Kessock Ferry Swim will return in 2023
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ORGANISER of the Kessock Ferry Swim, Johannes Petersen, has announced the event will return on June 25, 2023.
The event is hard to schedule due to difficult tides, so there are only a handful of dates for organisers to choose from.
The swim returned for the first time in 50 years on Saturday as more than 200 people took to the waters.
It was a day Mr Petersen described as "just lovely".
The event sees swimmers enter the water at Merkinch and complete a 1200m swim from Merkinch to Kessock and back.
It took a lot of preparation, which was a full community effort.
Mr Petersen said: "Merkinch and the ferry get bad press but actually it's an amazing place to do business. All our suppliers were local. It’s showing it at its best. That was just lovely."
Many people had a helping hand, including the RNLI, Harbour Trust, the Marina and Scottish Canals.
Mr Petersen added that the mixture of generations who enjoyed the day was brilliant.
The youngest swimmer there was 11.
"The best thing for me was seeing lots of older people from Merkinch coming down," he continued.
"There's the nostalgia and memories from the 60s that was just wonderful. Seeing that combined with lots of younger people, it's a project that spans from generations.
"I get quite emotional thinking about it because its so lovely. We’ve lived with these restrictions on our social interactions for two or three years now, so seeing all these people, about 500, it's that community aspect because we've come outside of an absolutely dreadful time."
He has high hopes for next year and is looking into the possibility of a one way route for younger swimmers.
The event raised money for Aban Outdoor, the outdoor charity Mr Petersen is a trustee for.
They provide after school clubs, summer programmes and are now taking bookings for their summer holiday camps.
This year, they donated money from the swim to Friends of Merkinch Nature Reserve, as giving back to the community is important to Aban.
Applications are open now for their charity partner of 2023.
Get in touch on their website.
