Blind wild swimming: Melanie Barratt’s new passion for the open water

Paralympic champion Melanie Barratt is hoping to become the first blind woman to swim across the English Channel solo. Here she shares her story of challenge.

For me, every day is a challenge. Getting dressed in clothes that match, making sure there’s no toothpaste on me or my clothes, finding and cooking the right food, not tripping over the mess my family leaves, laundry, house admin and then leaving the house and navigating life with my guide dog, Davie.

I’m lucky enough to have some sight; I can see colours and shapes, but no detail. I can’t drive, I can’t see bus numbers – heck, I can’t even see a bus coming! I can’t see friends or family or read expressions. All life’s visual subtleties are lost on me; I can’t exchange a smile or a wink or an eye roll.

I’ve been known to regularly say hello to a dustbin and lamppost and try to stuff a letter into a lady wearing a red coat. Yes, I could consider life challenging. But this is life for me, it’s my normal. I don’t like to think about what I can’t do, or my limitations. Instead, I think about what I can do. And if I think I can’t, well… let’s see!

At home in the water

From an early age, the water was my home. I felt safe, encapsulated in it’s supportive cocoon, in an environment I could control and feel all over me. Perhaps because I felt so relaxed, and loved it so much, it became an obsession. I couldn’t get enough.

When I’d had a bad day at school or college, I could always go to the pool. But it wasn’t until my early teens, when a local charity, British Blind Sport, visited my school, that I was introduced to competitive sport and started racing. They taught me how to count my strokes and tumble turn, to dive and to stay safe in a busy lane.

They took me to my first competitions, then regionals, nationals and to international Paralympic Swimming.

I could describe my incredible experiences swimming all over the world, the mega highs and extreme lows, the intense and painful training sessions, the medal rostrums and team rivalry, but that’s a whole different article.

Let’s just say I have 10 years of incredible memories, including nine World Titles, two Paralympic Golds, two Silvers and a Bronze, and multiple world records.

From the pool to open water

After retiring from competitive swimming, I longed to try open water. The sea makes my heart sing. The rush, the noise, the tangy saltiness, the movement and the endlessness of it.

However, I thought this would be impossible – there are no lane ropes or pool sides in open water. If you can’t sight on distant objects, it’s impossible… right?

A few years ago, a very experienced Channel swimmer took me for my first open water swim at our local river: a huge adventure!

I wore all the neoprene I owned, yet on the way in the cold hit me like a bus. All my senses were alive – a complete sensory overload! Tingly cold on every part of me, the sound of birds and rustling reeds, the wind on my hair and face, the bright light, and the smell… oh, the smell of the river.

Do you notice that each body of water you swim in smells different? Some musty, some sweet, some tangy, some earthy… but all different. And the peace. I was hooked!

I wanted to swim distances, to swim from place to place, to have adventures. How could I?

Finding the right guide

Sadly, I‘ve come to realise that guided swimming is unlike guided running – both swimmers have to be very equally matched, otherwise one would get too cold. It’s proven very difficult to find my ‘perfect match’ and for a while I wondered if I’d be able to swim open water. Then I came up with a plan.

Able to see colours and shapes above the water, I could follow something bright, like a kayak. So my husband paddled next to me. This worked well and I learnt to swim next to him.

Together, we trained in the river, and then swam the Tal y Llyn 10K in 2021, an achievement I was hugely proud of.

We went on to complete the Thames Marathon, a fantastic experience.

However, as many of you know, it is impossible to hear someone shouting to you when your head is in the water. He couldn’t tell me where we were heading, where there were obstacles, how far we had left, where other swimmers were, or even if I was about to hit something. We needed a way for him to communicate with me.

After some research we found MyJukes – and wow, how my outlook and horizons have changed!

MyJukes is a bone conducting headset radio combo that enables Richard to talk to me constantly while I swim. He can be some distance away, not in amongst the swimmers’ melee, and guide me confidently, giving me all the information I need to swim to my full potential. I can literally just put my head down and swim!

It doesn’t matter that I can’t see where I’m going, where anyone is. As long as I trust the person on the other end, I can do anything!

Embracing the challenges

With this mentality, I swam the Thames Marathon again in 2022, and came second in my age group. I swam the Henley Classic, a wonderful volunteer walking along the bank guiding me, so I could actually race – and I won my age category.

But perhaps the greatest achievement for me so far has been Windermere. Wow, what a long way! I swam with SwimYourSwim, in a pod of six that worked fantastically well together. But the most amazing thing was having Barbara Heyes to guide me from the boat, keeping me safe and heading in the right direction.

It made me realise that anything is possible with the right outlook. I’m now booked to swim the English Channel in 2024, and to swim across Lake Geneva in a relay this summer, both in aid of the wonderful charity that put me, and many others, on our way to a lifetime love for sport.

There are huge challenges; swimming alongside a large boat, in a bouncy sea, the jellies, the tides, the cold and even some I haven’t thought of. But life isn’t worth living without a challenge!

Challenging myself to do something scary and seemingly impossible has given me huge positivity and confidence that spills over into all areas of my life.

Guide a friend

Do you have a friend who has sight loss and is keen to try open water swimming? Everyone’s sight is different, so everyone’s needs are different. The important thing to do is communicate!

• Preparation. Don’t be afraid to ask what they can see, what help they may need – they will know how much help they need on land. Tell them what you do when you swim, how you get in and out, how you organise your things for afterwards. Think about having someone on hand to help for the first swim, so you don’t get cold helping them.

• Go somewhere you know well. Explain what the water is like, the entry point, how the bottom falls away, how you get in and what the bottom feels like.

• Entering the water. Explain clearly where to put hands and feet, hold onto railings, sides, or hold hands for support. Take it very slowly.

• Once in, stay close, talk constantly. Start by just ‘bobbing’ and getting used to being side by side. Talk about what you can see. Don’t stay in long and don’t go far from the exit.

• Exiting the water. Explain where to put feet and hands, hold hands if this helps, and exit together. I have found that the cold can make me feel more disorientated so some support may be needed.

• Most of all, talk and enjoy! It is an amazing experience to share together. You will learn from each other. I’ve started a Facebook group called Blind Swim Buddies to help people find buddies nearby. If you’re able to help someone or are hoping to try open water swimming but need a buddy, then please look to join.

Follow Melanie’s journey on Facebook at Against The Tide – Blind Wild Swimming, or on Instagram @blind_girl_swims. If you would like to help other blind people find the joys of sport, please donate to Just Giving Ironfish Swimmers Lake Geneva Swim.

This article is from the February issue of Outdoor Swimmer. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.

To see all the online content from the February 2023 issue of Outdoor Swimmer, visit the 'Challenge' page.