Posted on 08/24/2003 8:23:27 AM PDT by aculeus
FOR centuries the infamous Whirlpool of Corryvreckan has struck fear into the hearts of the saltiest of sea dogs.
Countless seafarers have been dragged into watery graves by the raging maelstrom that inhabits the two-mile strip of open water between the Hebridean islands of Jura and Scarba.
Nevertheless, next week, six hardy holidaymakers will attempt to swim across the 300ft deep, mile-wide channel just for fun. They are paying £495 each to take part in a new "tour" of the Inner Hebrides that involves swimming between eight islands and back to the mainland.
The organiser of the trip is Simon Murie, a 32-year-old Australian endurance swimmer who runs a holiday company called Swimtrek.
"We know the whirlpool can be a Rottweiler but we will be swimming it when it’s a puppy dog," he said confidently.
However, local boatmen with long memories and many years’ experience of the rough, chill waters of the notorious passage are wary of venturing into the gulf. The Royal Navy classifies the stretch of open water - widely regarded one of the most dangerous in the world - as "un-navigable".
Their concerns are shared by Robin Currie, the councillor for Jura.
"They must be very brave souls because you wouldn’t get me going in there," he said. "This is one wild piece of water."
Local coastguards have also expressed "reservations" about the trip, saying they would have to be "satisfied" that adequate safety precautions had been put in place.
The Corryvreckan is also known as George Orwell’s whirlpool as he wrote his novel, 1984, in a farmhouse overlooking the passage. The author and his son nearly lost their lives to the phenomenally powerful vortex, and the only recorded swim across the Corryvreckan was by Bill Dunn, Orwell’s brother-in-law and farm manager at the time of the author’s sojourn on Jura in the late 1940s.
Dunn, who lost a leg in action in the Second World War, smeared himself in sheep fat to ward off the cold and tamed the whirlpool under the watchful eye of local boatmen.
In all, the intrepid party of four men and two women will be swimming about 10 miles, walking and camping in between. They will be accompanied at all times by highly experienced distance swimmers and a rescue boat to fish them out if they get into difficulties.
Murie, whose father was a Bondi Beach lifeguard and his mother an amateur diving champion, last year organised similar island-hopping swimming treks in the much warmer waters off Greece and Turkey. He chose the Inner Hebrides for his next expedition because of the "challenge".
Murie explained: "It is a really fabulous area for island-hopping by swimming, and the water is not too cold at this time of year because of the influence of the Gulf Stream. The idea of swimming these waters, and particularly the whirlpool, really appeals to a lot of people."
The Corryvreckan is the sixth-largest whirlpool in the world. The effect is caused when flood tides running at around 13mph collide with a steep, pyramid-shaped column of basalt rock which rises from the seabed to within 90ft of the surface. The result is whirlpool with raging waters that can be heard up to 10 miles away.
"I know that the whirlpool sounds terrifying and it is not to be messed with," said Murie. "But we will be going over at slack tide, when it is at its quietest.
"If someone doesn’t feel they can make it, they can simply hop in the waiting boat. This is not about putting yourself in danger but about seeing one of the most beautiful places in the world from a different perspective."
One of the party will be 48-year-old Frank Chalmers, a civil servant originally from Dundee. Earlier this year he went on Swimtrek’s tour of the Greek islands, where the daily swims were much longer.
"The thing that attracted me to the Hebrides swim is the Corryvreckan," said Chalmers. "It’s not everyone who can say they have swum through a whirlpool and that has to be something to talk about in the bar."
Chalmers said that everyone he talked to about the holiday thought he was mad.
"But once they realise how safety-conscious the trip is they begin to come around and think about doing it themselves," he added.
"It was nice to know in Greece, where we were doing three-mile swims, that if you do get into distress there are experienced people close to you."
The crossing of the Gulf of Corryvreckan will be the highlight of the six-day tour which starts off from Port Askaig, on the northern tip of Islay, on September 1.
Dave Ainslie, who runs dive boat charters in the area, said the gulf had to be treated with the utmost respect, even at slack tide.
"When the conditions are wrong, it is one of the most dangerous pieces of water you can imagine. But if the conditions are right, and you had good strong swimmers properly prepared, then it may be OK.
"The problem is that slack tide doesn’t last very long so you have to get your timings absolutely right."
One swimmer who contemplated the challenge is Roger Deakin, author of Waterlog: A Swimmer’s Journey Through Britain. Deakin arrived at the gulf during a summer storm in 1997 and soon changed his mind.
"I was overwhelmed by the visible power," he wrote. "I calculated the exact length of the crossing as 1,466 yards but, practically speaking, the distance was meaningless because even the slackest of tides would carry a swimmer well off course.
"Eventually, I admitted defeat and turned back from what would certainly have been suicide."
At home in Sussex yesterday, Deakin admitted he might have caught the gulf on a rough day, adding: "I wish them all the best of luck."
A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "We do have some reservations, but as long as safety procedures are followed and we are informed before they set out on their swims then we will be happy.
"The Corryvreckan is a treacherous piece of water but there are times when it resembles a flat-calm swimming pool."
Orwell's lucky escape
THE Gulf of Corryvreckan was named after Breachan, a Norse mariner king, who, according to legend, decided to prove his love of a Princess of the Isles by anchoring his ship in the maelstrom for three days.
The anchor lines were made of wool, hemp and virgin’s hair, and although the first two quickly parted the last held out until the last hour of the last day. His ship was dragged down into the whirlpool and his dead body was only later dragged ashore by his own dog. His body is buried on Jura.
George Orwell (above) ventured into the gulf while living on Jura and it nearly cost him both his life and that of his son. He miscalculated the tides and the whirlpool dragged the outboard engine off his boat and capsized it. Both were thrown in the water but the author, showing a commendable coolness, managed to grab the boy and scramble on to a nearby rock. They were rescued several hours later.
The whirlpool is caused by the conical basalt column, known as the Hag, which rises up from the seabed. Flood tides create a powerful wave up to 30ft high which combines with the eddies and currents bouncing off the steep, rocky sides of the passage to create the maelstrom effect.
Sounds like a bunch-o-wussies to me!
There are actually men out there who think that shooting a deer from dozens of yards away is courageous. Takes all kinds, I guess.
If and when there is a final judgement, they will be accounted as suicides.
Really? I guess that's why there are so many people doing it, huh? < /sarcasm >
Hey moron, did you ever stop to think about why that might be?
Personally, I wouldn't attempt this crossing but that's more to do with the fact that I don't like cold water and also I have seen this stretch they are wanting to swim. But if they are going to attempt it, as long as their lives belong to them and not to me and as long as it's only them that get hurt- why not? Shoot, I'd sit up on the hill and watch 'em.
Jura's a beautiful place. Population about 200 last time I looked. If you walk up the west side of the island you'll never see another human soul till you get to the tip just above Orwell's house but lots of deer and seal. We had to skirt the large salt water loch that cuts into the island and because of the lay of the land it cost us an extra 6 hours. The loch was only a couple hundred meters across but we didn't have our rucks waterproofed. If we ever go back and do that hike again, we'll simply tow the rucks behind us and swim the loch. Beautiful place Jura...
Really ? Never heard that one.
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