Loch Ness swims

Loch Ness route
Route Swims First Fastest
Loch Ness (dir. unknown) 7 Brenda Sherratt - 1966 Rachel Godburn - 09:25:37 (1995)
Fort Augustus to Loch End 14 Michael Read - 1974 Kevin Murphy - 10:30:00 (1976)
Loch End to Fort Augustus 5 Michael Cross - 2008 Anna-Carin Nordin - 11:37:00 (2018)
Ft Augustus - Loch End - Ft Augustus 1 David Morgan - 1983 David Morgan - 23:04:00 (1983)



Date Name Gender Age Nation Route Km Time
1966 Jul 28 Brenda Sherratt Female 18 Loch Ness (dir. unknown) 36.2 31:27:00
1970 Aug 30 Robert Fletcher Male 34 Loch Ness (dir. unknown) 36.2 14:01:00
1974 Aug 17 Michael Read Male 33 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 14:24:46
1976 Jul 14 Kevin Murphy Male 27 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 10:30:00
1981 Aug 22 David Morgan Male 17 Loch Ness (dir. unknown) 36.2 12:19:28
1981 NA NA Stella Taylor Female Loch Ness (dir. unknown) 36.2 18:58:00
1983 Aug 1 David Morgan Male 19 Ft Augustus - Loch End - Ft Augustus 72.4 23:04:00
1984 Aug 14 Kevin McIntosh Male Loch Ness (dir. unknown) 36.2 15:31:04
1995 Aug 20 Rachel Godburn Female 24-25 Loch Ness (dir. unknown) 36.2 09:25:37
1997 Aug 23 Colleen Blair Female 19 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 14:32:07
2004 Aug 15 Liane Llewellyn Hickling Female 22-23 Loch Ness (dir. unknown) 36.2 09:49:24
2008 Aug 19 Michael Cross Male 24-25 Loch End to Fort Augustus 36.2 12:09:15
2013 Jul 27 James Leitch Male 37-38 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 10:50:09
2015 Aug 2 Marcy MacDonald Female 51 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 11:59:08
2015 Aug 22 Sarah Thomas Female 33 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 10:52:00
2015 Aug 22 Elaine Kornbau Howley Female 37 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 13:21:41
2015 Aug 22 Craig Lenning Male 36 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 13:47:24
2016 Aug 2 Helen Beveridge Female 48-49 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 18:22:16
2017 Jul 25 Philip Hodges Male 47-48 Loch End to Fort Augustus 36.2 13:44:00
2017 Aug 12 Patti Bauernfeind Female 50 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 12:26:03
2018 Aug 8 John Zemaitis Male 35 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 11:21:00
2018 Aug 8 Joe Zemaitis Male 38 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 11:21:00
2018 Aug 19 Pat Gallant-Charette Female 67 Loch End to Fort Augustus 36.2 13:45:45
2018 Sep 3 Anna-Carin Nordin Female 47 Loch End to Fort Augustus 36.2 11:37:00
2019 Aug 16 Michael Gregory Male 55 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 12:15:00
2019 Sep 1 Rosalinda Hardiman Female 67 Fort Augustus to Loch End 36.2 20:10:00
2021 Aug 26 Steve Stievenart Male 44 Loch End to Fort Augustus 36.2 14:50:00

Reviews

Reviewer: Patti Bauernfeind McMurdie (August 2023)
Swam in 2017 (Finished)
Overall Experience: ★️★️★️★️★️

Pilot: Ryan Tozer of iPowerboat Limited
Fees: 1,250 GBP
Communication ★️★️★️★️✩️
Piloting Skill: ★️★️★️★️★️
Cost/Value: ★️★️★️★️★️
Comments: "Ryan was a great pilot. He worked collaboratively with my crew and I."

Association: British Long Distance Swim Association (BLDSA)
Fees: 50 GBP
Communication ★️★️★️★️✩️
Advice & Support: ★️★️★️★️✩️
Value: ★️★️★️★️★️

General Comments: "Beautiful swim. Well worth the logistic challenges that come with a remote lake/loch."


Reviewer: MICHAEL JOHMANN (August 2023)
Swam in 2023 (Finished)
Overall Experience: ★️★️★️★️★️

Pilot: Kevin Murphy
Fees: 2100 GBP
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Piloting Skill: ★️★️★️★️★️
Cost/Value: ★️★️★️★️★️
Comments: "Kevin Murphy is one of the most honored names in open water swimming. Known as "King of the Channel," he holds the record for male swimmers with 34 successful crossings of the English Channel. Early in his career, Murphy also set a record for his crossing of Loch Ness. That experience translates into excellent piloting, because he understands the swim from a swimmer's point of view. His support team is also highly experienced, including Marc Newman, an 8-time English Channel swimmer. Together, anyone wanting to take on Loch Ness will be in good hands with Murphy's organization, known as The King's Swimmers."

Association: British Long Distance Swimming Association
Fees: 50 pounds.
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Advice & Support: ★️★️★️★️★️
Value: ★️★️★️★️★️
Comments: "The BLDSA continues to do excellent work supporting open water swims across Britain."

General Comments: "Loch Ness is one of the truly iconic swims in the history of marathon open water. Together with Loch Lomond, it is one of the "great" swims that should be on the list of any aspiring swimmer. At 22.5 miles and water temps averaging 15C (I was a bit lucky to have 16C), Ness demands everything a swimmer can bring to the water. The true "monster" of Loch Ness, however, is not some mythical beast from the age of dinosaurs. The monster of Loch Ness is the weather, which defies all predictions. Even the best forecasts are little good on Loch Ness due to the unpredictability of weather systems sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean and North Channel to the west, the North Sea to the east and the general atmospheric turbulence of the surrounding Highlands. The result is often a mixture of sun, clouds, storms, wind and driving rain that changes hour by hour. Hardly a single attempt so far in the 2023 season has gone as planned, which simply adds to the drama of cold and distance. For my own attempt, forecasts called for partly cloudy skies and a light tailwind to push me from Fort Augustus to Lochend. By two hours in, we were battling storms and heavy winds that shifted from tailwinds to headwinds to crosswinds all in the space of less than an hour. These are not unusual conditions. Recently, with the addition of Kevin Murphy and The King's Swimmers, more swimmers have been able to schedule an attempt on Ness with a competent pilot for support. Loch Ness will always remain one of the great endurance tests in open water swimming. Don't look for Nessie in the depths, however. Nessie descends from the sky."


Reviewer: Joe Zemaitis (August 2023)
Swam in 2018 (Finished)

Pilot: Ryan Tozer
Fees: I don't recall
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Piloting Skill: ★️★️★️★️★️
Cost/Value: ★️★️★️★️★️
Comments: "Very good with pre-swim communication and one of the easiest to work with I have ever come across."


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