Clare Griffin, Manager of West Wight Sports and Community Centre (WWSCC), is taking on a remarkable personal and fundraising challenge this year. She is swimming 33.3km – the equivalent of crossing the English Channel—as part of the Ultra Swim 33.3 in Montenegro this October.
The event, which covers the full distance between October 3rd and 6th, includes individual swims as long as 10km—effectively an aquatic marathon. Clare expects the 10km stage alone to take her around 3 ½ hours. It’s a demanding test of endurance, determination, and training. Clare is rising to the challenge with inspiring commitment.
To support Clare’s swim and the future of WWSCC, click below
Training so far …
As part of her preparations, Clare is swimming up to 20km a week in the pool and sea, as well as building strength in the gym under WWSCC Fitness Manager, Shannon Kilcullen’s watchful eye. She has already taken part in a sponsored “Round the Island” swim (in the pool!) organised by Yarmouth Sailing Club in March and the Sandown to Shanklin Per to Peir Race on August 9th (finishing 31st our of 177 swimmers). Clare says, “The training is the biggest part of the challenge. The time and energy required is extremely demanding and of course I must make it work round a full-time job, family and other commitments. If you catch me asleep in a quiet corner of the sports centre – you’ll know why!”
But Clare’s not just swimming for herself—she’s swimming for her community.
The reasoning behind this challenge …
“WWSCC has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Clare says. “The work our incredible team of staff and volunteers does is more vital now than ever before. As the pool approaches its 50th anniversary, I feel incredibly proud to have been part of its journey—from learning to swim and competing here and being there on the day Lord Mountbatten turned on the tap 47 years ago, to now having the honour of leading this brilliant team.”
The funds raised through Clare’s challenge will support the Centre’s vital role in the West Wight community—not only preserving the pool but ensuring a future of thriving sport, wellness, and social connection.
“Looking ahead, we’re planning for the next 50 years. We want to make sure future generations continue to benefit from the pool and the wider sports and community facilities we offer. Together, with your support, we can secure a vibrant and active future for our community.”
Clare reflecting back on her Ultra Swim Challenge
Ultra Swim 33.3 (Montengro edition) was always going to be an epic physical and mental challenge. Swimming the equivalent distance across the English Channel, but in stages across 3 days and in the usually relative warmth of the Adriatic off the coast of Montengro proved to throw more challenges than I expected!
I flew into Dubrovnik on Wednesday 1st October – giving myself an extra day to prepare before the warm up and briefing day on Thursday and the event start on Friday. I should have realised when the pilot said it was an ‘unseasonably bumpy’ descent into the airport! The following day the wind built and the airport closed meaning late arrivals to the event were diverted to various airports all over Europe. Of the 118 entrants from 23 countries, 106 of us made it to the event.
Sure enough – it was unseasonable and unusual weather for Montenegro! The wind forced the warm up swim on Thursday to be cancelled. Gale force gusts were blowing the beach furniture around – things were not boding well!
I went to bed (not much sleep!) on Thursday night not knowing when or even if we would swim on Friday. To fit 33.3km in there needed to be around 10km a day average with a final short swim planned for the Monday morning. Eventually the decision by Event Director Mark Turner was that there would be just one swim on Day 1 with a delayed start of 11:30 and change of route in order to find relative shelter from the wind.
Day 1 – Friday
I swam a tough 6.6 km in 2hrs 22mimutes with a strong cross wind in a lumpy sea and I finished in 64th. Annoyingly, my goggles leaked so two hours with salt in my eyes was not very pleasant. That and the expected sore mouth and tongue from prolonged immersion in salt water meant I was not feeling very positive at the end of day 1.
Day 2 – Saturday
Was an early start – 5 am breakfast and a 90 minute journey to the start line which included a boat trip and a journey in a minibus up hairpin bends on top of the extreme nerves meant I was feeling pretty sick. But it was a beautiful sunny day and the wind had abated. We swam from an isolated beach from headland to headland, across beautiful bays in Adriatic sunshine. There were fish and sun beams that danced under me as I swam through the deep water. 3 hours and 5 minutes later and I had swum 7.9 km (my longest ever swim) with no real trouble. I was feeling positive. The finish was on a beach and then we had to swim our dry bags out to a boat which took us to Manula Island – an ex-prison, now a luxury hotel where we ate before the second swim of the day.
For Manula think Alcatraz! A small prison island off the coast! The challenge seemed straight forward – 3 laps to get 2700 metres in the bag. Easy – we all thought! How wrong were we? We started the first lap and we were swimming in what can only be described as a washing machine. I was all for giving up. Even the rough seas I’ve swum in off the Isle of Wight had nothing on this. A swell rolled in from the Adriatic and crashed and bounced back off the cliffs and rocks. It was horrendous! But giving up wasn’t an option. I reminded myself that I didn’t come here to fail. So lap 1 was done. And by lap 2 I knew what was coming and I enjoyed it. All I had to do was one more lap and I’d done it.
I was over halfway but still had ‘marathon day’ to come on Day 3. To make up some of the lost distance, what had been billed as 10km was increased to 11km. Another change of route as the weather deteriorated again, and another early start, we were transported to the start line by boat where we jumped in for an ‘in water start’. Again I was incredibly nervous – I’d never swum that far before. I knew I suffer from cold. Even in the warmer waters and with a wet suit on I felt that the cold was going to be my biggest challenge and there was no sunshine today to warm me as I swam.
Day 3 – Sunday
We started, and as usual as soon as I was in the water swimming, the nerves subsided. The first feed station was at 4km off the back of a boat, where we were offered energy gels, drinks and fruit. I was
feeling cold already. I consumed a hot energy drink and a gel and got moving quickly speeding up for a km and thinking ‘warm thoughts’ – open fires, hot drinks, sunshine – anything to focus my mind away from the cold. Then I was halfway and needed to keep my mind wandering from the monotony of what I was doing. So counting down from 500 saying each number in full in time with my stroke and I got through another 2k. The route took us through a cold war submarine pen built into the cliff face, past wrecks and dis-used military equipment and eventually I rounded a headland to see the luxury hotel where we finished. I’d swum 11km in 4 hours and 5 minutes and was the 57th finisher of that stage.
So we had 5km to make up the total of 33.3. And we had Monday morning to do it. Once again the weather had other ideas so the course was re-arranged yet again. This time thunderstorms were forecast! So the route was a two lap circuit in front of our hotel. 5 km had previously been the furthest open water distance I’d ever swum. Now I was saying it was ‘just a short swim’! It was another tough swim – 2 hours battling against the wind in one direction, with a cross wind at times and then almost surfing with it at other times.
I crossed the finish line and became an Ultra Swimmer. 33.3 km in a total time of 12 hours 25 minutes. 61st overall, with men and women aged between 24 and 74, I was 10th oldest at age 61. I finished as 2nd woman in the 60+ age group wetsuit category; 28th woman overall. I had the scars and pain to show for it including a sore mouth and swollen tongue from so long in salt water. The winner was an international – Anna Sofia Kalandadze, who swims for Georgia. Amongst the other swimmers was Melanie Barratt who was the first blind swimmer to cross the English Channel and winner of Paralympic medals. There were ex-Olympians and people who had swum many of the worlds iconic long distance swims – the Channel, Bosphorus Strait, Catalina, Windermere, Lake Tahoe amongst others.
What did I learn?
1. Swimming it is the easy bit. Managing nerves, nutrition, tedium and the cold is one big challenge. But the training was the hardest bit. Hours spent in the pool, the sea and in the gym, working round a full time job and busy family life
2. Age is no barrier. I entered this in my 60th year, never having done anything like it before. If you want to do something – you just have to do it.
“ One day I won’t be able to do this. Today is not that day”
Melanie Barrett – first blind person to swim the English Channel
“Nothing great is easy”
Captain Matthew Webb – first person to swim the English Channel
I raised money for West Wight Sports & Community Centre. Together with moneys collected off line we’ve raised over £10,000. This is much needed and will help to ensure the Centre continues to provide essential services to our community now and for future generations.
