Grantham adventurer attempting longest swim in tideless water

An adventurer and author from Lincolnshire is getting ready to take on his next challenge – trying to break two world records for the longest ever tideless open-water swim.

Grantham-born Ross Edgley became the first person in history to swim around mainland Great Britain in November 2018, completing the feat of 1,780 miles, and up to 12 hours a day, in 157 days.

The 36-year-old’s adventures have also seen him wrangle sharks, charm poisonous snakes, hunt with native tribes in some of the most remote areas of the world and train with warrior monks in Japan.

Ross, who received an honorary degree from Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln in 2019, is due to start his record breaking swim in the wild waters of Scotland on Wednesday, September 21 and finish at some point over the weekend.

In order to break the world record for longest time in the water, Ross needs to swim for at least 48 hours non stop.

The swim will also see Ross raise awareness for the protection and preservation of the seas with Talisker and Parley, who are starting a new project to help protect sea kelp forests in Scotland.

https://twitter.com/RossEdgley/status/1571523690575151105

The long-distance swimmer and passionate environmentalist is taking on the record attempt, which could take up to 72 hours and is a never-before attempted five lengths of iconic body of Scottish water, Loch Ness, which will be a cool 10 degrees celsius.

In preparation for the epic challenge, Ross has spent the last few months training for up to 12 hours a day, including swimming 100km in the waters around the Isle of Skye, the equivalent of swimming three times across the English Channel.

During his preparations, Ross has also been eating 10,000 calories a day to fuel his training and gain 10kg, to help his body stay insulated from the cold during the longest ever swim of Loch Ness aimed at over 160km.

Ross Edgley swam over 157 days and 1,780 miles in November 2018.

Ross said: “I’m excited to continue being part of this great initiative between Talisker & Parley For The Oceans and to do what I can to help raise awareness of the beauty and fragility of the sea forests beneath the oceans across the world.

“During preparation for this challenge I’ve spent many hours in the water, including time up at the Talisker distillery training in Loch Harport preparing myself mentally and physically for the challenge ahead.

“What makes this swim for the sea different is the purpose behind it, the inspiration to get out into nature to raise awareness of protecting and preserving it for the future.”

Sea Kelp forest in Scotland.

Cyrill Gutsch, Founder & CEO at Parley for the Oceans, added: “Sea forests are the planet’s underwater architects, a powerful blue carbon force within the ecosystem that are crucially important for planetary health.

“They support biodiversity and sequester and store carbon dioxide, of which a percentage is stored in the seabed. The collective research by our scientific partners will provide vital evidence to support this process and to ensure kelp forests and their carbon sinks are protected in Scotland and around the world, to help us in the fight against climate change.”