‘I felt privileged’ This Cork woman swam from Ireland to Scotland

So, for those of you whose knowledge on the subject leaves a lot to be desired, let's briefly recap on the facts and figures associated with the North Channel, shall we?

So, first off, it's the strait between North-Eastern Ireland and South-Western Scotland. It connects the Irish sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 35 kms. 

And Corkwoman, Carmel Collins, swam it in just under 16 hours on July 5 this year in temperatures as low as 12 degrees.

Speaking to SHEmazing in the days after the amazing feat, Carmel, whose first solo channel swim attempt was in the English Channel in 2012, explained where the desire to take up endurance swimming came from.

"I had just been casually swimming on my own in a pool," she begins. "I was inspired when I was reading The Echo one day and saw the entry for the Lee swim. I went and done a trial swim around Sandycove Island in Kinsale first, then I entered it."

After securing a bronze medal in the Lee Swim, Carmel was officially bitten by the bug, recalling: "It was the first time I ever won anything in my life. I was delighted with it and so I went and joined up a swimming club and it took off from there."

As an accomplished endurance swimmer, it's perhaps surprising to learn that Carmel had a number of nautical near misses in the past – incidents which would likely deter many from entering the water again.

"I had three near drownings; all three were outdoors," she recalls. "One on the slipway of Blackrock Castle while fishing. My dad saved me ."

"Then another was on a beach in West Cork. Sand shifted from under my feet and pulled me out of my depth. A friend reached out for me and pulled me in. The lifeguard came after. And then in Spain while following my big brothers into the big pool. I just jumped in, struggled up and down, called Dad at the side of the pool and he saved me once again."

"These incidents impacted on my confidence in the water, and swimming in general. I grew fearful of it."

Despite this, Carmel, who is now a swimming instructor, saw the merit in using these experiences in her approach to teaching, saying: "These incidents had a positive impact on my teaching. I can connect with those who had similar incidents and the fears it can bring."

"By sharing mine shows that one can get over it by not giving up because of it. I am cautious when I have a swimmer with fears. I let them go at their own pace in building up confidence. Not being too pushy with them and making sure that they can thread very comfortably. It is vital for any swimmer."

So how did the English Channel swim of 2012 compare with the North Channel feat?

"Well, the North channel was much colder by about 5 degrees," Carmel explains. "The water in the North Channel was much clearer, cleaner and not as salty as the English Channel."

"There was a lot more sea life; all sorts of jelly fish and a Minke whale to look at in the North Channel. I did not feel alone at any time in there which was nice. And the crew, of course, white boarding me regularly. I couldn't have done it without them, they were great."

And with the physical differences between the swims covered, Carmel turns her attention to the emotional aspect of the endeavours.

"My thought process in the English Channel swim was mostly negative; very personal and emotional. My thoughts in the North Channel were the complete opposite."

"I had very focused, clear, peaceful and happy thoughts in the North Channel. Every time a little negative thought would try sneak in I immediately replaced it with a positive thought."

"I felt so privileged and very grateful to be able to swim such a beautiful channel. My main thought was 'I am going to make it to Portpatrick and am not getting out until I do."

And what was the biggest challenge she faced during her recent North Channel swim?

"The biggest challenge for me was when I had to change breathing sides over a problem with my left arm," she explained. "This upset my usual breathing pattern, I have been suffering with my respiratory system ongoing since May and was diagnosed with Bronchitis."

"The last few hours were tough. I took an inhaler which helped a little, but not for long. I was blowing bubbles excessively and some explosively, gasping for bigger breaths."

"I knew I did not have too long more, nothing was going to stop me this time. The quote I used a lot in these few hours was 'If you want to be successful as much as you want to breath then you'll be successful", this really worked for me."

Reflecting on her first endurance swim back in 2012, Carmel revealed that the run-up to the event was far from easy.

"A lot happened leading up to my English Channel swim. I felt a lot of pressure and had a lot of emotions going on."

"I tried to block everything out and carry on as normal, but in actual fact I was a mess," Carmel admitted. "I did not talk to anyone about what was going on in my mind."

"When I did not make it, I was worse off, it is hard when everyone knew after the pre write up about it."

"It was hard when people come up to you and expressed sympathy and want to talk about it. For me, it was to difficult to talk about so I told people I did not want to discuss it ," Carmel continued.

"It took me two years to blog about it and even at that some things still could not be discussed publicly. This took pressure off having to talk about it to everyone."

In the run-up to her recent swim, Carmel was keen to avoid the publicity, saying: "This time I chose to avoid all of that and it worked for me, for sure. I only shared it with family, crew, one or two friends and that was it."

And what advice would Carmel have for anyone hoping to follow in her footsteps?

"I would advise novice swimmers, who would like to take up endurance swimming, to build up distance slowly over weeks, months or even years."

"Sign up to long distance swim camps, hang out with endurance swimmers, seek advice, watch and learn from them," she recommends.

Explaining that she finds strength in the training and a sense of achievement in completion, Carmel says: "I gain once in a life time experiences such as a Minke whale joining me. It is not too often that happens. It was amazing while it lasted."