It’s 5am and the alarm clock is ringing incessantly.  At this moment I question my life choices.  Why would anyone want to get up this early to swim?  Normal people don’t do this. I shuffle onto the streets of Canakkale and discover there are another 1,500 “abnormal” people all in various states of undress and getting ready for a swim. For this is a big day in the Turkish swimming calendar – the annual Hellespont Swim.

I am one of 300 international entrants who have been lucky enough to secure a place in the event.  Swim holiday company, SwimTrek are the sole providers of places for international swimmers and they have been generous enough to gift a number of places to Aspire so that we can use them to raise funds. Our supporters have jumped at the chance to take part in this historic swim, dripping with mythology and one of the first recorded endurance swims when Lord Byron became the first person to swim the straits which separate Asia from Europe.

The event organisation is impeccable.  We are all loaded onto a ferry and taken across the straits to Eceabat where the swim is due to start.  The previous day we stood on the same ferry as Simon Murie, founder of SwimTrek, who first swam the straits 25 years ago, points out the landmarks that we need to aim for.

The swim is famed for its strong current.  If you swim towards Canakkale directly you are likely to be pushed past the finish point and will be fished out of the water by the scores of fishing boats that come out to form a safety cordon – a great example of how everyone in the area supports this iconic swim. The weaker swimmer is urged to aim high above the finish and to gradually move homewards with the tide.  And those of us who are mid pack, can try and pick a happy medium. Spoiler alert – most of us were very cautious and aimed high above the finish adding time to the swim but ensuring a safe finish.

 

We all line up along the road in Ecabeat and then the gun goes and very quickly everyone is in the water. So this is a mass start, but unlike the mass starts I am used to at triathlons where people are kicked and swum over (what is that all about? Really?), this is respectful and calm.  No pushing or shoving and very quickly you are alone in the beautifully clear waters of The Hellespont. 

The swim is glorious!  The water is warm and unlike the previous day we had for the reconnaissance, there is no wind and it remains flat calm.  I glide through the water feeling truly happy. 

I can see swimmers veering to the right as they take a more direct route, but I don’t want to be sucked into following people that may have as little knowledge as me about the waters.

As I close in on some marker buoys I see a fishing boat and the guys on board are gesticulating at me to head for the finish.  I have held a cautious line for too long and now have to head South to finish the race. It’s no big deal and I am not obsessed with my race time.  I just want to revel in the waters and being part of this beautiful event.

When I get out of the water I look back over my shoulder to see the line of my swim.  I am rewarded with a glorious sight - there are hundreds and hundreds of brightly coloured tow floats all converging on this one finishing point. I feel proud of being part of this occasion.

As we are finished so early there is plenty of down time.  SwimTrek have organised tours for the swimmers to enhance the trip. I choose to visit Gallipoli in the afternoon (it was Troy the previous day).  There is so much history in this part of Turkey that it seems a shame to miss it.

In the evening I meet up with the Aspire swimmers for the celebration dinner that SwimTrek provide as part of the package.  We swap stories, mainly about sightings on the swim.  We’re able to applaud the remarkable team, both Turkish and British, that have organised this event.

I personally want to applaud the eight Aspire swimmers who amongst themselves have raised £8,000 to help people who have sustained spinal cord injuries.  The Hellespont continues to create heroes.

Further details of The Hellespont swim can be found at https://www.swimtrek.com/packages/swimming-holiday-hellespont-and-dardanelles-swim

To register interest in a charity place at next year’s event email [email protected]

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