Relay around the Isle of Wight

Sami Robertson led a swimming relay around the Isle of Wight. Here’s why and how.

Swimming around the Isle of Wight has always been a dream of mine. My late Ma was originally from the Isle of Wight, along with her three siblings.  We had scattered my Mum and Dad’s ashes at Yarmouth, so I wanted to start the swim there.

The best swims come from a place of passion and personal connection, but always need to be brought down to reality with the practicalities, as we quickly found out.

Don’t fight the tide

When we started to plan the swim, the navigators told us we needed to be clever and work with the currents and tides, and Yarmouth wouldn’t be a good starting point.

They suggested starting at Bembridge instead, which happened to be where Mum was born. On the day of the swim, coincidentally, we started on my uncle Rick’s birthday, 7 July, and at the Bembridge lifeboat station, the exact spot where they scattered my grandfather’s ashes. Things have a way of coming together in the end.

We need a bigger boat – and more of them!

My naïve romantic vision was of some swimmers hopping in every hour, with a thin layer of support from a kayak and boat.  However, it turned into a logistical puzzle with three boats, four pilots, four navigators, two kayaks, a support team, and of course the five stubborn swimmers. Not forgetting a key observer too!

The day of the swim arrived, with some decent weather thankfully, and we set off from the Bembridge Lifeboat Station at 11:34 am.  We followed English Channel swimming rules, alternating every hour in the same order: me (Sami), Alan Luckhurst, Stu Bowman, Pete Lowe, and Nick Adams.

Start and finish here

Unexpected escort

When I started the swim, the conditions were calm and flat, but shortly after, the wind picked up. My second leg was a very different experience as I had to swim across Cowes Harbour. It was like swimming in a washing machine, and I didn’t realise at the time that we had a police escort taking us across the harbour mouth because the Cowes traffic was very high; blue lights on the police boat and all shipping waiting for us. We ended up with four boats running in parallel, and it took 11 to 12 minutes to get across the mouth.

Safety and planning

This level of detail and safety was at the very heart of the swim, calling upon every iota of experience the navigators and the pilots had mustered over their decades on the sea around the Isle of Wight. Communication and teamwork were key, and very much non-negotiable.

Rum Jungle was our ‘mothership’, and was where most of the swimmers and team were based, with RIBs ferrying swimmers back and forth as needed. The kayak was manned by either Chris or Boris throughout, who alternated every 2 to 3 hours.

Sunset by the Needles

Getting Nick Adams safely around the Needles as the sun was beginning to fall will be a memory I’ll always hold onto. We wanted to get there with daylight to spare, as we were well aware and wary of the nearby shipwrecks, the most recent one being Chloe McCardel’s ‘Channel Queen’ escort boat that sank three years ago after it was driven into the Varvassi (sank in 1947) whilst escorting a relay swim around the island. There are also rocks like Goose Rock close to the surface that you can’t see.

Once past the Needles, we swam into darkness, which brought new challenges as the sea got lumpier and bumpier. We swam through the night, and as the sun came up, we were nearing completion of the loop.

A swim with a view

It’s not over until it’s over

However, we got stuck — swimming against strong tides and currents. It took almost three hours to swim just a few miles.

The tides and currents finally aligned, and I was fortunate to do the final leg. It was a wonderful ending. I’ll always remember the swimmers jumping off the boat and swimming in to greet me at the ramp at the Bembridge Lifeboat Station, where we embraced, hugged and shook hands. We finished the swim on Wednesday, 8 July at 8.34 am.

It was a life-changing experience. Very few people and teams have done this swim, and we are incredibly proud of what we all achieved together.

I must give credit to John Caulcutt, who was the ‘glue’ for the whole project. He worked on this night and day and was on the RIB throughout the duration of the swim. He’s an inspirational man who brings people together and has lived his life giving back to others. Without him, this challenge wouldn’t have been possible. John provided the boats, the support, the navigators, and the crew.

But why did we do it?

We did it to raise money for Cure Parkinson’s. John is quietly living with Parkinson’s himself. We’ve almost managed to hit our target of £50,000 and any further donations would be hugely appreciated:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/sami-robertson-7#sharePage

There are currently 400 people living on the Isle of Wight with Parkinson’s, calling themselves “The Parky Army”, headed up by David Temple. Our mission is to raise as much money and awareness as possible. One day it’ll be wonderful to find a cure, and the research and the work the charity are doing is mind-blowing.

What’s in a name?

Finally, there’s one little story I’d love to fit in. Before the swim, I had a meeting with Helen Matthews, the CEO of Cure Parkinson’s. When she asked what we called our team, I realised we didn’t have a name.

She then asked, “What’s the name of your shoe company?”

“Wildpool,” I answered.

“Well, you’re the Wildpoolers, aren’t you?”

Could you do this swim yourself?

Like most open water swimmers, we are more than happy to share our experiences and plans with any swimmers aspiring to swim around the Isle of Wight, and to ‘pay it forward’ into this magical sport of ours.