Chunky Dunker Holly swims North Channel
By Julie Waters
INTREPID marathon swimmer Holly Monson became the 72nd woman to complete the gruelling North Channel challenge when she battled her way through strong currents and overcame a ferocious Lion’s Mane jellyfish sting.
The Ards peninsula woman swam the 39.2kms from Scotland to the Gobbins, considered one of the most demanding stretches of open water in the world, in a gruelling 14 hours, 11 minutes and 18 seconds.
After two years of intensive training, Holly, who is a physiotherapist, now joins an elite group of 180 people who have conquered the North Channel swim.
A regular sea swimmer with Donaghadee’s Chunky Dunkers, Holly has also raised an impressive £4,500 for two charities that are close to her heart, The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group and The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust.
Holly recalled the joyous moment she swam into home waters saying: “I finished at the Gobbins and the Belfast hills never looked so beautiful. I started to swim into the night and it was really incredible.
“I had a crescent moon rising, there was bioluminesence in the water, I was looking up and there were shooting stars. I just thought I am so lucky and privileged to be here.”
However, Holly’s marathon swim was to be a true test of her strength and resilience, as she was stung by a Lion’s Mane jellyfish sting within the first 15 minutes of her challenge.
“One of the worst things was being stung on the face by the Lion’s Mane jellyfish, I could feel the stings on my lips, gums, in the roof of my mouth, I could even feel it on my throat. I could still feel the sting 24 hours later.
“So I had this lovely moment at the start and then I got stung in the face by a jellyfish and it snapped me back to reality. I was in so much physical pain for the first four hours, I was crying into my googles.
“I don’t cry easily with pain, but it was the worst pain I have ever experienced but I just kept going. I did get some antihistamines but the sting and venom goes into your nervous system, you can feel it move down your legs, but I just kept swimming, it was pretty horrific.”
Holly explained she faced the additional challenge of a strong current. “It was a pretty difficult current that I just had to get through, I had to put in quite a bit more effort than I really wanted to early on as we were leaving Scotland.
“Luckily I had in the tank two years of dedicated training that helped, so I was able to put in a good hour when the pilot asked me to.”
From jellyfish, to strong currents, the sea temperature also added to Holly’s trials.
“The weather was unbelievable, it was so good. But it was a funny one for me, I really prefer being cold, so I struggled with it being hot.
“It was so rare for the North Channel water temperature to be 17 degrees, it is normally 14 degrees and that is a huge difference. I had to put ice on my feet, it was just so warm.”
However, it was all worth the trials and tribulations, when under the cover of darkness Holly completed the swim of a lifetime. “Touch down was about 12.45am. The last 10km were just very long, they took a long time.”
Holly has experienced a myriad of emotions following her swim success.
“You feel a lot of things, it changes every day. I feel just so proud to have done something that so few people have done in the history of humanity.”
She was thrilled to receive a standing ovation from her Chunky Dunkers swim family when she returned to dry land.
“Just to do a home swim as a home girl is incredible,” she said. “My Chunky Dunker family arrived on Monday evening and gave me a standing ovation, it was very emotional.”
The icing on the cake was when Holly was presented with her special Chunky Dunker North Channel badge.
“The Chunky Dunkers give every successful channel solo swimmer a badge to put on their dry robe, it says congratulations on your North Channel swim from the Chunky Dunkers.
“The Chunky Dunkers are my swimming group and it is just unbelievable that one of their own has done this swim, it is a bit surreal.”
With Holly set to move to New Zealand this autumn, this impressive marathon swimmer already has her next challenge in mind – a trio of marathon swims, the Cook Strait (22.5km), Lake Taupo (40.2km) and Foveaux Strait (28.6km). She said: “I have my sights on the New Zealand Triple Crown.”
