Back in 1929, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Famer Mercedes Gleitze swam in the Firth of Forth in Scotland.
William E. (Ned) Barnie (1896-1983, shown above one the right), nicknamed the Old Man of the Sea, was the King of the Channel® between 1951 and 1960. He also pioneered a swim in his prime across the Firth of Forth between Granton and Burntisland in 1955 in 4 hours 20 minutes.
That 9 km tidal swim caught the eye of Gordon Watt [shown above on the left]who was approaching the age of 60.
It motivated him, it drove him to find a coach and practice partner in Tine Bankmann and get serious about trying to replicate the swim of the fellow Scotsman 60 years ago. “I thought, ‘Why not try doing my own Ned? So I decided to mark the year that I turned 60 with a swim across the Forth in Ned’s footsteps.
January to March was all about the pool: ironing out technique, building endurance, and fixing long-standing flaws. My longest pool swim topped out at 5 km. By spring, we were back in the open water. Reservoirs and the choppy waters off Wardie became home. We trained 2–3 times a week, building towards 9 km sea swims. The weather was often brutal — but Tine reminded me: this is what the Forth might throw at you. She rowed beside me in a small inflatable kayak, affectionately dubbed Green Gertie, somehow staying upright in conditions that had no right being swimmable.”
His dream came true.
On June 19th, Watt completed a 8.56 km tidal swim across the Firth of Forth from Granton, north of Edinburgh, to Burntisland in Fife, Scotland in 2 hours 59 minutes, escorted by pilot Fergus.
Bankmanns said, “That is a wrap on our first Crossing the Forth swim. We could not have asked for better conditions: puffins, gannets, a curious seal, and an enormous amount of thankfully mostly moon jellyfish. Gordon crossed over from Burntisland to Wardir Bay in [an] amazing effort and a big thanks to Edinburgh Marine and our fantastic pilot Fergus.”
Watt summed up his effort, “Thanks to Tine for the training sessions and plans which kept me on track over the last 6 months – I was ready for the worst weather, but I got the best. I’ve seen more jellyfish than I thought possible, but had a fantastic day. Big thanks to everyone on the beach. I really appreciated the cheer and those banana muffins, the best.
For first-hand information on Watt’s crossing, read swimforth.blog.
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