Dolphins, jelly fish and WWII munitions: Morton native completes rare marathon swim

PEORIA — Bethany Mitchell has one down, and an Oceans Seven to go on her swimming journey.

The 47-year-old life-long competitive swimmer leaned on her talent in the water and her competitive drive internally to successfully swim the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland on July 27.

By doing so, the Morton native inadvertently completed the hardest leg of the Oceans Seven — a holy grail of seven open sea channels around the world that only 20 marathon swimmers in history have conquered. The North Channel is considered the toughest of that list, and usually is saved for last by swimmers.

But Mitchell did it first, becoming the 118th person since 1947 to successfully swim the North Channel, and the 46th female to do it in the last 76 years. She is one of just 23 Americans ever to achieve it.

"I was a competitive swimmer when I was young," said Mitchell, a 1994 Morton High School grad who swam for Peoria club Peoria Area Water Wizards and was a nationally ranked swimmer into her teens. "I've lived in Seattle for a long time now. I met some people who were doing channel swimming challenges, it was all very serendipitous.

"I knew I was cold-water adapted and a really good swimmer. I realized it was something I could do, and it was great for mental and physical health."

It took her 13 hours, 9 minutes and 21 seconds to cross the channel, never leaving the water. At the end, she stood in the boat that made the journey alongside, with a huge grin while holding an American flag.

"I remember as a kid watching someone swim the English Channel and I just couldn't fathom how someone could do that," said Mitchell, who left Morton, lived for a while in Burma and eventually returned to the U.S. to call Seattle home. "I was lucky to live in a place where I just found something I could enjoy."

Mitchell looked over at one point in the channel and realized she had a school of dolphins accompanying her. It was a lasting image for the documentary photographer/freelance journalist.

So was her finish. One of the landmarks she locked in on was an ancient castle — Dunskey Castle, circa 12th century — as she fought the currents.

"I was looking at the castle and I was ending there, and it was amazing," she said. "I had been watching that castle for a mile or two. I was in this washing machine, stuck in a current for a while where I wasn't going anywhere. But once you're in that mode you become like a robot. When it was over, I was relieved mentally.

"I think I could have kept going."

And having crossed 23 miles in 13 hours from Ireland to get to the coast of Scotland, what memorable prize awaited?

"I celebrated with lobster from the North Channel," she said. "Caught by a local fisherman."

Glorious.

The North Channel

The North Channel is a stretch between northeastern Northern Ireland and southwestern Scotland. It begins at the Isle of Man, where the Irish Sea ends, and runs northwest to the Atlantic Ocean.

The depth is around 500 feet in most parts, less in others. But one area, known as Beaufort's Dyke, is around 900 feet deep and carries some ominous cargo at the bottom.

"It was the dumping ground for tanks, ammunition, mines from the end of World War II," Mitchell said. "It was the deepest body of water off mainland Europe, so military took everything left from the war on the Europe mainland and sunk it out here."

The area was also used, in the 1950s, as a dumping ground for nuclear waste.

"I swam over that, and other things I probably didn't know were there and really didn't want to know," she said, laughing. "But the worst part for me was the (Lion's Mane) jelly fish. They swarmed like landmines out there, I got stung so many times. A couple swimmers had to be treated with oxygen. I was lucky, I didn't seem to be allergic to their sting and I just kept on going."

Food on a pole and 54-degree water

Ireland has an organization called the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association. It monitors and sanctions swim attempts on the North Channel, and opens windows for these attempts, a few days each, based on tidal reports, water temperature, currents and other factors.

There are strict rules to follow, and it's the ILDSA that governs whether a swimmer's effort is completed and official.

The North Channel Swim Association issued a public congratulations to Mitchell, adding her to that exclusive list of those who have officially conquered that brutal stretch of sea.

The channel swim is 21.4 miles across. But fighting currents can lengthen it, and in Mitchell's case, she ended up swimming 23 miles.

"You need to swim it fast or you won't make it," Mitchell said.

The water temperature in the North Channel in late July is about 54 degrees.

"I had to train for cold water, so living in Seattle, I swam at night in a wet suit in Puget Sound, tried to get used to being in the sea at night," Mitchell said. "Then I studied martial arts, for the mental aspect I knew this swim was going to take."

She trained year-round, then had to take a qualifying swim to be cleared for the attempt in Ireland. That meant passing a six-hour swim in 50-degree water, which she did.

A swimmer on the North Channel has a boat and crew, which travels along nearby. The swimmer can't touch the boat or anyone on it, nor can a wet suit be worn in the water. Food and water intake is delivered from the boat by a long aluminum tube, with a basket on the end.

"I was getting about 60 carbs an hour," Mitchell said. "The water temperature was OK, I knew I was cold-adapted. Those jellyfish, though, every part of my body was stung."

The Oceans Seven

The competitive swimming community has a holy grail, it's called the Oceans Seven. It's a circuit of seven channels around the world. Only 20 people in history have completed all seven.

"I would love to do the Oceans Seven, but I'd have to be sponsored," said Mitchell, who can be reached through her online site. "I did the North Channel (financially) on my own. I really wanted to do that one because it connected for me to my grandmother, who was Irish."

The Oceans Seven includes:

• The North Channel: Ireland to Scotland (21.4 miles).

• The English Channel: Separates southern England from northern France (21 miles).

• The Cook Strait: between New Zealand’s North and South Islands (16 miles).

• The Molokai Channel: Between Molokai and Oahu (27 miles).

• The Catalina Channel: Between Santa Catalina Island and Los Angeles (20 miles).

• The Tsugaru Strait: Between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido (12 miles).

• The Strait of Gibraltar: Between Spain and Morocco (10 miles).

"The North Channel is considered the hardest one to do," Mitchell said. "I started with the hardest. So I think I have a chance. I'm not arrogant or naive enough to think I have these other channel swims in the bag. You are up against Mother Nature and things you can't control, so many variables.

"Only 20 people in the world have done the Oceans Seven. I believe I can do it."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Morton native completes rare North Channel swim from Ireland to Scotland