Great British Swim

Captain Webb of our times? Track Ross Edgley as he attempts to become the first man to swim around Britain

Ross Edgley REDBULL

On 1st June Ross Edgley set out on his Great British Swim, with the mission to become the first person to swim around the coast of Britain. Join him on his journey! The story so far? 33 days, 53 swims taking him from Margate to the west coast of Cornwall, with a lot of cheerful endurance in the face of salt water tongue, rhino neck, shipping channels and jellyfish around his neck. As Ross says ‘this is a collective effort’. He may be the only one of us in the water: but we can still follow him and cheer him on…..

@RossEdgley

Track Ross’s progress in real time: Great British Swim

Ross Edgley RED BULL
Week Five, Still Smiling. Ross Edgley. Redbull.
Ross Edgley/ Red Bull
Ross Edgley/ Red Bull
Ross Edgley/ Red Bull
Ross Edgley/ Red Bull
Ross Edgley/ Red Bull
Ross Edgley and his girlfriend, Hester Sabury. RedBull Content Pool.

Starting on June 1st 2018 athlete adventurer, Ross Edgley started his bid to become the first person to swim around the entire of mainland Britain. Ross’ 3,200km swim around the coast of Great Britain is expected to take 100 days. During that time he won’t step foot on land. Ross plans to swim 30 – 50km per day, swimming with the tides and stopping on the support boat to eat and sleep while he waits for the right time to set off again.

How is he doing so far? He’s still smiling, still swimming….  Go Ross!

Ross Edgley/ Red Bull
Ross Edgley and his girlfriend, Hester Sabury. RedBull Content Pool.

WATCH THE VLOGS

WEEK SIX: THE BATTLE OF LAND’S END

A week of dolphins and the end to the South Coast. “How long will the #greatbritishswim take?” My answer?  It’s not up to me, the ocean will decide. If you’ve encountered Mother Nature (in her many forms) you’ll know what I mean by this, but basically ALL I can do is try and swim every day and every tide, since I can’t control the ocean ONLY my actions. To put this into perspective… in this first 30 days, I once swum 30 miles in 24 hours. Based on that I’d be done in 66 days. But another day I swum for exactly the same amount of time with exactly the same amount of effort but because of waves, wind and tides, only managed 5 miles. Based on this average per day it would take 400 days (over a year). Therefore IN summary: my goal is simple (swim around mainland Great Britain) and my approach now somewhat philosophical. But if you are a swimmer, sailor, mountaineer, rock climber, snowboarder… you’ll know what I mean.” Ross on @rossedgley this week.

WEEK FIVE: HEAD TO HEAD WITH A BATTLESHIP

“In the royal marines they taught me when you are suffering extreme mental fatigue you probably have the cognitive functions of a five year old. You just need very clear instructions and limited functions. For me that is just putting one hand in front of the other.’ After a difficult week ‘eating waves’ and going the long way around Lyme Bay, Ross calls himself ‘blessed’ with a few sunsets and meeting the Royal Navy.

WEEK FOUR: JELLYFISH & MAKING PEACE WITH “EATING WAVES FOR 12 HOURS”

WEEK THREE: SALT MOUTH, NECK CHAFE AND JELLYFISH. Makes Dart10k neck chafe look like a comfort break

WEEK TWO: THE P&O FERRY

WEEK ONE: CAN IT BE DONE? 

 

 

 

Kate Rew
Redbull