The Big Swim Pt. 1

We are Kit, Julia, Jenny and Helen - four local friends who have swum the same small stretch of the Eden for over ten years. A growing curiosity to know what the rest of our beautiful river looks like combined with a growing concern of the issues endangering the health and general well-being of British rivers sowed the seed for our project The Big Swim: Eden Source to Sea. Our Eden is sadly prey to the same effects of pollution as every other waterway.

Words by Kit Hollings.

THE RUCKRAFT - FIFTH MEMBER OF THE BIG SWIM TEAM

One of the key elements of our project was to do it unsupported. No lifts required to and from the river, no support team paddling along beside us, or waiting at predesignated spots with hot chocolate and home baking. No – for our mission to succeed – to highlight the issues of sewage release and buffer-strip management along the 90-or-so miles of river – we wanted, above all, to be low-impact and self-sufficient. But how to carry all our requirements for repetitive 5 mile stretches in water?

 Answer – the RuckRaft – discovered online by one of the team.

THE story so far

In July last year we trialled this brilliant piece of kit on a 3 mile stretch of the Eden close to home. It was rather like interviewing someone for a job. We stuffed the bright orange bag with extra layers, flasks of hot drinks, water bottles, nourishing snacks, first aid kit and more, marvelling at how well the bag sat once strapped to the raft. The day was hot, the river was low, there were tricky, slippery, uneven bits to navigate where we had to carry the raft between us. She performed so well throughout the day she got the job.

“the RuckRaft has gone above and beyond the job description. Carrying not only our own essentials, but also the rubbish we find along the way.”

We began the Big Swim in early June, aiming to get halfway down the Eden before the month was out. Two swim days a week, 5 or 6 miles apiece, we now have 44 miles under our belts – and what an adventure it’s been so far. From day 3, the RuckRaft has gone above and beyond the job description. Carrying not only our own essentials, but also the rubbish we find along the way. From yards of black plastic agricultural waste to discarded tree sleeves, from brollies to frisbees to frying pans, from bell-boots to pop-cans to striped road markers well over a metre long – the RuckRaft copes with it all. A first-class aquatic waste truck that washes down with the swoosh of a hose and packs back down to its 1kg slip of a clutch-bag in under a minute.

Having had a break in July we begin the next half of the Big Swim at the start of August. I’m as excited to catch up with the ruckraft as I am with the rest of the team. Remember Timmy the dog who put the five in the Famous Five? Consider the RuckRaft our Timmy, without the fur.

Follow their progress on Instagram @viewfromtheriver, Twitter at View from the River@TheBigSwim and Facebook at View from the River.