (Inverclyde Masters) with a time of 1 hr 15 min 58 sec. All pictured below
The Full Results are shown below:
1. Gerard Malone – Time: 0:47:55
2. Aidan Grant – Time: 0:48:22
3. Mark Meahan – Time: 0:51:28
4. Ernie Currie – Time: 0:52:24
5. Stewart Wilson – Time: 0:52:30
6. Tommy Sharkey – Time: 0:56:19
7. Marian Monk – Time: 1:02:15
8. Kenneth Robertson – Time: 1:02:40
9. Colin Campbell – Time: 1:04:16
10. Lynda Wilson – Time: 1:07:21
11. Lisa Ruddy – Time: 1:08:20
12. Danny McLaughlin – Time: 1:08:47
13. Ally Robb – Time: 1:10:25
14. Kevin Gill – Time: 1:11:01
15. Mark Cohen – Time: 1:11:10
16. Anna Kane – Time: 1:14:58
In addition, Mark Cohen was given a “Tabasco” awards for having done the swim without a wetsuit. The water temperature was measured as 13 degC. Mark is pictured below with some of the other competitors.
Two swimmers were raising money for charities. The swimmers and their charities are shown below.
Gerard Malon – Mary’s Meals
Ally Robb – Argowan Hospice
This swim was organised by the Royal West of Scotland Amateur Boat Club (RWSABC). This is the third season the club has offered open water swimming as one of the activities of the club. The RWSABC also offers kayaking, rowing and sailing. Joe Heffernan coordinated the organisation of the swim. RWSABC would like to thank all the people that provided assistance with organising the swim and those who helped out on the day. Special mention goes to Greenock and District Sea Cadets who provided a rib to assist with safety cover. Special mention goes to members of the RWSABC who came along to provide support, the kayakers that provided safety cover for the swimmers while they were doing their swim and Greenock and District Sea Cadets who provided a rib to assist with safety cover.
This year’s swim was as successful as possible given the weather conditions.
RWSABC would encourage people with an interest in swimming to consider participating in next year’s swim or just trying out open water swimming. More information can be found at the OW Swimming tab on this site.