A Fife lifeboat volunteer is attempting to become the first person to swim round Inchkeith Island in the Firth of Forth in a unique charity challenge.
Donnie MacLean, RNLI crew member at Kinghorn station, is taking on the gruelling seven-mile swim, which will include crossing some of Scotland’s busiest shipping lanes.
The 43-year-old plans to swim from Kinghorn beach and round the uninhabited island before heading back to shore on Saturday August 20.
‘First person’ to ever attempt Inchkeith swim
The challenge, which is widely thought never to have been attempted before, comes less than a year after Donnie became the first person to swim to Inchkeith Island and back.
He achieved that feat in September 2021 when he completed the arduous swim in just under three hours.
Donnie will have to battle treacherous tidal currents in the Forth while staying clear of ships and vessels of all sizes.
In addition, Donnie also faces the threat of jellyfish stings and being struck by floating debris.
Despite the swim being fraught with danger, Donnie is confident he can complete the task.
He told The Courier: “The biggest difficulty will be overcoming the conditions on the far side of the island.
“I’m aiming to set off at 7.30am in order to reach the far side of the island before 9.30am.
“The tide will be ‘slack’ – which means moving least – at the highest point or high water and the lowest point known as low water.
“Winds are also often much stronger at the back of the island as you are getting right out towards the middle of the Forth.
“Once you get round the back of Inchkeith the currents and swell can be much stronger too, so that section of the swim is going to be particularly difficult.
‘I’m hoping I don’t get stung’
“I’ll expect to get pushed about a fair bit but thankfully I’ll have an off duty RNLI support crew accompanying me.”
Donnie admits his main concern is being stung by jellyfish.
“I’ve done a lot of open-water swimming in preparation for the challenge and the waters are full of jellyfish right now,” he said.
“I’m hoping I don’t get stung.”
Donnie is no stranger to water-based challenges – having completed the task of swimming one 1,000 kilometres in a year for charity, five years ago.
His swim to and from Inchkeith Island last raised more than £2,000 for the RNLI which he hopes to better this time via an online fundraising page.
Donnie knows first-hand the importance of the work lifeboat crews do.
First life saved as part of RNLI crew
He added: “I’ve recently been made a member of the boat crew and last month saved my first life in an emergency callout.
“The RNLI relies solely on public donations to exist so every penny will count toward saving lives.”
Conversation