A former army captain has become the first person on record to swim between the UK mainland and the Isle of Man, in a gruelling 46-mile (74km) challenge navigating tricky tides and the near-constant attention of jellyfish.
It was something of a “suffer fest”, said Adam Diver, 46, as he emerged shattered but smiling from the Irish Sea on Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday morning he was still feeling the effects. “I am exhausted,” he said. “But it was a great team effort. I’m going to take a couple of days to get my body back in shape because I am very weak and tired, as you can expect.”
The idea of swimming to the Isle of Man came from his 14-year-old son, Dexter, he said. Dexter is a keen competitive swimmer and when pools were shut during lockdown father and son swam in the sea in their home town of Fleetwood, Lancashire.
Diver’s parents live on the Isle of Man and one day Dexter asked if it was possible to swim there.
It planted the seed for an endeavour that is far from straightforward and far more challenging than the long-established cross-Channel swim.
About 300 people a year attempt the 21-mile swim between the Kent coast and Cap Gris-Nez, between Calais and Boulogne. About one in five are successful. Until now no one has been successful in swimming from the UK mainland to the Isle of Man.
“It is very technical,” said Diver. “You’ve got to work with the tides and if you don’t have people onboard who know the Irish Sea then it is pretty difficult to do. You need a boat, you need a crew and you need a kayaking team, so it is difficult to get it all together.”
Diver previously worked at Fleetwood nautical college so was able to ask colleagues whether it could be done and look at navigation charts.
In a straight line the distance is 32 miles, but Diver had to zigzag across, changing direction every six hours to move with the tides. He estimates he swam 46 miles.
Diver and his team made an attempt last year but were thwarted by a freak storm. This year they have been on standby waiting for three days of high pressure and no wind.
That came this week and Diver set off from the village of St Bees in Cumbria at 8am on Monday, arriving at Port Mooar bay at 3pm on Wednesday.
It was not a fun swim. “I got stung in the face by a lion’s mane jellyfish and then I got stung on the legs and arms about every 10 minutes. I was swimming over them all the time.”
Diver described the sting as like having instant sunburn. “It is a very strange feeling, but I pretty much got used to it.”
It was a slog, but there were lovely moments including Diver hearing a crackling noise that he rightly guessed were dolphins. “I shouted up to the boat crew that I could hear something in the water, dolphins talking to each other. Ten minutes later they then saw them about 100 metres away.”
One reason for the swim was to increase awareness of mental health issues. “I work in mental health and I think it’s very important to raise awareness for common mental health problems like anxiety and depression,” said Diver. “I think people need to talk about it and if you do need help then speak to someone.”
The second reason was to raise money for the Burnley-based charity Healthier Heroes, which helps veterans rebuild their lives. So far more than £12,000 has been raised, with donations welcome via the Big Swim’s Gofundme page.
Diver, who will compete at the world triathlon championships in Spain in September, spent 27 years in the army serving in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia. He now works as a cognitive behavioural therapist.
It was a tough challenge that he could not have done without his amazing support team and family, Diver said.
After it, his priorities were simple: a shower, a nice hot meal “and just doing nothing”.
