Campaigners calling for swimming to be allowed in the Cumberland Basin in Bristol staged another illegal ‘protest swim’ this weekend - the day before entrants into an official triathlon event were allowed to get in the water.
The campaigners from Swim Bristol Harbour said the official event on Sunday showed that swimming in the docks could be safe - so a small group of protesters got into the water the day before, early on Saturday morning.
As many as a thousand competitors in the official triathlon swam lengths of the Cumberland Basin to cover either 750m or 1500m as the first challenge in their triathlon on Sunday morning, which also saw them cycle and either 23km or 35km up and back down the Portway, and then run either a 5km race or a 10km race.
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The triathlon event was run by British Triathlon, and competitors and race organisers had permission to use the open water of the Cumberland Basin for the swimming element of the race.
The day before, Swim Bristol Harbour leader Johnny Palmer led a small group of swimmers into the water at the Cumberland Basin as part of their ongoing campaign to allow swimming in the basin, albeit at supervised and regulated times and locations.
Last year, the campaigners repeatedly got into the water and sparked scenes where the harbourmaster staff threatened to take names and addresses and begin issuing fines for breaching the harbour bye-laws, which forbid swimming in the water without permission.
Since then, Bristol City Council and Swim Bristol Harbour have been negotiating around the issue, but Mr Palmer said nothing has come of it so far. He wants Bristol to create an outdoor lido similar to one in Copenhagen, based at the Cumberland Basin, and said it would be a healthy initiative as well as a boost to the tourism industry.
He said that while many people have concerns about the quality of the water in the Floating Harbour, at the Cumberland Basin it is often of ‘excellent quality’.
“Bristol City Council have been recording water quality data for years now and they publish that information on their own website,” he said. “Every time I’ve swum in the harbour I’ve looked at that data before I go swimming - it’s the sensible thing to do.
“And every time the water quality of the Cumberland Basin has been in the range of ‘excellent’ by bathing water quality standards,” he said.
Mr Palmer defended the tactic of what is effectively a civil disobedience campaign. “There’s been two other groups who have campaigned for similar stuff, and they got some attention which is great, but they never did what we’re doing, which is just get in the water: Do the thing you’re campaigning to do - you don’t ask permission, you just do it and say ‘we’re going to keep doing it’ and we’d love to engage with you and get some support and find a positive way for this to move forward. That sadly hasn’t happened, which is disappointing,” he said.
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said they are looking at the idea of swimming in the harbour, but nothing has changed yet and it is still not advised and forbidden - unless there is an official event going on, with the permission of the council and harbourmaster.
“We’re exploring options and safety requirements,” said a council spokesperson. “This event (the triathlon) is both permitted and managed.”
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