Guest Blog: Fastnet – Swimming from ‘Ireland’s Teardrop’ – The History and Heritage Swim
This is the second installment of Gráinne's visit to Ireland in July and August of 2022. Having just completed a crossing of the North Channel, one of the hardest of all marathon swims, she sought further adventure ... ***** As I plunged into the black Atlantic Ocean at the farthest tip of Southwest Ireland under the intimidating Fastnet lighthouse at 5am on the 5 th August 2022 I was enveloped with a wonder. I was astonished at the extreme sense of serenity I felt despite being, literally, a little drop in the 41 million square miles of the second-largest ocean in the world. Whilst I had planned to be in Ireland in August 2022 I hadn’t expected to be here, so how had this happened? A Double Triple Crown? A week and a half after completing the arduous North Channel , my mind started to ponder the 21km Fastnet Rock Swim . I started to think ‘could I squeeze this swim in before returning to New Zealand and complete a “Double Triple Crown” in one year?’ The New Zealand Open Water