Swimming To Hell

Meekrat Films produced a 55-minute documentary on Frank Chalmers's attempt of crossing the Pentland Firth, a treacherous 8-mile stretch of water between the northern Scottish mainland the the Orkney Islands. The documentary was broadcast on BBC2 last week.

The documentary tells the story of Frank's 3 hour and 50 minute attempt across some of the strongest tides in the world in a place known as Hell’s Mouth.

Despite its reputation of being a graveyard of ships due to its location where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea, Frank, a 16:48 English Channel swimmer in 2005 and a member of Ye Amphibious Ancients Bathing Association, tried to swim across monumental tidal currents and freezing water.

Frank admitted to Marc Deanie of the Scottish Sun that his attempt was really just a practice swim. "I was on a training swim for about half-an-hour, so I wasn't fully prepared. I hadn't done the things I would do on the proper swim, like preparing energy drinks and Vaseline for my skin. Once I was going for an hour, though, the support crew told me I was going all the way."

Besides the freezing water and tides, Frank also admitted that he saw things...dark, big things underwater beneath him. "I got a shock - I was swimming in the middle of the Pentland Firth and I saw this black shadow just under the water and thought, 'That's odd'. I saw it again two minutes later and I thought it was a killer whale. Then a whole load of them started swimming underneath - they were giant seals. That was a distraction. But it was a bit of a relief too because the fishermen in Orkney told me before that there were killer whales there."

Frank's attempt, cut short by about a mile when his escort boat had no lights and darkness was fast approaching, opens the door to others.

"I didn't land at the other side [so] now it opens it up for other younger swimmers to take on the challenge."

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association