North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)

Map of the North Channel
Relief map of the Irish Sea. The North Channel lies to the north of the Irish Sea, and the St George's Channel to the south. (Major ports shown as red dots. Freight-only ports as blue dots)

The North Channel (known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as Sruth na Maoile, in Scots as the Sheuch[1] and alternatively in English as the Straits of Moyle or Sea of Moyle) is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland.[2] It connects the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, and is part of the marine area officially classified as the "Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland" by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).[3]

The southern boundary of the strait is a line joining the Mull of Galloway and Ballyquintin Point. The northern boundary is a line joining Portnahaven and Benbane Head. The narrowest part of the strait is between the Mull of Kintyre and Torr Head where its width is 21 kilometres (13 mi; 11 nmi).[4] The deepest part is called Beaufort's Dyke.

The Channel was a favourite haunt of privateers preying on British merchant shipping in wars until the 19th century; in 1778, during the American Revolutionary War it was also the site of a naval duel between American captain John Paul Jones's Ranger and the Royal Navy's Drake. It is crossed by a large number of ferry services. In 1953, it was the scene of a serious maritime disaster, the sinking of the ferry Princess Victoria.

In Northern Ireland, Unionist political leaders for decades lobbied the British government to construct a railway tunnel under the Channel, to better link Northern Ireland with the rest of the United Kingdom. In August 2007 the Centre for Cross-Border Studies proposed the construction of a 34-kilometre (21 mi) long rail bridge or tunnel, estimating that it might cost about £3.5 billion.[5] In the Victorian era, engineers proposed a rail tunnel between Stranraer and Belfast.[6]

This strait was formerly known as the Irish Channel.[7][8][9] In the 19th century, Alexander Keith Johnston's suggested name St Patrick's Channel had currency, but it was rejected by the hydrographic department.[10]

Swimming

The Irish Long Distance Swimming Association (ILDSA) has provided authentication observers for swimmers attempting to cross the approximately 35-kilometre (22 mi) span between Northern Ireland and the Mull of Galloway. According to the ILDSA, this was first accomplished in 1947 by Tom Blower.[11] The first two-way crossing was completed by a six-person relay team on 28 July 2015.[12]

The North Channel is part of the Ocean's seven, a set of seven long-distance open-water swims considered the marathon swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge.

Solo

Date Name Nationality Direction Duration
28 July 1947Tom BlowerEnglandIreland to Scotland15 hrs 26 mins
11 September 1970Kevin MurphyEnglandIreland to Scotland11 hrs 21 mins
29 August 1971Kevin MurphyEnglandIreland to Scotland14 hrs 27 mins
11 August 1973Ted KeenanIrelandIreland to Scotland18 hrs 27 mins
22 August 1988Alison StreeterEnglandIreland to Scotland09 hrs 53 mins 42 secs
23 August 1988Margaret KiddScotlandIreland to Scotland15 hrs 26 mins 03 secs
25 August 1989Alison StreeterEnglandScotland to Ireland10 hrs 04 mins
7 September 1989Kevin MurphyEnglandScotland to Ireland17 hrs 17 mins 48 secs
18 August 1997Alison StreeterEnglandScotland to Ireland10 hrs 02 mins12 secs
27 July 1999Paul LewisEnglandScotland to Ireland14 hrs 28 mins
21 July 2000Stephen PriceEnglandScotland to Ireland16 hrs 56 mins
31 July 2004Colm O NeillIrelandScotland to Ireland11 hrs 25 mins 05 secs
12 September 2008Colleen BlairScotlandIreland to Scotland15 hrs 23 mins 59 secs
31 August 2010Stephen RedmondIrelandScotland to Ireland17 hrs 17 mins 01 sec
1 September 2010Ann Marie WardIrelandIreland to Scotland18 hrs 59 mins 26 secs
27 July 2011Craig LenningUSAIreland to Scotland14 hrs 44 mins 50 secs
2 August 2011Howard KeechEnglandIreland to Scotland13 hrs 25 mins
16 June 2013Fergal SomervilleIrelandIreland to Scotland12 hrs 21 mins
30 July 2013Milko van GoolNetherlandsIreland to Scotland10 hrs 34 mins
29 August 2013Darren MillerUSAIreland to Scotland11 hrs 16 mins
22 July 2014Guy MoarAustraliaIreland to Scotland11 hrs 10 mins
07 August 2014Colleen MallonNorthern IrelandIreland to Scotland09 hrs 56 mins
6 August 2014Adam WalkerEnglandIreland to Scotland10 hrs 45 mins
2 September 2014Kimberley ChambersNew ZealandIreland to Scotland13 hrs 6 mins
24 July 2015Vicky MillerEnglandIreland to Scotland12 hrs 6 mins
7 August 2015Rohan Dattaray MoreIndiaIreland to Scotland12 hrs 46 mins[13]
7 August 2015Adrian SarchetGuernseyIreland to Scotland14 hrs 13 mins[14][15]
11 August 2015Ion LazarencoMoldova/IrelandIreland to Scotland16 hrs 23mins
9 September 2015Tom Pembroke[16]AustraliaIreland to Scotland12 hrs
14 July 2016 Cameron Bellamy[17] South Africa Ireland to Scotland 12 hrs 16 mins
25 August 2016 Edward Williams England Ireland to Scotland 10 hrs 58 mins
24 August 2016Pat Gallant CharetteUSAIreland to Scotland14 hrs 22mins
16 August 2017Abhejali BernardovaCzech RepublicIreland to Scotland10 hrs 23 mins[18]
5 August 2018Jaroslav ChytilCzech RepublicIreland to Scotland16 hrs 4 mins[19]

Relay teams[20]

Date Team Name Team size Nation of Origin Direction Duration
27 August 1990Ireland One6IrelandIreland to Scotland12 hrs 03 mns 01 sec
14 August 1993City of Liverpool6EnglandIreland to Scotland10 hrs 39 mins 42 secs
23 June 1996City of Dublin6IrelandIreland to Scotland12 hrs 44 mins 56 secs
20 August 1999The All American6USAScotland to Ireland13 hrs 11 mins 39 secs
26 August 2002City of Liverpool6EnglandScotland to Ireland12 hrs 47 mins 41 secs
6 July 2004The Swilly Trio3IrelandScotland to Ireland14 hrs 41 mins 14 secs
22 August 2011Team Camlough Lake6Northern IrelandIreland to Scotland12 hrs 21 mins 12 secs
5 July 201411 Feet Camlough Lake6Northern IrelandIreland to Scotland12 hrs 52 mins 0 secs
7 August 2102The Machine Men3USAIreland to Scotland10 hrs 18 mins 0 secs
24 June 2015Wexford Masters6IrelandIreland to Scotland13 hrs 09 mins
28 July 2015Fast and Frozen6WorldwideIreland to Scotland to Ireland (two-way relay)29 hrs 57 mins
7 August 2015Infinity V5IrelandIreland to Scotland13 hrs 15 mins
25 May 2016Deadly Diamonds5Northern IrelandIreland to Scotland10 hrs 20 mins 0 secs
12 June 2016O W Ladies5EnglandIreland to Scotland to Ireland (two-way relay)28 hrs 25 mins
30 June 2016The Celtic Kippers6IrelandIreland to Scotland13 hours 46 mins
25 August 2016Channel Swimming Crazies4Northern IrelandIreland to Scotland09 hours 55 mins 44 secs

See also

References

  1. ↑ Online Scots Dictionary. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  2. ↑ 2007 annual report Archived 3 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Tourism Ireland. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition" (PDF). International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  4. ↑ North Channel, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  5. ↑ "Bridge to Northern Ireland mooted". BBC News. BBC. 22 August 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  6. ↑ McKenzie, Steven (9 October 2011). "Scotland-Ireland undersea rail link plan 'a surprise'". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  7. ↑ A Friend (1824). Glympses Across the Irish Channel.
  8. ↑ Old Sailor (1820). A view of the British and Irish fisheries:. p. 74.
  9. ↑ Rooke, John (1838). Geology as a science applied to the reclamation of land from the sea. p. 41.
  10. ↑ Andrews, John Harwood (January 1997). Shapes of Ireland: maps and their makers 1564–1839. Geography Publications. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-906602-95-9. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "North Channel". Irish Long Distance Swimming Association.
  12. ↑ Cowie, Jonathan (16 August 2015). "Two relay records set in the North Channel". H2Open.
  13. ↑ "Swim the North Channel". Irish Long Distance Swimming Association. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  14. ↑ "Swim the North Channel". Irish Long Distance Swimming Association. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  15. ↑ "Sea Donkey - The inspirational story of an ordinary man's attempt to swim the Northern Channel". Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  16. ↑ "Old Boy's epic North Channel swim for charity". St. Joseph's College. 9 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "Solo swimmers of the North Channel - Infinity Channel Swimming". Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  18. ↑ "Solo Female". Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  19. ↑ "Czech hardy man conquers North Channel in 16 hours". Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  20. ↑ "Relay Team North Channel swim". Infinity Channel Swimming. 2016.

Coordinates: 55°03′27″N 5°37′19″W / 55.05750°N 5.62194°W / 55.05750; -5.62194

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